As the summer sun emerges and time-consumers like Lost and Dancing with the Stars end (just for the season!), the capital city’s trails and parks come alive with walkers, joggers and bikers.

Some are veterans. They’ve been doing this for years, know their split times and don’t mind donning spandex. Others are more casual. They get a kick out of the camaraderie that comes from working out in pairs or even groups. Two Springfield clubs accommodate both sets of athletes through a combination of fun summer activities and challenging rides and races.

The Springfield Bicycle Club leads rides nearly every day of the year to diverse destinations, with varying distances and speeds.

For novice riders looking to improve their skills, vice president Kevin Greene recommends one of the club’s relaxed-paced “EZ” rides. The club offers a 19-mile Sunday morning ride down the Interurban Trail to Chatham with a rest stop at the Apple Barn. Participating cyclists learn group riding practices and safety techniques.

More experienced cyclists seeking a moderate pace, between 15 and 17 miles per hour, can join the Monday evening ride that meets at the Parkway Pointe Theatre.

Greene says it’s one of the club’s most popular weekday rides, bringing together cyclists with similar riding interests.

The SBC hosts weekend rides that end with social events, like barbecues or picnics. Cyclists first head out on country roads, riding anywhere from 25 to 40 miles.

“These rides tend to attract cyclists of varying abilities,” Greene says, “ranging from fast-paced performance riders to intermediate and social riders who are working to improve their skills and endurance.”

Club cyclists participate in several longdistance rides around the state and in the Midwest. They ride in Madison County on Memorial Day weekend, to Franklin for Burgoo — a special concoction of various meats and veggies — on July 4 and in the Tour de Corn Metric Century, part of the Chatham Sweetcorn Festival, on July 18. SBC members join the Grand Illinois Trails and Parks ride, a weeklong tour through the northern part of the state that offers riders routes from 310 to 585 miles, on June 14-20. They even travel to Iowa to participate in The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, the “longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world.” This year riders follow a 472-mile course from Council Bluffs to Burlington July 19-25.