(Welcome to the FIRST DRAFT of this scheme. If you’re seeing this… then you’re special!)

Cycling in Europe is amazing… but what if you don’t want to go solo?

Bicycle touring in Europe is charming, delightful, and relatively easy. Grab your bike, throw some layers into your panniers, choose a EuroVelo route, book a bed online (or show up at a campsite), eat delicious things, pedal, see beautiful things, pedal, drink beer/wine/cider/espresso in a picturesque plaza, sleep, repeat.

European bicycle touring is so simple and pleasant, in fact, that many people—even first-time cycle tourists—can plan their own adventures. As long as you’re already familiar with independent travel, you probably don’t need (or want) a bicycle tour group, especially not an expensive one that might constrain your freedom.

But you still might lack one, big, important thing: cool riding partners.

This doesn’t mean people who will pedal right beside you all day long. Rather it means: friendly and interesting fellow travelers who are hoping to share meals, moments, and conversations with equally independent adventurers. It also means: people who respect your autonomy but will also be there if you’re having a hard day, struggling to change a flat tire, or feeling particularly lonely.

Where does one find such people? Do you hope to meet someone on the road or at a campground? Do you post something online? And even if you already do have a friend or partner to ride with… would both of you, perhaps, enjoy more company?

If community is a priority for your bicycle adventure, but you’re too thrifty, independent, and self-sufficient to join an organized group trip, then how can you meet cool riding partners who are taking the same path as you—both geographically and ideologically—without resigning yourself to the luck of the universe?

Enter: Community Rides with Blake

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