The trickiest part of getting attendees to register for a difficult cycling event is convincing them that they’re up to the challenge. Spin the District’s Union City Road Fondo & Gravel Grind includes several grueling rides, some of which are over 100 miles long and all of which are basically made of 1,000 hills. Naturally, a lot of first-time Fondo riders question whether they have what it takes to be successful. Will they have fun? Will they embarrass themselves? When marketing the event to new participants, it’s up to us to give them the confidence to come out and give it a shot.
In 2021, we connected with potential riders on social media by jumping in to help guide their training. #Spincouragement was born. Each post pulled the appropriate conditioning time or distance from our training schedule, then contextualized it to emphasize achievability: two hours spent pedaling doesn’t feel nearly as long as two hours watching Cats; cycling 40 miles is nothing compared to a compy swimming 120 miles for a seaside snack; if true love can make you walk 500 miles—twice!—then what’s a quick 80 on a bike, really? You can do this.
