CRW SMS Practice for Cranberry

TEST ONLY — free online SMS practice; no bicycle ride takes place

Thursday, October 15, 2026, 7–8 PM Eastern. Host: Randolph Williams.

This is a separate rehearsal for the CRW text service before Cranberry. It does not register you for the real Cranberry ride. The 100-, 62-, 53- and 35-mile groups are simulated routes for practice only.

Online meeting: Join the online practice.

Before we start

Register for this free practice using your own CRW contact and the phone you will text from. Save 573-279-2739 as CRW Ride Text. Bring a charged phone. You may observe rather than send messages.

Four practice groups are available. With a small turnout we will use two active groups and rotate roles. Two or three people may volunteer for practice CREW at the start; no Sunday SAG assignment is implied.

7–8 PM practice

1. 7:00–7:10: Text HERE. Read the reply and confirm this practice event. If asked to choose, select the practice event and text HERE again.
2. 7:10–7:20: Text GROUPS, then JOIN followed by your assigned practice group number. Read the group confirmation.
3. 7:20–7:30: Designated participants send a few ordinary group messages beginning TEST ONLY. We compare who receives each message.
4. 7:30–7:45: Consenting designated volunteers and riders practice CREW and #SUPPORT. Volunteers may text CLAIM, then call or text the displayed rider number directly. CLAIM does not place the callback.
5. 7:45–7:50: Tell the volunteer directly that the practice request is finished, then text RESOLVED or GROUP. These end support routing without sending crew a completion notice.
6. 7:50–8:00: Text FINISH, answer the feedback prompt, review results and close practice coverage.

Practice boundaries

All practice messages must begin TEST ONLY. Only designated consenting participants demonstrate support. Volunteers select this practice event with CREW 6877806, check its name, then confirm YES CREW. Close practice coverage with CLOSE CREW and YES CLOSE CREW before leaving. The shared CREW line must be free before support practice starts; otherwise we discuss that scenario without sending support texts. No event-wide ALERT broadcast is planned. Do not use STOP as a practice command: it unsubscribes you from all CRW SMS.

Manual attendance check-in alone does not connect an unrecognized phone to SMS or group chat. Ask the host if you cannot connect. This rehearsal is not emergency coverage. In a real emergency, call 911.

Instructions: crw.org/sms

Before sending practice chat

Read your HERE reply and confirm it names CRW SMS Practice for Cranberry. Then text GROUPS and JOIN followed by your assigned group number. Read the successful JOIN confirmation before sending any ordinary chat example. The facilitator will check that everyone has joined a named group and will defer LEAVE GROUP demonstrations until group-chat practice has ended. An ordinary text from someone who has not joined a group can reach the checked-in practice participants.

Available practice groups: G1 - simulated 100-mile route; G2 - simulated 62-mile route; G3 - simulated 53-mile route; G4 - simulated 35-mile route. These are practice labels, not miles ridden. With a small turnout we will use two groups and rotate roles.