Since Covid-19 struck and restrictions were imposed throughout society Oslo Dawn Patrol has been on hold. It hasn’t been the time for group rides with 30+ people.
But things are turning to the better know, and on Tuesday we took the first small step towards getting Oslo Dawn Patrol back on the road again. There are still quite strict limits on how many people can gather and the Norwegian Cycling Federation does not recommend group rides just yet. But I had an idea of getting people out cycling early and keep the spirit around Dawn Patrol alive. I thought about doing it already early on in the lock down (back in the beginning of April), but realized that we weren’t ready for it then. But now was the time!
Svartskog Kolonial is a small countryside cafe and shop, which sits very close to the normal Dawn Patrol route. But obviously it’s usually closed when we pass it around 6.15am. But this week they were so kind to open their cafe and out door seating between 6am and 7.30am for us. Within that time frame early birds arrived for coffee, waffles, cinnamon buns, smoothies etc. had a chat with all the people they haven’t been able to ride with for two months. I didn’t arrange any group riding out there. People were to make their own way and I set it as a requirement that they arrived alone or maximum 5 riders together. I think most people actually respected that.
Throughout the morning around 40 people dropped by and it was super cosy. The feedback was phenomenal and there has been numerous requests to do it again. So I guess we’ll do it again soon 🙂 An out door coffee event with social distance was superb. Just what we needed!
In order to meet the demand for early
morning cycling in Oslo in 2020, I’m looking for 2-3 people who can assist as
road captains at Oslo Dawn Patrol rides. You will be responsible for organizing
and leading Oslo Dawn Patrol once or twice every month. In addition you will be
co-leading the group when the turn-out is high during summer.
The ideal candidate can say yes to the
following:
Cycling is your passion!
Experienced group rider.
Never late but always on time.
Ability to verbally and clearly communicate important information to a large group of people (in either Norwegian or English).
Comfortable giving feed back and directions to less experienced riders on how to ride a bike most effectively.
Equally comfortable giving directions to riders who are much stronger and more experienced than yourself as well as tell them to shut up and slow down if that is needed.
Basic first aid skills.
And you can ride up Kongsveien in 6½ minute (7.45 with studs) without being pushed beyond your limit.
This is your chance to get to know a lot
of great people and get well connected in the Norwegian cycling community, as
well as developing your organisational and leadership skills. I’m also working
on a compensation model, where you will be rewarded for your time and efforts.
However, this will mostly be of a symbolic character, so don’t quit you day job
just yet.
Anyone who might be interested is encouraged to reach out, regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, nationality, number of years you’ve been cycling etc. Nothing should hold you back.
And another thing: just because you might not think you fulfill all the points listed above doesn’t mean you aren’t the right person. None of us have it all.
Back in 2016 (I think) a guy called Christian Meier and his wife, Amber, started The Service Course in Girona. According to the website they give you a “world class cycling experience”. I’ve never been there, but from what I hear it’s a pretty cool place. And it probably doesn’t hurt that it’s in Girona, which is a pretty good destination for a cyclist. This weekend they opened up a branch her in Oslo as well.
I’ll admit that it’s not totally clear to me what exactly their business model her in Oslo is. It’s not a normal bike shop. Not a training studio. Not a travel agency. But a bit everything I guess. They have been pretty clear that gravel is the unique selling point here in Oslo. Attracting cyclists to Oslo to get the chance to ride some of the fantastic gravel routes we have just outside of town is certainly a good idea. But the season is short; the weather is not what Girona can offer; and Norway is an expensive destination for tourists. So it’s going to be interesting to see if they can actually get customers to pay the price for this.
In addition to the gravel tour guiding and selling insanely expensive custom built bikes they do actually have a Zwift training studio as well. For a place like Oslo with a winter lasting for six month and quite a bit of snow, I have no doubt that this is a good addition to the concept. I don’t just say that because the studio is fitted with bikes from my personal sponsor – DARE Bikes Norge. I honestly think its’ a good offer to the local cycling community for them to stay fit – as well as stay in touch – through the winter. Most have their own Zwift setup at home in a small pain cave in the garage or a shed in the garden. But being able to ride Zwift in more fresh surroundings is definitely attractive. It all depends on how much it’ll cost. Not everyone ride outdoor all year like myself. Even I could be tempted to sign up for that studio.
It’s not spinning. It’s Zwift training on Dare Bikes 🙂
The Sunday Salida
On Sunday they hosted the first – of hopefully many – open social group rides, Sunday Salidas. It’s something they do down in Girona as well. I had been looking forward to this. After I started Oslo Dawn Patrol I’ve been hosting a lot of group rides with large groups of people. That’s hard work so I was looking forward to join as one the riders and just have a good time. But obviously, I couldn’t stop myself from taking a few mental notes on how they did things and what I would have done different myself.
Let me be clear: It was a great ride! Around 35 people on a cold and snowy Sunday. That’s good. We did a 2-hour loop on what is normally gravel, but was snow covered roads on the day. It was a good route that wasn’t too long or too difficult – apart from the fact that it was soft snow. But that’s just fun.
That being said, there’s room for improvement. The pace was high from the start. We dropped people already on the way out of town and after about 8 km, we turned into the woods. Unfortunately, a small group had been caught by a red light (and we didn’t wait), so they missed the turn and continued straight ahead. Out of pure luck they found us half an hour later when our paths suddenly crossed. It was a coincidence that basically shouldn’t be possible. It was not a social ride. It was a tough ride. I myself got dropped a couple of times and only managed to catch up when there was a short stop in the front group. The sequence below from Strava Flyby is a good example of how a left turn was missed by quite a few people. Where were the road captain and the lantern rouge? As I said: room for improvement. But it’s actually just minor adjustments that will make all the difference.
The group was stretched out after a long climb. The front group turning left, without re-grouping.
But still, it was a good day out for me. I met a lot of people, which is always nice. And I’m always impressed when someone takes a chance and starts something up. No doubt The Service Course is going to be good for the entire cycling community in Oslo. And I hope they will make it. Kudos to the team at The Service Course Oslo.
Photo credit: All the photos in this post are from the Facebook page of The Service Course Oslo. Give them a follow.
One of the things that I’ve learned about Oslo Dawn Patrol, is that when people share a passion there is a high appetite for socializing – also in settings that doesn’t exactly involve the shared passion. I’ve realized that a lot of the people who show up for Dawn Patrol are connecting with each other also outside the core setting of Oslo Dawn Patrol. Friendships have been made and I even have a feeling that some might have hooked up (but I’m not gonna pry into that – you’ll have to pick up your gossip somewhere else!). I don’t think you can imagine how good it feels when you see people build relations through something that you’ve arranged. That alone makes it worth it all.
Festive ODP is what we called the night!
This eagerness to spend time together was also why I decided to throw a fairly low key party on Saturday. I pretty much did it the easiest way possible: reserving a few tables at Calmeyer’s Hage – a cool sky bare at the top of the newly renovated Clarion Hotel The Hub in Oslo city center. The manager there happens to be one of the regulars at Oslo Dawn Patrol. Thanks Aaron! All I did was to invite people to come over for drinks at their own expense. Aaron pulled some strings and arranged a bit of complimentary champagne and some seafood snacks to get the conversation going. But from there we were on our own. And we had a blast! About 35 people showed up – both those who’ve done 30+ Dawn Patrols and those who’ve only done one! Again I saw people talking to people they’ve never met before like they were old friends. And it wasn’t just because of intoxication.
Pre cocktail ride on a lovely autumn day.
Obviously, I made sure that there was an option join a social ride in the afternoon. I have a theory that the longer the time span is between hanging out together on the bike and an off-bike activity the more difficult it is to convince yourself that it’s a good idea to go. And it seemed to work, since most of those who joined me riding in the afternoon showed up for drinks as well!
