Women’s cycling rides: Collective pathways to optimal experience

Abstract

Women’s cycling rides are leisure events where individual and group elements may jointly contribute to optimal experience. This study was aimed at building knowledge about the narratives underlying optimal experience of these collective (noncompetitive) events. Twenty-nine women who participated in group cycling rides and challenges in Spain and in Colombia were interviewed. Csíkszentmihályi’s seminal work on shared flow and Durkheim’s collective gatherings guided the analysis in the coding stages. By considering participation in these events from a time-perspective, we examined previous circumstances, observed the evolution of social identification with the group from a relational perspective, and explored outcomes from a well-being standpoint. Central to the case that the experience is optimal is the interconnection of individual and shared flow, as well as emotional synchrony, social categorization, and empowerment. Group commitment, sorority, prosociality, and eudaimonic well-being and identity are revealed post-event.