Queer-Friendly Group Bike Rides in Austin

We couldn’t find a queer-only bike ride that runs every week in Austin right now. Queer Ride, the long-running one, has been on hiatus since August 2024. What Austin does have is a set of open social rides, most of them at night. Garrett, who wrote this guide, rides with several of them and has found them LGBTQ+ friendly. His first pick is Bat City Biking on Wednesday nights.

If you want a ride built for women, trans, femme and nonbinary riders, Spokes y Folx ATX is starting up again this fall. For a bigger goal, the Hill Country Ride for AIDS is a one-day fundraising ride each spring.

Every day, time and meeting spot below comes from the group’s own Instagram, Facebook page, Linktree or website, read on October 14, 2026. Start spots move, so check the group’s latest post before you ride.

The Short List

Ride	When and where
Bat City Biking	Wednesdays, 7:40 p.m., Quack’s 43rd St Bakery in Hyde Park
Social Cycling Austin	Tuesday and Thursday nights, Saturday late mornings and the first Friday of the month
Sunday Cruise ATX	Second Sunday of the month, 11 a.m., from a start spot that changes
Critical Mass	Last Friday of the month, early evening, from the Lamar bridge or Industry Bar
Ride Bikes Austin	Fridays, 8 p.m., Parque Zaragoza
Critical Mass From Parque Zaragoza	Last Friday of the month, 8 p.m., Parque Zaragoza
Hill Country Ride for AIDS	Saturday, April 17, 2027, 12 to 75 miles from Krause Springs
Spokes y Folx ATX	Monthly and pop-up rides for women, trans, femme and nonbinary riders
Queer Austin Bike Tour	Once a year in spring, a tour of Austin’s queer history

The Rides

Bat City Biking

Bat City Biking calls itself “Casual rides in ATX ranging from mild to somewhat spicy.” The weekly ride is Wednesday night, and it starts and ends at Quack’s in Hyde Park. The route changes every week and stays mostly in central Austin. Expect “occasional hills” and “mass up” points where the group waits to regroup. A ride leader sets the pace from the front.

• When: Wednesdays, wheels down at 7:40 p.m. Saturday-night rides happen now and then, not every week, so check Instagram or Discord for the next one
• Where: Quack’s 43rd St Bakery, 411 E 43rd St
• Distance: usually 13 to 18 miles in Garrett’s experience. The group’s own posts say 15 to 18
• Route and updates: the Bat City Biking Linktree has each week’s route on Strava. Ride news and chat are on the group’s Discord and Instagram
• Garrett’s pick: If I had to pick one LGBTQ+ friendly ride, it’s Bat City Biking. Someone usually DJs, with connected speakers. “A really fun vibe with music,” and “a really good time.”
• Garrett’s experience: On every ride there are at least 2 to 5 LGBTQ+ and BIPOC riders. “Very welcoming, very friendly.”
• Also: when Queer Ride went on hiatus in August 2024, its Facebook group pointed members to Bat City Biking

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Social Cycling Austin

Social Cycling Austin has been “Putting Butts on Bikes since 2009,” and its Facebook group has about 20,000 members. It runs several weekly rides, each with its own pace. The ride rules are the same on all of them: “We ride WITH traffic, stop at red lights, yield the right of way, and NEVER block intersections.”

• Tuesday Night Southern Walnut Creek Trail Ride: meet by the pool at Govalle Park, 5200 Bolm Rd, at 7 p.m. Wheels are down at 7:30. It’s about 20 miles of paved trail at “an intermediate average pace of 15mph.” The latest ride on its Facebook page was October 13, 2026
• Garrett on Tuesdays: The ride goes from Govalle Park all the way to the end of the Southern Walnut Creek Trail. You ride at your own pace, with regroup points, usually at the end. It tends to be a faster ride
• Thursday Night Social Ride: meet at Chicano Park, 14 Salina St, next to Martin Pool. The Facebook event starts at 7:30 p.m. and wheels are down at 8 p.m. It’s “10+ miles” at a “Social” pace, and recent rides ended at a bar. October rides have costume themes, and the group says to “feel free to dress as you like”
• Saturday Morning Caffeine Cruise: it starts at a coffee shop or east side spot that changes each week, with wheels down late morning (11:30 or 11:45 a.m. on recent rides). Summer routes stop at pools
• Garrett on the Caffeine Cruise: “Just an awesome ride. Great people.”
• First Friday Social Ride: meet at the ping pong table next to Industry Bar, 1211 E 5th St, with wheels down at 8 p.m. The latest one was October 2, 2026
• Find the week’s details: pinned posts on Social Cycling Austin’s Instagram, or events on its Facebook page
• Garrett’s experience: I’ve ridden Social Cycling Austin’s Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday rides and found them LGBTQ+ friendly

The First Friday ride says, “Our goal Fridays are to not end at bars.” If you’d rather skip the bar stop on other nights too, our guide to sober queer spaces has more options.

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Sunday Cruise ATX

Sunday Cruise ATX has held “a relaxing social cruise” on the second Sunday of each month since 2016, plus pop-up rides. Its Instagram says it welcomes “all people looking for a relaxing cruise/community.” Social Cycling Austin lists it as a friend group.

The start spot changes each month. The September ride met at 11 a.m. at Girard Kinney Park in Mueller and covered about 7 miles. The October 11 ride, a 10-year party, met at Sa-Tén Coffee and Eats at Canopy and ended at a party.

• When: the second Sunday of the month. Recent rides met at 11 a.m. and rolled out at 11:27
• Pace: “chill pace no-drop ride,” on routes that were mostly flat with some gravel trail in September
• Updates: Sunday Cruise ATX on Instagram and its Linktree, which has an email sign-up
• Garrett’s experience: I recommend the Sunday Cruise. The organizer does a great job

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Critical Mass

Austin has two Critical Mass rides on the last Friday of the month. This is the earlier one, and it runs the way Social Cycling Austin’s rides do: loosely, with no single leader. Its website calls it “a monthly bike ride to celebrate cycling,” held on the “Last Friday of every month, rain or shine.”

Garrett has ridden it from the Lamar pedestrian bridge, where riders gather around 6:15 to 6:30 p.m. and roll out about 6:45. The ride’s website and its 2026 Facebook events list the ping pong tables near Industry Bar on East 5th as the meeting spot, from 6 to 6:30 p.m., rolling about 7. Check the latest event before you go, since the start has moved before.

• When: the last Friday of the month. The next one is Friday, October 30, 2026
• Where: the Lamar pedestrian bridge, or the ping pong tables near Industry Bar, 1211 E 5th St. The latest Facebook event says which
• Updates: the Critical Mass Austin website and its Facebook page
• Garrett’s experience: I’ve ridden Critical Mass from the Lamar bridge and found it LGBTQ+ friendly

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Ride Bikes Austin

Ride Bikes Austin rides every Friday night from the stage behind the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center. Its Linktree says it’s “Rolling out 8pm from Parque Zaragoza every Friday!” Routes go to a different park or food stop each week, and recent ones ran 11 to 15 miles round trip.

Its Facebook page says, “We are diverse, inclusive, and have a heart of service for our communities.” In 2023 it led a group ride to Rainbow on the Creek, a Pride event at Waterloo Greenway, according to the Waterloo Greenway event page.

• When: Fridays, 8 p.m.
• Where: the stage behind the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, 2608 Gonzales St
• Route and calendar: the Ride Bikes Austin Linktree has the week’s route and a monthly calendar

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Critical Mass From Parque Zaragoza

The later Critical Mass is run with Ride Bikes Austin and starts from the same stage. It’s a monthly “All Wheels” ride, so skaters and other riders join the bikes. Its Linktree says, “We foster community and strive to increase transportation safety for all people.” The next one is Critical Mass Austin 64 on Friday, October 30, 2026, with Halloween contests at the start.

• When: the last Friday of the month. Meet at 8 p.m.
• Where: the stage behind the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, 2608 Gonzales St
• Updates: Critical Mass Austin on Instagram and its Facebook events

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Hill Country Ride for AIDS

This is a one-day fundraising ride, not a weekly group ride. The 2027 ride is Saturday, April 17, starting and finishing at Krause Springs in Spicewood, west of Austin. Riders pick 12, 27, 45 or 75 miles on Hill Country roads. The ride calls itself “a ride, not a race,” with pit stops every 6 to 15 miles and support vehicles on every route.

The money goes to nine Austin-area HIV/AIDS nonprofits, including Out Youth, allgo and Texas Health Action, which runs Kind Clinic. Kind Clinic describes the ride as “the largest fundraiser in Central Texas for local LGBTQIA+ organizations that provide HIV/AIDS services.” Prime Timers Austin members volunteer for it, as our guide to meeting older gay men and women notes.

• Ride day: the 75-mile riders leave at 8 a.m. and the 12-mile riders at 10 a.m. The last riders finish around 3:30 p.m.
• Cost: $60 to register plus a $250 fundraising minimum for first-time and second-time adult riders, and $500 after that. Students pay $20 plus $250, and riders 8 to 17 pay $20 plus $100. Volunteers pay $20 with no minimum
• Fundraising: the ride says riders average close to $1,000, and that in 27 years it has never charged a rider for falling short
• Training rides: free JoyRides through the season, which the ride calls “No Drop.” The 2027 schedule isn’t posted yet
• Register: hillcountryride.org

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Spokes y Folx ATX

Spokes y Folx ATX is a “Bike ride community” for “Women, transgender, femme, and non-binary” riders. Its Instagram adds that “WTF, non binary, questioning, or any other marginalized gender are welcome.” The group is getting going again this fall with “monthly and or pop up rides,” and it says it turns six in November.

Recent rides have been short: 5 to 5.5 miles at a “Chill pace (9mph).” The next one posted is a Halloween ride on Tuesday, October 20, rolling out at 7 p.m. from Central Market North. The post tells riders to “bring your friends or feel free to come alone,” and adds, “you will not be left out!”

• Updates and sign-up: the Spokes y Folx Linktree has a ride-updates sign-up and its Strava group

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Queer Austin Bike Tour

This one is a yearly event, not a weekly ride. The AIA Austin LGBTQIA+ Alliance ran its “Third Annual Queer Austin Bike Tour” on May 2, 2026, to “explore sites of queer organizing throughout Austin’s history.” It was about 4 miles over two and a half hours, with a $15 fee that included a T-shirt. Riders without a bike were pointed to MetroBike, and a car carried people who couldn’t bike between stops. The 2027 date isn’t posted yet.

• Details: AIA Austin’s 2026 tour page

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Before You Ride

• Lights after dark. Most of these rides are at night. Texas law requires a white front light visible from 500 feet and a red rear light or reflector when you ride at night (Texas Transportation Code 551.104). Social Cycling Austin and Bat City Biking both tell riders to bring lights
• Helmet and basic tools. Bat City Biking asks riders to bring “a helmet, lights, and basic maintenance tools,” and says leaders “cannot stay behind to assist with bike maintenance.” Bring a spare tube or a patch kit
• How to ride in a group. Stay behind the ride leader, ride with traffic, and ride “predictably- no swerving,” as Bat City puts it. Stop at red lights with the group; the League of American Bicyclists says people on bikes “must obey all traffic control devices” (Ride Better Tips). Listen to the ride volunteers
• Pick the pace before the ride. Thursday nights and Caffeine Cruise are “Social” pace, and Sunday Cruise is “chill.” Tuesday’s trail ride averages about 15 mph. Spokes y Folx rides at about 9 mph
• Bringing a friend. The weekly rides post their time and meeting spot in public, so a friend can come along. If one of you is new to group riding, a social-pace ride is the easier start. Riders under 18 need an adult on Bat City rides
• Ask the group what you need to know. Whether a ride waits for slower riders, and what happens if you get a flat, are fair questions to ask in the group’s comments or DMs before you go

If you’d rather play on a team, our LGBTQ+ sports leagues guide lists the queer leagues in town.

What We Couldn’t Check

• Whether the weeknight rides are “no-drop.” Sunday Cruise ATX and the Hill Country Ride’s JoyRides say they are. The others don’t use the term, so ask the ride leader
• Which group organizes the Critical Mass at Industry Bar. Its own pages don’t name one, and Social Cycling Austin lists it as a friend group
• Where Sunday Cruise ATX starts in November. Its next start spot wasn’t posted when we checked
• The 2027 Hill Country Ride routes. Its route page shows last year’s routes until the new ones are posted

Last checked: October 2026. Every schedule is read from the group’s own Instagram, Facebook, Linktree or website on October 14, 2026. Garrett’s lines are his own experience. See how we choose what goes on a list.