Three rides on offer this week all routes meet at the church in Ivinghoe. The 9am route takes us to Wheatley and is an opportunity to complete a nice flat August Grand Fondo on day one. The 10am route heads through Flamstead onto some fine Bedfordshire lanes. The 10.30 route enjoys a climb through Soulbury rounding back for home from Stewkley.

A reminder to all riders that we are a group of friends riding bikes, not a cycle club. We suggest routes and enjoy the company of each other while out on our bikes. From the website: Those who lead out a group, the route planners and those who send the postings out each week in no way make any assurances as to the safety of any rides organised under the Ivinghoe Velos banner. Each participant is wholly responsible for their own safety, road worthiness of their steed, legal requirements to abide by the highway code and any insurances each individual feels are necessary. We don’t guarentee that there will be riders on all rides but are lucky enough to have a large following, so generally everyone gets some company out on the roads.

Please arrive with a good idea of the route and before your expected ride is due to start, otherwise you might find yourself riding alone.

9am ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36952008

10am ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36952140

10.30 ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36952188

The Sunday after (8th August) we have a planned away-day riding 55 miles in the Cotswolds. We will be starting at 9am from Eynsham taking in The Slaughters, Bourton on the water and Lovell Minster. The drive to the start is around 1 hour. Details to come next week!

Two rides option to tackle from Pitstone roundabout this Tuesday, for those nearing the end of the strava July climbing challenge, these should get you a bit closer to your target! Remember longer doesn’t mean faster, join which ever route you fancy.

10am/10.30am route master Dave Bembridge is on “holiday” from planning for Sunday 1st August so if anyone has a route suggestion for a 35ish mile and a 20+ mile route please plot it using our preferred “ridewithgps” navigational tool and drop it in an email to davehowe@aol.com by Wednesday afternoon. Otherwise I will choose a horrible one from our archive!

A heads up for Sunday 8th August we plan an “away day” cycling in the Cotwolds. We have a 54 mile route planned with a trip parking in parking in Eynsham, cycling through Upper and Lower Slaughter, Bourton On The Water, Burford and Minster Lovell. It’s a an absolute delight and we will ride at a pace to enjoy the countryside!

6.30pm Tuesday 27/7/21 longer https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36917444

6.30pm Tuesday 27/7/21 Shorter https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36917474

Three routes to choose from this Sunday. All starting from the church in Ivinghoe. Please download your route onto your sat nav device , phone or a paper map. On a Sunday we aim for groups to stick together leaving no one behind and working together to share the draft. Please arrive before the planned start time and split into groups (if there is a large number of riders or a clear difference in expected pace).

The 9am ride tackles a few nice climbs within the chilterns AONB, with 3,000 feet of climbing it will be a good challenge across 55 miles. The 10am route has half the amount of climbing over 31 miles. At 10.30 we have 24 miles with just a little climbing

These routes should bring groups back in time for some post ride refreshment at the rose and crown.

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36868562

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36862593

10.30am https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4155557.html

As always through the summer months we meet at Pitstone roundabout on Tuesday evenings at 6.30pm. The evening rides stay local and can be quite a sprint! After a hilly Sunday for everyone this Tuesday the routes are reasonably flat. A 23 mile option and a 19 mile option, both routes have the same first 15 miles.

20/07/21 longer https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36831881

20/07/21 shorter https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36831902

Three rides to choose from this Sunday with the later two starting from our usual starting point, Ivinghoe church, by the bus shelter. Our earlier option is the Hemel Hillbuster 100km. This is a charity sportive which sets off at 9am after registration at 8.30am. There is an entry fee with funds going towards Dens, a Dacorum homeless charity. Booking a place in advance is recommended and we have a team of at least four riders committed to tackle 4,400 feet of climbing. We will meet near registration at Gadebridge Park.

Please arrive before the stated ride start time and agree your pace group, looking after all riders within your agreed group. Last weekend we had a record number of Velos “blues” cycling tops on show, great to see, so please wear your Sunday best velos kit if you can.

9am Hemel Hillbuster https://www.dens.org.uk/event/hemel-hillbuster/

10am ride, Amersham on “Le Lumpy Loop” https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36766520

10.30am Hilly Chesham archive classic https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4005295.html

The weather looks perfect to attack those hills, so enjoy the rides and stay safe!

Sunday is a classic day of sport with some big events taking place: The conclusion of England’s Euro 2020 campaign, stage 15 of the tour de france : possibly crowning the king of the mountains, the Wimbledon men’s tennis final AND three classic Ivinghoe Velos rides including a 100km route which passes Spokes cafe just after the half way point.

On Wednesday a cyclist set off with his mates and cycled for nearly six hours, finishing 40 minutes behind the first group, he did this because he enjoys riding with mates, looks forward to the banter and getting some shelter from the wind, occasionally when he feels good he has a little sprint. His name is Mark Cavendish. So this weekend “be more Cav”, get out on your bike and join us, whether that is in the breakaway, the Peloton or the groupetto. Maybe some 10am riders fancy taking on the 100km route at a conservative pace? the big question is who is doing your lead-out back to the pub?

The 9am route is 100km of rolling roads, the 10am is a hilly Chilterns ride including the 16% climb of Whiteleaf and the 10.30am route is a retro trip first ridden in 2013, on local roads.

9am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36700184

10am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36679910

10.30am route https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_2956664.html

A standard and a short cut route for Tuesday 6th July, meeting at the roundabout in Pitstone at 6.30pm

standard 23 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36671894

short cut 20 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36671968

On Sunday we will be offering a lovely 60+ mile route for anyone keen on earning their strava monthly 100km badge!

As we all know 4th July is American Independence day and as we also know the best way to celebrate anything is to ride your bike. The usual ride options this week, special thanks to Andrew B for providing the 9am route and as always to Dave B for the shorter options.

9am The flying dragon ride https://ridewithgps.com/trips/69788138

10am 37 miles Aylesbury Vale https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36611125

10.30am old school/retro 2015 Mapometer ride https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_2169920.html