Founded in 2017, the Cycling Fanatics started with just two guys wanting to ride together. Before long, CF grew into larger groups of 25+ regular people who were coordinating to meet up at many of the organized rides in the NYC cycling community. People who wanted to meet other cyclists, but not necessarily committing to be part of a Cycling Club per se. Over time the groups dialog in group chat, originally created to coordinate riding activities became a resource to learn much more about Cycling. Questions from ‘newbies’ about what to buy, what not to buy, how to fix issues were always met with thoughtful responses by experienced riders. While this was happening many in the group were upgrading their bikes and maintaining them much better than before, and if the improvement in the garage wasn’t enough the training on the road had really raised the bar considerably and really elevated many in the group to become much stronger riders. Similar to the old adage, “As steel sharpens steel, man sharpens man”
In 2019 we began to realize that Cycling Fanatics, a loose knit group of socially dysfunctional cyclists had something special to offer the cycling community. Which is an open forum/dialog of all things cycling, and a desired to coordinate riding activities in an inclusive way, without the ego, and elitism often found in cycling. Later that year we launched our extremely active discord server and website which includes a calendar of rides and events from a variety of clubs and organizations in the Tri-State Area, and some of our now 125+ members have volunteered to lead rides, not only locally training laps during the week as well as weekend warrior rides, both adventures for longer mileage and/or social paced rides with emphasis on photos, historical points of interest and/or foodie stops.
Whether you’re a roadie, into gravel, a commuter or a social rider looking to lose a little weight you are welcome to join us and see if the Cycling Fanatics vibe is right for you. While Cycling Fanatics includes Rapha RCC Ride Leaders, Major Taylor Iron Riders, Kissena Racers, CRCA and NYCC Sig Ride Leaders, Perhaps you find Cycling Clubs intimidating, maybe you couldn’t find a club with the right vibe, maybe you were turned off by the membership fees. Maybe like so many others you only recently got excited about cycling during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone’s journey and relationship to cycling is different. Regardless of the specifics of your journey Whether you are looking for riding partners, to learn more about training or mechanical issues, or the pros and cons of your next bike related purchase you are welcomed and encouraged to ask.
Cycling Fanatics is based on a premise that cycling should be inclusive to all. Our members come from all walks of life, all united around a shared passion for cycling. We have no membership dues or strict rules. In fact, if you think you have something you’d like to contribute to the community, please do speak up.
Our only prerequisite aside from being a decent human being, is being passionate about cycling.