Join a Cycle Connect 417 ride
Cycle Connect 417 is a women’s cycling group that meets for a scheduled ride on paved trails and roads the first Saturday of each month, in addition to gravel and mountain bike rides. Learn more about Cycle Connect 417 through its website and keep track of ride events through Facebook and Instagram.
Click to expand for tips and details.
Check the organization’s website and social media for updates on location and times for scheduled first Saturday monthly rides, especially if they land on holiday weekends. If a ride is rained out, the group may still meet at the designated spot for bike and riding education and social connections.
First Saturday Monthly Ride tips:
- The group generally meets an hour before the ride for social time over coffee and breakfast. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled ride.
- Ensure your bike is ride-ready, tires are pumped and that you bring a mandatory helmet.
- Cyclists choose one of three no-drop groups based on experience and speed: beginner, intermediate or advanced.
- Plan to stay after the ride for social time over refreshments or lunch.
- Check out Cycle Connect 417's website or their Facebook event page for more information.
August 2023 Rides:
Ride events in August include a mountain bike ride Aug. 10 and a gravel ride Aug. 13. Reservations are not required. Rides are no-drop and open to all women.
It was early morning on the first Saturday in July, a few days before the holiday. Josie Bock could feel her anxiety rise as she prepared to leave home for an organized bike ride. She wouldn’t know anyone — what if it were cliquish? And she hadn’t been on a bicycle in ages. What if she couldn’t keep up? Never mind she once did triathlons. That was more than 20 years ago — before marriage, two kids and working full time consumed her life.
A few weeks earlier, Cycle Connect 417’s signature monthly ride event popped into her Facebook feed. Bock was intrigued. She’d been determined to do something for herself in 2023 and she wanted to make more friends. The new cycling group for women promised all skill levels were welcome, so she put the July ride on her calendar. But now her stomach churned and she felt unsure. She called her sister who encouraged her to go: “You can do this. You need something like this. It’ll be fun.”
Bock walked into Before and After Brewing on Sunshine Street for the pre-ride meet-up and quietly sat down. A woman turned to ask her name. Conversation evolved naturally and Bock relaxed. She wasn’t the only one new to the group ride nor the least experienced.
“It definitely wasn't what I thought it would be. It was very welcoming and very encouraging. And I was hearing about other things, rides and stuff, that people do,” she said. Simply meeting other women like herself felt good: “Like getting to talk to another mom sitting next to me who is very similar — her mom's getting ready to move in with them. It was great to connect with other people having similar situations.”
Creating an inclusive environment for making connections is a primary goal for Cycle Connect. Organizers say they’ve met many Josies: women who either haven’t cycled much or haven’t cycled in a while. That’s why leaders break ride events into three categories: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
“You can use any bike — a mountain bike, a gravel bike — and still be able to do it. When we say, ‘every woman, every bike, every surface,’ that’s what that means,” said Angela Jackson, an organization co-founder who leads many rides. “And if it’s your first time doing this kind of thing, if you’re very new or you are kind of unsure of yourself, it’s ok. We have a group for that.”
Getting started
The Cycle Connect organization officially kicked off in April with a first ride that surprised its founders. It was cold and windy, yet 40 women showed up.
“It was amazing. I couldn’t believe it,” said co-founder and community leader Paula Dougherty.
After the ride, participants met at Great Escape Beer Works, which opened early for them. Seeing everyone chatting happily after the ride, Dougherty and Jackson looked at each other in wonder. The concept worked.
“These women were networking and having a good time and meeting other people,” Dougherty said. “Some people that showed up had never done a group ride.”
About 30 to 40 come out for the first Saturday Greenway rides and every time, new women show up. The rides run roughly an hour to 90 minutes, bookended by pre- and post-ride social gatherings. To date, the first Saturday routes have followed the Galloway Creek Trail combined with some easy neighborhood roads.
The beginning group for less experienced or slower riders typically rides seven to 10 miles; the intermediate group, for those who can ride a little faster, goes 10 to 12 miles. Advanced cyclists — the smallest group — might ride 17 to 20 miles.
“It’s really not about distance,” Jackson said. “It’s about spending that time on your bike.”
And it’s about riding with other women, which feels safer for some, especially when no one is left behind or alone — something organizers stress again and again: A no-drop ride means no one is dropped.
Flexibility is built in, too.
“We never know who’s going to show up,” said Kristy Taylor, another ride leader and co-founder who works with Jackson at Kuat Innovations. “Or you might have a mechanical (problem) out there that might slow us down. We get feedback from the group whether to push or not.”
They know riding can feel intimidating for some, Taylor said. She and other leaders are still learning what works and what doesn’t.
“We’re still trying to figure out what the group wants and trying to make it as least intimidating as possible,” she said.
Between the monthly paved rides, organizers plan gravel and mountain bike events at various locations and times, announced through social media. They, too, have attracted more new cyclists than organizers expected. In fact, 35 women — 11 new to group rides – turned out for a recent gravel ride on the Frisco Highline Trail.
Meeting a Community Need
Mary Kromrey, executive director for Ozark Greenways and another Cycle Connect founding member, says the group isn’t the first nor the only one to organize cyclists. But they are unique for offering no-drop rides exclusive to women on a variety of surfaces, from paved to gravel to mountain trails. Leaders are committed to helping women of all skill levels feel welcome and included.
What connects all skill levels is comradery. Cycle Connect was organized to encourage women to do something for themselves outdoors in a supported way while meeting other women.
It’s been exactly what they hoped when founders began meeting last December to establish the organization and discuss how it should work. As a guide, they used advice Dougherty gleaned from The Women of Oz, a women’s mountain bike organization in Northwest Arkansas. Dougherty and several founders were inspired by that group last fall after hearing a presentation by its board chairwoman during a Springfield Community Leadership Visit.
Kromrey connected Dougherty with Jackson, Taylor and Cari Harrison, leaders in the cycling community. In the end, 10 women with a vision founded Cycle Connect.
“It’s been remarkable, I think, that it has gone to the next level so quickly,” Kromrey said.
In addition to making connections, Kromrey said, they hope to cultivate an appreciation for our community, including local trails, and to support small local businesses with social meetups — an economic benefit. In July they met for refreshments at Before and After Brewing on Sunshine Street; previous monthly rides met at Great Escapes Beer Works on Lone Pine Avenue.
Dougherty hopes rides help grow an appreciation for all of our community’s outdoor amenities.
“I hope that it helps individuals to realize that we have the trails here, we have the lakes, we have the hiking, we have the biking. We have a community similar to what Bentonville is offering,” she said.
Kromrey isn’t much of a gravel rider but she went out for the Frisco Highline Trail ride.
“It was great to be there as a bunch of women, some of whom had never been on a group bicycle ride,” Kromery said. “The ages went from 20s to 70s. The gravel part of the Frisco Highline Trail is a pretty ride and the Sac River Bridge was beautiful. It was just so fun to hear so many of the ladies say, ‘Oh, I had no idea this was here.’ Or ‘So this is what you mean by gravel riding.’ It was so positive, and we need more of that.”
It hasn’t been without a few challenges, though. On the Frisco Trail ride, two participants needed a pick-up when they couldn’t get to the end. But that was easily arranged, Kromrey says, and something they expect now and then. Afterward, the group enjoyed lunch at The Hive in Willard.
Making connections
July’s first Saturday ride was the group’s fourth. An hour before rolling out, women trickled into Before and After Brewing, buying coffee and light breakfast fare before sitting down to visit. The friendly atmosphere felt welcoming. Chatter and laughter rose as more women arrived. Taylor laughed over bites: “I’m all about the food if we can tie food to some exercise.”
It was the first Cycle Connect outing for several women like Bock. It was Cally Lampe’s third ride, and she was excited to share that she’d purchased a new bicycle after borrowing one for the first two rides. Lampe said the rides have encouraged her to try something new in a safe environment.
“If you don’t know where to ride, road cycling is scary for people these days,” said Lampe, who rock-climbed for years but never cycled much. Mostly she’s drawn to the camaraderie: “Just being with a group and having people with you. It looked like fun — and it was fun!”
Lampe also bought a pair of bike shorts with padding. Taylor stressed that joining a ride doesn’t require any kind of special clothing.
“You don’t have to have all the gear,” she said. “You can just wear your sweatpants. You just need a helmet and bike.”
A few experienced cyclists chatted about bike routes and recent outings as they waited for the ride to begin. Among them was Dee Romero. She’d been riding gravel for five years and had recently tried mountain biking. Romero was used to riding alone or in small groups. A co-worker of Jackson and Taylor, she’d been recruited to help lead the advanced riders and it would be her first group ride with Cycle Connect.
“I wanted to support Kristy and Angela,” she said.
Soon it was time to roll out. Women spilled out to the parking lot, pulling bikes off racks as leaders called out their groups. Some riders arrived with just minutes to spare. Everyone lined up for a group picture as Jackson rolled her bike out front to welcome the nearly 40 riders.
“Everybody have a helmet? Check. Everybody have a good working bike? Anyone concerned about their bike? Ok good. So, about safety on the road: We are going to use some roads besides the greenways. We will use hand signals …”
Jackson continued to share road and trail safety tips. Then: “Am I missing anything? Take plenty of pictures. Find us on social media. Tag Cycle Connect. And tell your friends that we are for everyone!”
Riders pedaled out in groups with Taylor leading beginners, which included Bock, Lampe and 10 others. After riding neighborhood roads — regrouping at stop signs — they reached the start of Galloway Creek Trail at Pershing Middle School. The pace was slow and easy, with a volunteer in the back.
Within a mile, one rider’s tires were deflating. Word reach Taylor, who stopped the group. A couple of women helped inflate the tires with a portable pump and the group cycled on to Sequiota Park, pausing again to re-group. Conversation flowed, with women pairing up, first with one, then another. Bock felt at ease, getting to know other riders. After another pause, they reached the James River Iron Bridge, stopping for a rest, water and a group photo. Smiles came easy.
Before long, they began heading back. Bock began to tire in the heat.
“I was kind of struggling, but a couple of the ladies stayed with me and helped me and kind of coached me, and encouraged me,” Bock recalled later.
After the ride, Bock felt accomplished. Inside Before and After Brewing, she and others enjoyed cold drinks and chatted over lunch. Her experience — connecting with others and feeling encouraged — is what organizers hoped women would get from the group. After feeling somewhat isolated, the ride was cathartic for Bock.
“I felt relaxed and welcomed. It was really comforting,” she said. “And you know, I was almost in tears — I've missed this.”
Dougherty says she’s seen tears on other riders: “They felt like they accomplished something. They did something they didn’t think they could do, just riding a bike.”
Jackson said encouraging other women and seeing a smile on someone’s face makes the effort worthwhile.
“We’re doing this because we love our community,” she said. “It’s a small way we can help make our community better.”
