Breakfast Club is for everyone. We don’t care if it’s your first time riding a bike or if you’ve raced in the Tour de France. Once a month, join us on a Saturday morning at Central Machine Works for coffee, a two hour ride and breakfast.
Emphasis on the latter.
SHOW UP
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New to cycling? We’ll build you up. Slow? We’ll make you faster. Fast? We’ll make you slower.
Show up to Central Machine Works (CMW) once a month for the big ride. CMW is our home… but sometimes we change that up though because life is short and we like to have fun. Show up BEFORE the 8:00 AM roll out & enter through CMW’s back parking lot on E 5th Street. We have the place to ourselves and once inside you’ll find:
Hundreds of people of all skill levels, including our ride leaders dressed in Smith yellow helmets & Pas Normal Studios kit, who are there for the same reason you are
Coffee from The Meteor Cafe to wake ya up
Carbs from Maurten, water, and maybe some other fun stuff
The Specialized Austin crew for good vibes and all of your pre-ride mechanic needs
Ascension Seton for any medical needs that may come up
Bike racks to use while you talk to others and get stoked to ride
THE PRE-RIDE CHAT
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About 5 minutes before the ride starts we’ll gather everyone together to talk about the ride and one of our ride leaders will be on the mic. We get it, attention spans are short, but we always have a few important things to say about the ride, the routes and safety.
Each group is unique in how it rolls, and our ride leaders, the ones in YELLOW HELMETS, will be around during the pre-ride speech to help you identify which group is where. More on that below… keep going!
choose your group & get rolling
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Breakfast Club is for everyone and we mean it!
We ride in 4 groups: A, B, C and D. Groups A, B and C have vehicle escorts, often times with an officer both in front of and behind each group. We have several ride leaders who will be sprinkled throughout the groups as well as a support vehicle & on-ride medical staff from Ascension Seton in case of emergency.
Before roll out, the ride leader on the mic will call out each group and have everyone stage on 5th Street.
First time and not sure who to ride with? We recommend going one group lower than you want so you can get a feel for how it all works. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a good time and know where to go next time.
A GROUP (Drop Ride)
Our fastest group. It’s hard to put a speed on it, but know that this group likes to MOVE. Ride leaders will regroup once or twice throughout the morning, but the stops will be brief to keep the route rolling. Don’t fret, if you fall off know that B group will more than likely be behind ya on a similar route ready to scoop you up.
B GROUP (Drop Ride)
Possibly our largest group. While this one doesn’t roll quite as fast as A group, B group tries to keep a constant, slightly slower pace on a slightly shorter route. The ride leaders will regroup a few times throughout the ride, a bit longer than A does, and try their best to keep everyone together. Towards the end of the ride, the group can stretch out a bit, but don’t worry, you will more than likely find yourself among plenty of other folks heading back to CMW to earn what ya burned.
C GROUP (Drop Ride)
New to riding in big groups? This is the one for you. The ride leaders spend a lot of time helping with the basics of riding etiquette and regroup several times. While this is still technically a drop ride, C group tries its very best to always stay together and can sometimes split into C+ and C- depending on the route of the day. You can also likely count on at least one mass photo stop during the ride. If you don’t know about it, you just have to experience it!
D GROUP ROAD (Drop-ish Ride)
This group is the soul of Breakfast Club and an absolute no-drop ride. “No Drop” means that the group stays together NO MATTER WHAT. This is a great one for first-time riders or those who may have been off the bike for a while… we’ve all been there! D group will do the same route nearly every month, rolling around town, regrouping as needed, learning the basics of group riding & calling out road debris. Above all, D group will have a GOOD TIME.
BREAKFAST!
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The real reason everyone showed up
Rack your bike and grab yourself some breakfast! Central Machine Works opens early just for us, so sit wherever you like and order yourself a pint (if you indulge) and a breakfast burrito (or pizza). Breakfast Club is full of so many incredible people so play musical tables and meet someone new. ANYONE is welcome for this part, whether you ride bikes or not, so have your family, your neighbor, your dog or your neighbor’s dog meet you to enjoy the party.
