Earlier this year, the Northampton Cycling Club started using Link My Ride, a pre-ride organizational platform for mobile devices, as its ride management application.
Link My Ride has helped the NCC organize club rides, see who is planning to attend rides, and have participants ask questions or add comments about a ride.
It has also greatly simplified the process for weather related group ride cancellations, which unfortunately, we have had more than our fair share of this season. For riders who have already signed up for a ride through Link My Ride, the app lets them know of a cancellation with a notification to their mobile phone. If a rider tries to sign up after the cancellation, they will see that the ride has been cancelled.
The Link My Ride team has welcomed our feedback throughout the year. A recent update to the app includes many features we have requested, including:
- Displaying the correct elevation gain estimations on ride routes (please note that every service provides slightly different elevation estimates)
- Increasing the length of ride descriptions, which will allow us to provide greater detail, if needed, about the ride
- Granting the ability to include clickable links in the ride description and comments
A new feature that will make life easier for participants and ride leaders is the inclusion of the NCC ride waiver in the app. When you click “Attend Ride,” a popup window will appear asking you to acknowledge the NCC waiver. After clicking the checkbox and hitting continue, you are signed up for the ride.
Link My Ride will also ask if you would like to share your email address with the NCC. This is completely optional (the NCC already has email addresses for club members).
The grand majority of the NCC’s regular group riders are actively using Link My Ride. If you have not tried it yet, please do. Riders may download the app in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. We have complete instructions on how to create a free account, follow the NCC, attend NCC rides, download GPS routes, receive cancellation notices, and adjust your settings/privacy on the NCC’s Link My Ride page.
With the weather being questionable for July 29th’s Saturday B ride (📲 Link) and C ride (📲 Link ), please remember to use Link My Ride to be notified of any changes.
