Orientation Ride (OR) season for the 2019 RFMC-CNY runs April 4th through the Ride in June. We will have a scheduled OR every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday excluding some holidays, all will be announced.  All rides will be posted through email, Facebook, and text (for those that opted in).

Orientation Rides will be staged from 3 primary locations:

  • THURSDAY: Whitesboro High School (6000 State Route 291, Marcy, NY) departing promptly 5:45pm
    Thursday night will be the after work Ride; consisting of a 17 to 25 mile route up into the hills around Holland Patent and back to Whitesboro.  These are a great opportunity to work on ascending skills and “up tempo” pacing as we’ll be racing the sun to the horizon.”
  • SATURDAY: Westmoreland Middle School (5176 State Route 233, Westmoreland, NY) departing promptly 9:00am
    These rides are our Law Enforcement Assisted Ride where we will cover more ground working on the fundamentals of the Rules of the Road for group riding and encounter a representative sample of what you can expect on Ride Day. (20-30 miles on average)
  • SUNDAY: Thrive/ PAR (8387 Seneca Turnpike, New Hartford, NY) departing promptly 9:00am
    These routes are our throwback Rides.  For those of you who have participated in the ride over the years, this day is dedicated to the scenic routes with plenty of saddle time and the ability to practice a mock school stop at one of the areas many convenience stores or schools.  Pack a few dollars in the saddle bag and treat yourself to an ice cream cone or other suitable snack at our mid-point “Get to Know and Get To GO” comfort stop.  These rides are fun and full of Ride Day terrain and pace.   With smaller groups expected; you’ll experience a more comfortable ride along the way.  For you newer riders: keep these dates open and come join the fun of distance riding (20-60 miles – We’ll start with shorter routes and stretch it out a bit as we get closer to ride day.)

If we plan to depart from a different location, we will post any changed well in advance.

Registration and Scanning Information

For this year’s Orientation Rides we will use the scanning process that we used last year. You will need to register for the OR you plan to attend at www.ticketsource.us/ride-for-missing-children. For instructions, click here.

  • You will be able to download the bar code for that day’s OR on your smartphone, there will be someone there to scan it.
  • If you don’t have a smartphone, you can register online and print your bar code, bring it with you for the OR.
  • If you aren’t able to follow this procedure at home, there will be someone at the OR to assist you; however please arrive 30 minutes prior to departure time so that you will have time to scan in.

General Orientation Ride Info 

The orientation rides are designed to teach riders things that will be critical to safety during The Ride for Missing Children. These important factors need to be understood and practiced so that on Ride day there are no serious crashes and the group is able to stay on schedule for the school stops.

Learning to ride side by side and staying in a tight organized line on the road is very important. The more organized the line, the safer it is. The more efficiently we move through traffic and intersections the better, keeping the motoring public from being delayed and/or aggravated with us.

Communication is vital to keeping the riders safe as well. Turns, stops, dangerous road sections and approaching traffic all pose a threat to a large group ride. Leaning to get this important information to all the riders in a timely fashion is a main goal of the orientation rides.

Fitness is a part of the process too. You should still be riding on your own in order to be ready for a century. You will see rapid improvement with one or two short, fast, intense, rides mid week. The orientation rides will be approximately 20 miles in length.

On orientation rides, as on Ride day, some riders have the role of “shepherd.” These riders are dressed in white jerseys so that they are easily identified. Shepherds lead the route, control the pace, and help individual riders who may be having physical or mechanical trouble.

Riders who attend orientation rides on a regular basis are sure to realize the benefits on the day of the actual event and often thank the shepherds for their efforts leading up to the big day. When you train and ride as a team we all ride safer and happier.

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