Ride Culture can be vital to the cohesiveness of the tour. The Spoke and Heart Collective agreed that we wanted to ride, break bread, sleep, have fun and basically build community together as we ventured across space and time with the world at our finger tips. We were able to do this all while ensuring folks had all of their immediate needs met as well as space for self and individuality. Ride Culture should be discussed prior to the actual ride.  Here are a few items to consider when you’re developing your ride culture:

DECISION MAKING

On the road, there are LOTS of decisions to make.  Where are you going to go? What are you going to eat? When are you going to get up? How far are you going to ride?  Your hub may already have a lot of experience with different kinds of decision making processes, or you may be just figuring out group decision making for the first time.  Because you have to decide so many things over the course of a bike trip, it’s usually a good idea to have some kind of agreed on process for making decisions.  Here are some things to think about:

What type of process do you want to use?  There are many different kinds – consensus decision making, majority rules voting, etc.  The Spoke N’ Heart Collective uses consensus decision making as our process because it best reflects our belief that decisions should work for everyone, and that everyone’s views are important.  A brief outline of the consensus process that Spoke N’ Heart uses is below.

Consensus process

1. ROLES - we have a facilitator, to guide the conversation, and a time-keeper, to watch the time and keep us on schedule.  Time is one of the biggest sources of tension on decision making – it can be a process killer when the sun is going down and you have more miles to ride.  Setting time limits and sticking to them can be difficult, but it’s good practice!

2. PROCESS:

Discussion: To identify opinions and information on the issue at hand. At this point in the process, we make proposals for action and indicate an initial preference for a proposal or portions of a proposal.

Formation of a formal proposal: After the time limit has passed, or when it seems like there is momentum behind a proposal, the facilitator recaps the proposal that we prefer and asks for consensus.

Call for consensus.When the Facilitator calls for consensus on the proposal, we indicate our opinions using the following set of hand signals:

  • 1 finger – you support the proposal, and think it’s awesome
  • 2 fingers – you support the proposal, it’s fine with you.
  • 3 fingers – you feel ok about the proposal – it’s not what you would have chosen for yourself, but you think it’s best for the group
  • 4 fingers – you have concerns about the proposal and do not think it’s best for the group
  • 5 fingers – you block the proposal, and you want to go back to the drawing board

Moving forward: If everyone is a 1, 2, or 3 on a proposal, we went forward with it.  We ask 2’s and 3’s if there are any modifications they’d like to propose to move them up to a 1.  If someone is at a 4 or 5, a new proposal needs to be made.

*One thing we learned is that sometimes a person is just at a 2 or 3, and that’s ok.  It’s easy to spend a lot of time trying to address concerns and get everyone to a 1 when that’s not necessary or realistic.

MONEY

There are a number of methods to manage money while bike touring.  Below are only a few, but the hope is that this will guide you to being able to choose or create a system that is sustainable for your hub and that meets your travel needs and desires while on the Bike Tour.
Collective Money Structure (CMS):

Functioning within a collective can include the use of a collective money system. A Collective Money System involves each person contributing an equal amount of money to be used towards the needs of the tour, the money goes into a “pot” and is used accordingly though out the duration of the tour.  The “pot” is  managed by at least 2 designated people (for the purposes of checks and balances)  who either volunteered or agree to manage the money, these people often are versed in finances, but it is not a must.
Suggestions for a Collective Money System:
  1. Prior to tour departure those who will be responsible for funds should be decided upon and these two people should develop a money tracking and a reporting method. These tools should also be introduced to the Collective so that it is aware of  how things will work.
  2. Financial report outs to Collective should be facilitated on an ongoing basis (report back timing should be decided by the collective). Spoke n Heart received report backs every 3 days.
  3. A Finance book should be used to document spending. Spending should be documented on a daily basis.
  4. Prior to departure Hubs should decide what items will be covered by the collective money.  This decision should be made before the tour to ensure everyone knows what to expect. Spoke n Heart paid for the following items from the “pot” of money: all food with only 10% of food money going to animal products (this was a decisioni based on folks food politics), lodging, transportation, and medical care.

FOOD!!

On the road, so much revolves around food.  When your body is devouring calories the way it does when you’re biking all day, there are few things more present than the next meal. The ways we eat, and how we approach nourishment and food itself are all related to who we are, our politics, and the contexts in which we learned to eat.

As a hub, you will need to decide what you will eat and why. This may mean that you all buy your own food and cook separately or in small groups, or it may mean that you have a communal food budget and buy food collectively.  Some of you may not eat animal products at all, while some of you may crave meat with deep gnawing hunger, and want to eat it at every meal.  But with entire grocery stores full of food, and hungry bellies to fill, how to decide what to buy?

One approach is to take some time discussing your food values, and the principles those values suggested.  For example, the Spoke N’ Heart collective began with one value that captured much of why we had chosen to travel by bicycle – we valued living lightly on the earth.  From there, we developed principles – that is, decided that if living lightly on the earth was our value, what did that mean about what we ate and where we purchased food? For us, it meant prioritizing shopping at local grocers, eating food that was grown locally, buying in bulk, buying as little packaged food as possible, devoting less than 10% of our food budget each day to animal products, shopping at farmer’s markets and farm stands as much as possible, supporting farmers of color and communities of color, and buying as little as possible from huge corporations.

Other things your hub may want to think about are creating a wants and needs list – every rider adds needs – foods they absolutely have to have to sustain themselves – and wants – things that are nice to have but not necessary.  The grocery shoppers can take this list with them as they shop to make sure that everyone’s needs are being met.  Another consideration is buying personal food – if one person has a very specialized diet (for example, they’re gluten intolerant), how does that affect the food that your hub buys? How does it change the way you cook?

CONFLICT


Conflict is natural within a group, and should be addressed as a positive thing to encounter. There is ample opportunity to grow and evolve from encountering conflict because in the end how you deal with the conflict will determine the results. Below are a couple of suggestions to foster positive conflict resolution while bike touring:

  1. Be honest and thoughtful in your communication
  2. Always assume good intention
  3. Develop a code word that will inform folks that you are at a point of heightened emotion and need “something” (space to think, a hug, etc..). You can explain what that “something” is to everyone before hand and how you would like them to engage with you when you use that code word.
  4. Take a moment alone before responding to conflict
  5. Debrief circles upon encountering conflict
  6. Identifying and assess your triggers- what makes you so angry that you’re unable to move forward? How will you let other people know you’re triggered?
  7. Be open to what will assist you in resolving the core of the conflict
  8. Identify the role you played in the conflict prior to pointing the finger at others
  9. Remain solution oriented

RIDING

When you’re riding with a group of people, chances are you won’t all ride at the exact same speed.  If you do, you can go ahead and skip this section. Otherwise, you probably want to talk about how you’re going to ride together. As Spoke n Heart hit the road natural riding groups developed. The Jump up and get Head crew was made up of folks who enjoyed the wind blowing rapidly through their hair and the sense of freedom felt as they flew on wheels. The others strolled along at a comfortable pace watching life pass them as they enjoyed the sense of freedom that came from being away from the fast pace of an Urban setting.  This crew we called the Kick It Crew and on any given day those who felt they wanted to  hang back and not ride as hard would kick it in this crew.  These crews became pretty consistent where those in each group tend to remain in the same crew.  A Swinger Crew eventually developed that folks who fell into neither the Jump up and get Head Crew or Kick it Crew. The Swinger Crew was made of those who often did not ride as fast as the Jump up and get Head Crew or as slow as the Kick it Crew, they rode in and out of each crew and became the Swinger crew, those who swung from either crew at any given time.

  • Jump up and get head Crew- This crew tends to be those who rise early and are the first ones to hit the road. they get to designated breaks stops first and upon arriving at the designated lunch spot they also prepare lunch for the entire Collective. Upon riding into the daily camp site this crew secures the camp site, paying if necessary or checking in with the host.
  • Swinger Crew- Swinger Crew folks may leave as early as the Jump up and get Head crew or later with the Kick it Crew, but they naturally fall out of either of those crews and develop their own natural pace.  They often end up supporting the set up of lunch and the clean up of lunch due to their positioning of coming in after the Jump up crew and before the Kick it Crew
  • Kick it Crew- This crew tends to leave a little later or fall back a great deal. They clean up lunch and upon arriving at the camp site they often immediately jump into their roles in regard to cooking and night time activities.

No matter what pace you ride, think about having someone who has medical experience and someone who knows how to fix bikes in your Kick it Crew.

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION WHILE ON TOUR


As off the wall as this may seem, it is very necessary to discuss other modes of transportiaon that might be necessary along the bike tour. Someone could get hurt, your hub from jump street may decide to use a support vehicle (see below), you may need to make up a day of riding due to timing mishaps the prior day; who knows why you may need additional forms of transportation, but we have a few suggestions  about what to consider as you’re making these decisions:

  1. Prior to departing for the tour, have your hub agree to what forms of transportation you’re willing to use. For example, are you willing to hitchhike?  rent a car? take a bus? take a train? ride a llama?
  2. Know what your alternative forms of transportation are – bus routes in each city and from city to city in case of emergency, including phone numbers and how often they come.
  3. In an emergency, you may need a large vehicle (like a U-Haul) if your entire hub needs to make up mileage. Piling riders and their bikes into a U-Haul can ensure that you remain on schedule to arrive as planned.  For the record, it’s technically illegal to have people in the back of a U-Haul. Luckily, there aren’t any windows back there, so no one can see inside.
  4. Having a support vehicle! Some groups decide to bring a vehicle with them to carry gear, transport riders who can’t ride for any reason, and shop for supplies.  There are definite advantages and disadvantages to having a vehicle.
    • Advantages: you don’t have to carry all your belongings and supplies on your bicycle. This means you can ride faster and farther. It also can be reassuring to less experienced riders to know that if they get tired they can ride in the vehicle.  You can carry more supplies with you (like larger stoves, a cook tent, etc) than you can with just bicycles.  If people get injured or sick, they can ride in the van without slowing the group down.
    • Disadvantages: someone always has to drive, which can have a negative impact on the group dynamic. Coordinating picking people up (if people decide to stop during the middle of the day) can be complicated and lead to tension if people are waiting.  It burns fossil fuel and consumes lots of money in the form of gasoline. If your vehicle breaks, you probably have to repair it, which can be extremely expensive.