Monthly Archives: December 2021

Ivinghoe Velos Rides for 2nd January 2022

Happy new year! There is often a rise in rider numbers at the turn of the new year, so lets hope we have some decent weather in the coming weeks to enjoy riding together! Anyone wishing to join in, now is a great time. We start 2022 with some relatively easy routes for a gentle return to riding. We will be posting a poll on our facebook rearhub to allow riders to indicate their intentions. We will also be seeking ride leaders to help new joiners, route planners to suggest new routes and signpost the the tea ride option for an even more leisurely experience.

Ride A 9am 45 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38260015

Ride B 10am 25 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38262484

Ride C 10.30am 18 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38262493

We are a group of friends who ride together rather than a club so we don’t have any hard and fast rules, preferring to enjoy the journey rather than worry about our sock length. There are no fees to ride with us, we just ask for some considerations to be made so everyone can stay as safe as possible and have a good ride experience.

If you get out and ride it will encourage others to continue, if you sit at home on a turbo trainer, or in front of the TV there may not be anyone to ride with when you want company in the future!

Ivinghoe Velos rides are routes suggestions based on local knowledge built up over years of riding. Suitable for road bikes and often using quiet road options. Occasionally we need to re-route due to road closures and mapping errors. As a group please solve these problems as safely as possible. Anyone is welcome to provide a ridewithgps course for us to follow in future weeks.

Those who lead out a group, the route planners, 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.

Rides are usually between 14mph and 17mph depending on elevation. When rider numbers allow we split into groups based on pace. Generally our motto is ” we leave no one behind” but riders need to be realistic when joining a group with an expected pace, it’s no fun for anyone if one riders pace is considerably slower than all the other riders. Equally if a couple of riders push the pace beyond what is expected, the rest of the group might not be having fun. We will sometime advertise beginners or social rides which will moderate the pace to the slowest rider. Over time newer riders will build their pace and endurance, we have all started or re-started, so understand it takes some time to get faster.

When riding in a group the main benefit is the draft effect, saving around 25% effort when tucked in behind other riders. We expect riders to take a turn on the front when they able to do so and “hold the wheel” of riders in front on flat sections and shallow climbs. Looking over your shoulder and moderating your pace to ensure riders behind are still attached to the group is important wherever you are within your group and communicating if it looks like a riders has become detached (why not drag them back to the group rather than pushing on yourself?). On the flat the group should be close together so everyone benefits from the draft, work as a team, if there is a few bike lengths between riders you are not doing it right! On hills we wait at an appropriate safe spot to allow slower climbers to rejoin, you might want to make sure you are past the strava segment end!

Occasionally we have ridden in large groups with rider numbers in double figures. It’s important to remember we are quite a big obstacle to overtake, splitting into two small groups on main roads allows vehicles to overtake in stages. If you are mid-group take responsibility to manufacture this split- that’s you riding in position 7 in a group of 12. If a rider has manufactured a gap for this reason, don’t overtake and close the gap.

We have a stylish Ivinghoe Velos team kit which allows the public to identify us. Please be considerate, courteous and respect our reputation when riding in our groups. Shouting at motorists is unlikely to achieve anything other than a raise in your blood pressure. Smile and wave at other cyclists, even those too pro to wave back.

Occasionally due to traffic or mechanicals there can be splits in groups and we lose visibility of parts of the group. For this reason and for your time you spend on the front it’s important that every rider has a full understanding of the planned route.

Please arrive before the expected start time of our rides. We currently meet by the bus shelter outside Ivinghoe church. There is usually a poll on our facebook rear hub to establish who is out and riding which route.

Mudguards are much appreciated on winter rides, without them the rider behind you might as well be riding in the rain.

As we ride in a group, pointing out hazards is vital, riders within the group wont get much notice of dangerous pot holes, gravel and other slip hazards and maneuvers away from the usual line, please give visual and audible signals and also let other riders know if cars are unexpectedly close by.

Stay safe, have fun and enjoy the journey.

Ivinghoe Velos Rides For Christmas 2021

Wishing all Ivinghoe Velos mail list receivers a very merry Christmas!

This week Sunday happens to be boxing day, if you feel the need for some fresh air after Christmas why not squeeze into some Lycra and come out for a ride! We will be meeting at Ivinghoe church at 10am, looking to do around 30 miles, no pre-planned route, we will make it up as we go along and ride at a pace comfortable for all.

We also have bank holidays on Monday and Tuesday so plan to offer 10am meet ups at the church on these days too. There will be a poll of facebook so riders can indicate which days they plan to get out.

We may be heading towards some kind of restrictions, however it’s likely that we can continue to meet up outdoors for exercise. There may or may not be opportunities for post ride refreshment. We will obviously react and adjust plans accordingly.

Stay safe and healthy and have a great Christmas break!

Ivinghoe Velos Rides for Sunday 19th December 2021

Our last Sunday before Christmas should be a nice, socially distanced, social affair, so please come and join us for a gentle flat spin where we can exchange Christmas pleasantries or share festive frustrations! Our main route of 29 miles heads out at 10am, if you’d like extra miles please do your own “warm up” before getting to Ivinghoe church ready for the start. For anyone unable to join us on 19th, we wish you a merry Christmas, may santa bring you some new shiny bike related toys. On that subject, for those who have ordered Velos kit, it is now ready to collect, please contact John if you’ve not already done so.

If you can’t manage the 29 miles on the main route we also offer a 23 mile short cut starting at 10.30am at the church, you may well bump into the main ride on the way round!

As the next Sunday is boxing day we won’t put out a prescribed route but have every intention of meeting up at 10am for some fresh air and a spin for a couple of hours to clear the head and work off some of the Christmas pudding.

We will also be taking advantage of the bank holidays on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th with open invitations for rides again at 10am from the church.

We will pop a poll on facebook so riders can see if there are others intending to ride each day.


Once into the new year we will be supporting those resolutions by offering easy routes for newcomers and unfit returners. Obviously our plans may change based on government edict, crossing everything that we are able to start the new year riding together!

19th December 10am 29 miles Ho Ho Halton https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38185852

19th December 10.30am 23 miles Ho Halton https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38185860

Ivinghoe Velos Rides For Sunday 12th December

We have two rides to chose from this week crafted by route master extraordinaire Dave Bembridge. Over the last two Sundays rider numbers have been particularly low, if this continues this week we will ride in one group per time slot and ride at the pace of the slowest rider. If numbers permit we will break into pace groups. We will support riders returning from illness or possibly early Christmas excess!

10am 30 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38152331

10.30am 19 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38152347

As always we meet at Ivinghoe church, so if you are not partying at Downing Street on Saturday night, see you at the church on Sunday morning.

As we move into deep midwinter we will arrange an evening online social zwift ride. If you would like to be involved please follow me on zwift: D AVE.HOWE so I can set up a meet-up where we can practice working together. I’m thinking 7pm on Tuesday as a nominal first attempt. Only two more weeks and the evenings start getting lighter!!!

Ivinghoe Velos Rides For Sunday 5th December 2021

Three routes to chose from this Sunday, we have a cold but bright forecast, please check out the road conditions on the day and use our social media channels to keep in touch with other riders if you feel a later start or chunkier tires might be needed.

We have reduced our distances slightly, the 9am route does an 18 mile loop before cutting into the 10am loop (2.5 miles into the route) so if riders numbers are low there will be a chance to join up to make a reasonable size group. Depending on numbers we will do the usual pace splitting, please stick to the expected pace within your group, looking back to ensure everyone is benefiting from the group draft.

9am Longer DD https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114621

10am Standard DD https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114182

10.30am WT https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114189