Rides 

We run a variety of club rides for different abilities, as well as facilitating contact between members to allow them to organise their own rides. 

Upcoming Rides

We are a social road cycling club that welcomes all cyclists.

Our main focus is on road cycling, riding road bikes with dropped handlebars. 

We arrange regular club rides with a number of groups of matched ability. Our club rides are typically 35-60miles long, at average speeds of 13-20 mph, depending on terrain. We also run occasional “mellow rides” which are shorter and at a more relaxed pace.

If you can ride a bike solo for 20 miles at an average speed of 11mph or more there will be a group that is suited to you.

Our members also participate in track riding, road racing, time trialling, cyclocross, gravel and mountain biking, Zwift racing and group rides, and most other cycling disciplines from time to time.

If you’re not sure whether you are fast enough, have the right kit, or anything else then please get in touch and we will do our best to help.

Club Rides

Depending on the weather and time of year, we may run up to five or six groups on a Saturday  and Sunday morning, starting at the Cenotaph in the Old Town and finishing at the Beech House in the New Town. 



Upcoming Rides

If you are joining us for the first time, we may ask you to join a specific group depending on experience. 


Routes are typically 35-60 miles long and will always include several hills, as they are unavoidable living in the Chilterns. Do take this into account when comparing your average ride speed with those of our various groups. Hills will typically decrease your average speed by 1mph for every 1000ft of climbing and more for longer rides.


We also run "mellow" rides on a regular basis for new, returning or inexperienced riders, that are typically 20-30 miles in length.


We won’t leave you behind as this is a social group, and if you do drop off the back for whatever reason someone will come back and find you. However, if you are in one of the faster groups and you are struggling to keep up we may ask you to drop back and wait for the next group to arrive. Please do not be offended if we ask you to do this as it will make your ride much more enjoyable. Routes normally allow for an exit if you need to be home earlier.


So that you can judge what group would be best for you, the groups we run are typically:

 

  • Mellow – c. 20-30 miles avg 11-13.5 mph
  • Steady –  avg 13-15.5 mph
  • Medium –  avg 15-17.5 mph
  • Fast –  avg 17+ mph

 


Group Riding Skills

It’s a good idea to recognise that there are many different types of riders in our club and on our group rides. There are those that are hard at it in the gym maintaining fitness, those that have dropped activity levels for a while, some who are looking for a rest come end of season and will build up, and those that are happy to get out throughout the winter, and others waiting until the sun comes out and then rush to get fit…

All that leaves us with groups that can consist of different levels of fitness as well as skills, even more so than in the summer – trust us!
So, it’s good at this time of year to go over some basics, as well as techniques that will help us maintain fitness and help us to enjoy our riding more this winter eason.
First and foremost, this is a ‘no drop’ club. That means we don’t ride on leaving someone to their own devices if they struggle to keep up. There’s a number of reasons why that can happen and it’s not always the fault of the rider getting dropped.
Groups should form by the riders at the front slowing and letting the group form behind them before attaining riding pace. A really good group gets back into formation quickly after whatever obstacle befell them
If you’re taking longer than 30 seconds to get the group into formation after setting off, the riders at the front are going too fast.

It’s also a great idea to stay in formation at that junction or traffic light that got in your way, speeding up regrouping, rather than bunching up on the white line (with the exception of crossing busy roads).

Once up to pace, it’s always best to maintain a steady tempo, the best way to do this is to stay together, consider the weaker riders when setting a pace and to ride as efficiently as a group as possible.
We and British Cycling recommend riding in a ‘2x2’ formation as much as possible for both safety and for efficiency – we’ll go into greater detail on this below.

How do we do it?

The 2x2 formation, which can also be called a double paceline, is a version of a paceline that BCC and British Cycling recommends to keep you safer, so please take a moment to study the details and practice hard.
Done right, it takes up no more room than one line, and with 10-20 riders, it creates a much shorter length of line making it easier for cars to pass.
Please use the YouTube links at the bottom of the page to view the info sessions that I found to be most informative on this subject.
Take it all on board, let’s talk about it, and more importantly – practice it!

As we are generally riding on roads where our objective is to maintain tight control over our width, rotating tightly while leaving enough room for the riders to flow down the inside is preferable.

The front pair should leave the front of the group by moving the left rider first, then the right rider, and both rotate to the back of the group via the inside line of riders. The next set of two riders then continue at the same pace in formation, not surging when they see a clear road ahead of them – use your speedo, keep it the same.

Who would you rather be?

Whenever you see a pro team out riding, not racing, this is how they ride, so it can’t all be coincidence can it? Ride like a pro – their livelihood depends on it, so they do it right!

Signs that cyclists are not quite getting it right

  • Lines too far apart, should be elbow to elbow 
  • Taking up all the road by staggering left and right, lost efficiency from not sheltering behind each other
  • Is that one of your new members getting shelled out the back never to return?
There will always be a time when single file is necessary, but large gaps between wheels makes the line a hazard from passing cars, forcing them into the middle of the line when they attempt to pass. Keep it short folks!

Game Changing Attitudes

  • Be proactive around safety and pacing

    Nobody likes being barked at constantly, and certainly not during a nice group ride. But there are some times when it’s good to speak up.

    The riders in about the third row of a double paceline are in a good position to call for an adjustment to the pace. At this point in the group you can tell if the riders around you are struggling with the speed or the wind direction.

    Riders in the first and second rows can sometimes misjudge their pace and position relative to the rest of the group. Speak up – it’s your group too.


  • Pull longer, not harder

    If you’re feeling like superman or you’re the fast guy of the group, don’t ramp up the speed when you get to the front. It’s not nice and it makes the pace uncomfortably hard for your friends. Instead, ride the group’s pace and stay at the front longer. You’ll get the training you want and give the rest of the group some extra time in the draft.

  • Pull shorter, not slower

    Conversely, if you don’t have the fitness to take a long pull at the group’s pace, you should still rotate through like everyone else, but just pull off quickly. There’s no rule that says you have to take a pull equal to the guy before you. The rule is that you need to pull at the group’s pace. Don’t slow down, because then everyone stacks up behind you. For a smoother experience for everyone, keep it short and pull off.

  • Call it

    Our roads have holes, lots. Point them out, shout if you have to. The most effective groups rely on hand signals and save shouting for really urgent messages. If you have a larger group, any messages from the front only get to those that really need it at the back if you pass it on. Here’s a great guide to signals if you were short on hand-signal vocabulary.


    See video

  • Pace the climbs for the middle of the group

    When the pack hits rolling hills, it can be hard to keep the group together, especially when ‘that guy’ drills it on the front. When drafting is less of a help to the riders in the middle and rear of the group ride, it’s important for the riders at the front to consider everyone when establishing the climbing pace. 


    On social group rides like ours it’s typical to wait at the top of longer climbs, but to minimize the frequency of these soft-pedal periods or stoppages (especially when it’s cold) try to set a pace that’s comfortable for the middle of the group. This may mean it’s a bit easy for the fast guys at the front and pretty challenging for some folks at the back, but this pacing strategy is good for keeping the group together over the majority of hills.


    If you do get dropped on a hill and don’t want to wait for the regroup point to join back on, if it’s not at the top of the hill, that’s going to mean descending effectively.

    A good skill to have around here, even better in the French Alps. It’s a great idea to follow someone you trust if you’re nervous, but if you need to up your skills, it can only come with practice and confidence. Here’s a great guide to getting there. No one ever remembers the fastest downhill daredevil, so don’t take chances, but doing it right never hurt.



    See Video

  • Remember, it’s not a race. Except when it is

    Those periods will be clearly indicated and once the hammer is dropped, the race is on.

    Once it’s finished, it’s over, finito, done, end of, gonzo, closed, at an end, ancient history… quit trying to hurt others because you’re having a great day. Use your strength to pull the bunch, not hurt it, race is over.

    If it’s not one of those periods, don’t let others force you into riding badly. Make your own decisions, let others around you know when it not correct riding for the situation, and do the right thing and get back into a safe 2x2 formation.

    It’s not the ride leader’s responsibility to make sure you ride correctly, it’s yours, your families’ and your ride partners’ to make sure you ride smart, predictably, taking care of yourself and those around you so you all ride another day.


    Finally, a word from Chris Carmichael; “Don’t be that guy.” (I know he was Lance’s ‘coach’, but he still has a point…) Make sure you turn to page two.


Ride Etiquette 

As a cycling club, we not only enjoy rides with each other but we also share the roads with the public. We try at all times to be courteous to each other on and off the bike and especially to the public.
Our handbook outlines a set of guidelines which members are expected to use so that the club’s good reputation is maintained. Our guidelines help us to be safe, have fun and to be challenged – above all safe. 
Download the handbook