Find cycling buddies near you: meet BikeCrew

Sunday, 8 a.m. Tyres pumped, bottles filled, route loaded. And once again, you're the only one at the meeting point. Riding solo has its charm, but let's be honest: a headwind feels twice as strong when nobody takes a turn at the front.

That's exactly what BikeCrew, the app for finding cycling buddies near you sets out to fix. It's free on iOS and Android, available across Europe, and it connects riders who want to roll together: road, gravel or mountain bike. Its motto says it all: Making Riding Social. More than 3,000 riders are already active on it.

From your sofa to the group ride in four steps

1. Create your profile: bike type, pace, interests. No need to round your average speed up, it's for your own good.
2. Discover riders who match you, right around where you live.
3. Join a ride, or organise your own: draw the route yourself, or let the AI build one for you (Pro version).
4. Chat with your crew in the app to settle the start time, the route and, let's face it, the coffee stop.

Then comes the best part: you ride together.

Why it deserves a spot on your phone

• Riding alone becomes a choice, not a default: group rides, crews and crew chats are all in the free version. No subscription needed to find company.
• A crew at your level: everyone fills in their bike and their pace, so you're less likely to get dropped on the first climb, or to wait at every junction.
• Everything in one place: the ride and the conversation live in the same app. No more group chats with 47 unread messages and nobody sure where to meet.

Free or Pro: what you get

• Free: group rides, crews, crew chats, and you can see 5 riders near you.
• Pro (from €1.99 a week): every rider in your area, unlimited messages and AI-generated routes.

My advice: start free, join a ride or two, and only go Pro if you want to see everyone riding around you or let the AI plan your loops.

Ride together, then race together

A crew is also the best training plan around. Once you've found your Sunday group, give it a shared goal: a gravel event for the adventurers, a sportive for the road crew, a mountain bike race for those who prefer mud to tarmac. Winter miles go faster when the date is on the calendar, and a finish line feels even better when you cross it with friends.

Your next ride starts here

Download BikeCrew on the App Store or Google Play, fill in your profile and join your first group ride this weekend. Worst case, you meet new people. Best case, someone else takes the wind for you.

One last word for my friend Thun, a Dutchman I met on a trip to Porto, where I was working remotely. Thun, see you on the road!

Timothy