Meeting in front of the “Goose Girl Fountain” in Covington every other week, Ride the Cov aims to spread the love of cycling.
“We’re a group of local people who are all really passionate about cycling and making Covington a more walkable, bikeable and safe place to live,” said Ride the Cov President Nate Weyand-Geise.
The group, which Weyand-Geise said currently has around 200 members, has been going since 2017.
However, Ride the Cov member Marty Boyer said he first started his “Love the Cov” ride in 2016. He was inspired after participating in a similar group ride in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood. He lived in Covington at the time and said, “I thought, ‘why don’t we have something like this in Covington?’”
Boyer said he started the ride which had around 20-30 participants but was having a hard time spreading the word, then Ride the Cov came about and they joined forces, “I always say, lets just get butts in bicycle seats.”
This is the first year the organization is doing a winter ride. To take advantage of the most sunlight in the cold months, the group meets at the statue in George Steinford Park at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. During the spring, summer and fall, the group meets Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
The rides are typically between seven and 12 miles and take around an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes.
“We try to keep them approachable for most people who are comfortable riding bike,” said Boyer. “So even if you have a single gear or more simple bike, we would make it approachable for everyone to ride and feel safe in a group.”
Boyer said they even see people join with rented bikes from Red Bike, the bicycle rideshare organization in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
For safety and to try to keep the group together, Boyer said, they implement a technique called corking where, when crossing a road, a few riders will block traffic so the rest can get through.
Boyer referred to the ride as a “no drop ride,” which he said means “if you’re with us and you want to continue, we’ll make sure you’re with us the entire ride.” The group implements what they call “sweepers,” who stay in the back in case someone has a mechanical problem or other issue. They also encourage riders to wear helmets.
Each ride is themed, and Weyand-Geise said they seek to explore and celebrate different parts of the river cities on safe cycling paths. Often taking paths to check out unique architecture and views.
On Feb. 8, the group took a ride to Ludlow along the Riverfront Commons trail and, to get out of the rain, stopped at Taste On Elm for a little wine and cheese.
After heavy rains led the Ohio River to flood in mid-February, Weyand-Geise decided to organize what they labled as their first ever “Trash Panda Ride,” where the group cleared up garbage and debris from the Riverfront Commons.
“It only felt natural that after such a crazy flood, we would go and help clean up the riverfront a little bit, do our part as people who use the train every day,” said Weyand-Geise.
The group used the tools they had at their disposal. Weyand-Geise said they had a cargo bike that allowed them to haul barrels, tires and other heavy things to a nearby city dumpster.
“Our whole mission is to make Covington a better place to live, and it only felt natural that clearing up trash is part of that,” said Weyand-Geise.