How to Make Friends While Riding Bikes — The Secrets to BFF Success

Hey girls! I wanted to write this article based on my own experience—and on Lindsay’s experiences in the upcoming Shred Girls book “Lindsay’s Joyride”! (More on that release date later…). Anyway, those of you who’ve been reading all the interviews with different Shred Girls on here may have noticed a trend: I always ask about how they made friends while riding, because to be honest, it’s something I struggled with a lot when I first started. If you’re shy like me, they had a few great pieces of advice!

(One more side note, for those of you who might not like the idea of putting yourselves out there and trying to make new friends: Even as a shy kid, I have to admit that riding bikes got a lot more fun once I found friends. So if you like riding solo, that’s awesome, but it’s not such a bad thing to find some people to ride with occasionally!)

Find a Group Ride

“My advice for younger girls would be to find a good group of girls to ride with because it makes starting out easier and more enjoyable. I loved doing group rides when I was younger with all of the other girls because we would all make each other faster and be competitive with one another, but still be very good friends afterwards.” -Sarah Fabbro (Note that the pic above is Sarah a few years ago—and she’s still good friends with all of those girls now!)

(Read Sarah’s story here.)

Go Ride More (Where Other People Are Riding!)

“I have made so many amazing friends although, I didn’t really know anyone at joyride until recently. Going more often you tend to see the same people and meeting people becomes easier. I am super shy and will rarely start a conversation with someone new but the great thing about riding is you already know that you have something in common! Every girl I have met through riding has been super rad so there is nothing to be scared of! Meeting the first few people is the hardest, but it becomes easier once you start to make some friends that ride. A great place to start is at Joyride 150’s Women’s Weekend! The park is only girls and the skills range from people just getting on a bike to some really experienced riders. This makes it a great environment to meet new people, everyone is there to learn new things and have fun. If you see someone trying something that you can do, go offer them some advice. If someone is trying something that you also want to learn, go learn it with them! I am more intimidated talking to people that are better than I am but I’ve finally started doing it and it has never failed! In my experiences, people that ride bikes are all pretty awesome and there’s no reason to be scared to talk to them!” -Dezi Smith

(Read Dezi’s full story here.)

 

Look for a Local Team

A few local bike shops in my area have junior cycling development teams, I did one series a few years ago, it lasted a few weeks and was a lot of fun, you get to meet other girls and boys that also love to ride their mountain bike and the coaches teach you lots of cool stuff.” -Sammy White

(Read Sammy’s story here)

 

Be You

“Honestly, all of my closest friends are people that I met at Joyride, and I’m so happy that I have them to help me out and encourage me when I need it. My best tip for talking to new people would be to just be yourself; the BMX community is extremely welcoming, and everyone starts somewhere, so don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help if you need it!” -Kierstyn William

(Read Kierstyn’s story here.)

Talk About Other Stuff Too

“Just start a conversation—and it doesn’t have to be about bikes. It can be about other sports you’ve tried or that you do, or places you want to ride, or people you know who ride—you’d be surprised who knows who!” -Laine Bradley

(Read Laine’s story here.)

Ask for Help

One of my favorite things about racing/cycling is meeting new friends and even though this is only my second season being on a team. I’ve met a ton of really nice people. One of the best tips I use is that I ask some one (one of my coaches, or older girl) to pre-ride with me and maybe show me some good lines or tricks.” =Riley Pearman

(Read Riley’s story here)

Know That It’s Worth It

I’m an extroverted introvert and I tend to get pretty intense when I’m focused on a mission (like at a race or event), and it’s really intimidating to meet people because of the way my brain works. I dislike ‘distractions’, but the relationships I’ve made through racing and riding and getting out of my comfort zone have been the best part of my life. Seriously. My tips for talking to new people? Everyone is dealing with their own stuff and fighting their own battles. We have more in common with people than we imagine and when we take that first step to just say ‘hello’ or flash a fast smile, we can make friends. It’s taught me so much about the simple things — connecting with other people and loving them is so, so worth a moment of discomfort… And it gets easier. Maybe only a little bit (and I constantly have to remind myself that I’m okay, that “I got this”), but it does. Like anything challenging but ultimately worth doing, it takes practice. Just saying hello, asking how people are, truly engaging and connecting with people is really cool, and there are so many rad folks out there — I look at it like another adventure. I like to ask myself “What secrets does this person want to tell? What’s their story? What don’t they get asked a lot? What made them, them?” And it helps, because ultimately it’s about caring about that person as a human.” -Amanda Batty

(Read Amanda’s story here)

 

 

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