The Basics
First and foremost, BCADV is a group humans that exists in the real, dirt world. We’re a volunteer-run 501(c)(7) with real lives, jobs, families, hobbies, and struggles, and the goal of this club is to make a positive difference in that world. We’d prefer a smaller, engaged real-world community over a ton of online lurkers. We all get the most value when we show up.
We’ve never talked about club values, but if I (Gino) had to summarize what I’ve witnessed, they’re something like:
Give more than you take. Be generous with your time, knowledge, encouragement, and whatever resources you might have to share. Ask for nothing in return. You can change a life and not even know you’re doing it.
Build trust. For communities to thrive, trust is a necessity. With ADV and motorcycling in particular, it’s inherently dangerous, and some of the places we go require that everyone in the group can be relied on. It also just feels damn good to have a crew you can trust on the trail, and at home. Be honest with your skill level as well - this builds trust, and is safer for everyone.
Show up. Showing up for the first time in a group of people you don’t know can be hard, uncomfortable, and often prevents people from doing the damn thing. Rest assured that anyone in our club has been vetted to some extent, and while we don’t all believe all the same things, we’re a good group of humans. People are just social apes; we need community, and it’s great for our mental health.
Does the BCADV forum have an app?
Yep. It’s called Discourse Hub:
Apple iOS app is here, and the Android app is here.
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Download the app.
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Enter the BCADV Discourse URL: bcadv.discourse.group
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Sign in.
How do I become a BCADV member?
Our full membership requirements are simple. You must:
- Come to one BCADV moto social (aka “meeting”) on the last Tuesday at 6pm of every month (location changes) and/or:
- Attend one official BCADV event/ride
- Be voted in (We do not take this seriously, but it’s fun to hold votes.)
- Once all those things happen, then you pay our annual dues ($30), which go to hosting and maintaining this forum, and then you get full access to all the perks of being a BCADV member.
Do BCADV Members get perks or discounts on stuff?
Yep. We’re a 501(c)(7) non-profit with annual membership dues. For active members, there are discounts available with our partners, as well as invites to private rides, trips, events, and more.
How hard are BCADV routes?
We have a rating system for that:
A: Intermediate / Advanced — If you’re familiar with the riding above Boulder, an example would be 68J, WestMag or Moon Gulch on a big bike. You know how to ride off road well, and have done it a lot.
B: Beginner+ or intermediate — Example: Switzerland Trail on a big bike. You aren’t advanced, but it isn’t your first time off road in that you’re ok with loose, semi-steep terrain, embedded rocks, etc.
C: Beginner — county graded roads
Magnolia, Sugarloaf, Gold Hill Road. You’re new to off road.
When we post rides, we also do our best to communicate how fast (ripper) or chill (explorer) the ride will be. We call this the Ripper-Explorer scale. Many rides have an A group (rippers) and B group (explorers).
Where do I find and post rides?
If you’re looking for a group ride or planning to ride and want company, do it in Events & Ride Planning.
Is there a regular BCADV hangout?
Yep. The last Tuesday of every month. The location sometimes changes, but we always post details every month.
Do I need a radio for BCADV rides?
We highly encourage EVERYONE to have a radio on group rides.
Radios are cheap insurance, and an excellent tool for maintaining accountability on group rides, communicating emergency issues, and in general, greatly reduce the messy admin time of any group ride – passing along navigation guidance, finding lost riders, dropped bikes, communicating the “good line” through an obstacle, etc. Radios are superior to Bluetooth-based helmet comms, due to dramatically greater range in broken terrain and no pairing issues. We also have a club member discount with Rocky Talkie radios.
BCADV Club Channel / Frequency
@Rich_Strauss and @mulebarn wrote an in-depth GMRS radio article here. Otherwise, our GMRS band official club frequency/channel never changes; every ride is the same.
Baofeng / Tenway Radios:
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Primary: 462.600 with R-CTCS and T-CTCS set to 118.8hz
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Alternate: 462.625 with R-CTCS and T-CTCS set to 123hz
Rocky Talkie 5 Watt GMRS Radios:
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Primary: Ch 17 with privacy code set to 17
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Alternate: Ch 18 with privacy code set to 18
If You See a Problem, Flag It
Moderators are responsible for this forum, but so are you. With your help, moderators can be community facilitators, not just janitors or cops. We’re all volunteers.
In order to maintain our sanity, moderators reserve the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time.
Keep It Tidy
Make the effort to put things in the right place, so that we can spend more time discussing and less cleaning up. So:
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Don’t start a topic in the wrong category; please read the category definitions. They’re simple.
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Don’t cross-post the same thing in multiple topics.
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Don’t sign your posts — every post has your profile information attached to it.
Rather than posting “+1” or “Agreed”, use the Like button. Rather than taking an existing topic in a radically different direction, use Reply as a Linked Topic.strong text