With plenty of royal shenanigans going on this weekend, I’m sure you are keen to organise your cycling to fit in! We have a bumper week of rides, something for nearly everyone!

Tuesday evening, two ride options leaving Pitstone roundabout at 6.30pm, Full gas breakaway chase or a snoozy ride waiting for the sprint finish.

Wednesday evening, Mountain bikes at the ready 6.30pm from Shooters Way in Berkhamsted, 18 miles of green lanes and byways https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39623795

Thursday Social: watch social media for updates on a ride with a coffee stop.

Friday Bonus Ride, the royal one! 10.30am from Wraysbury Visiting the Runnymead Airforce memorial for veiws of Windsor castle and Heathrow airport, Windsor great park, Windsor Castle and Eton Dorney, with laps of the lake if it’s open! Road ride 40+ miles. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39561437 There is parking at Wraysbury by the green, which has an interesting windmill, there is also the site of the signing of the magna carta close by if you arrive early.

Sunday the usual three ride options

9am 43 miles. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39538993 This route is 70km, 1km for every year our Queen has been on the throne. We pass Queen Street early on and the halfway point is of course Elizabeth Avenue. The routes are slightly shorter than usual so we can enjoy more time with refreshments at the Rose and Crown and enabling riders to get off to their respective street parties in the afternoon! As the ride is slightly shorter than usual we can ride at a relaxed pace taking in the waving flags and bunting put out for us along the route.

10am 31 miles Leighton Loop https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39620507

10.30am one from the archives, riden in 2015 https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_2169920.html

Roll on Sunday

Three beautiful ride options for consideration this week. The 9am route (57 miles) is a chiltern hills classic, the 10am ride (36 miles) takes riders on a pretty route to Winslow, the 10.30am ride (23 miles) heads to Stewkley on quiet lanes. Good luck to velos riders taking on the Ride London event, hopefully the training has paid off and you manage to overtake more riders than those overtaking you! Roll on Sunday!

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39559842

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39559302

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39559360

After a lovely weekend in Tewkesbury there will be further opportunities to ride with friends on less familiar roads. On 18th and 19th June there will be rides on offer based from Wymondham where Nick C will plan some routes with his newly aquired local knowledge. July 18th, 19th & 20th there is a 3 day mountain bike camp based around Brockenhurst, riding in the new forest. On top of a couple of excellent looking trips abroad riding proper mountains, there will be a season ending long weekend somewhere within a couple of hours drive away.

This weekend we have some riders away enjoying some new roads in the Tewkesbury area, such a cycling attraction that both the men’s and women’s tour of Britain are visiting this year. Please see previous posts if you would like to come along for one or two days riding, Saturday 11am and Sunday 10am, local hotels still have availability. Some of our other riders are taking part in the “ride Chartridge” sportive. This means rider numbers on our usual rides may be lower than usual. Wherever you choose to ride, stay safe and enjoy yourself, roll on Sunday!

9am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36329980

10am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39469869

10.30am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39469919

The weekend is based around staying in Tewkesbury. On Saturday the rides start at 11am to give people time to arrive. On Sunday the rides start at 10am. Rides begin in the high street in Tewkesbury GL20 5RS. We will be riding in a beautiful part of the coutry with plenty of stunning views and pretty villages. If you’ve not booked accomodation yet, there are plenty of accomodation options which keep you close to the ride start point. Come for the day, or stay over and do multi-days. Several riders are staying at the Royal Hop Pole, so a good place to meet up for a drink in the evening. Tewkesbury has plenty of food options Italian, Indian, British, European within a short walk from here. We have a nice mix of ladies and gents joining in with at least 7 confirmed riders, we will look after everyone during the rides!

11am Saturday 21st May Long Ride https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38480230 58 miles in the Cotswolds we could have a one or two stop strategy, passing through Chipping Campden at 25 miles with a potential coffee break at Campden Coffee and Crystals, if riders feel they need a break after travelling in the morning. Then on to The Old Post Office at Guiting Power at 41 miles. There is a shorter route alternative if the weather is nasty, or you don’t fancy the full distance https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38496219 with a stop in Winchcombe at Honey Bea’s Cafe.

10am Sunday 22nd May Long Ride https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38475251 62 miles in view of the Malvern Hills, with a stop planned in Malvern after 47 miles at the Abbey Road Coffee Shop. There is a flatter, shorter route for those who have heavy legs after day one, 38 miles, with a stop at the Abbey Road Coffee Shop after 22 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38496154

10am Monday 23rd May A recovery ride into the Worcester, 41 miles with very little climbing, lunch stop in Worcester at cafe Viaduct after 21 miles. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38496099

Friday 20th May 2pm. Those mad enough to want more, there is an MTB explorer ride on the Malvern Hills bike trails, promising some wonderful views and traffic free fun, obviously you would need a second bike for this one. It’s only a 12 mile route but with the amount of climbing and the need to look after the legs for the weekend, this could be a good couple of hours in the saddle! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38496228 The ride starts at the North Quarry car park North Malvern Road, WR14 4LT which is £4.80 for a day, cheaper parking may be available close by.

Routes and refreshment stops are not based on any local knowledge, so we may need to adapt our plans slighly. Riders are responsible for their own safety and security. All the coffee stops are featured on the facebook group “cylcle coffee and cake stops” so I hope they are ok! The routes are no longer than our longer Sunday rides, so no extra kit should be needed during the days, just your standard pump, tubes and minimal tools, a small bike lock might be advisable for when we stop.

The aim of the game is to enjoy the different scenery and not rush, we have plenty of day light each day! If you can make it, it will be great to see you!

After last week’s offroad shenanigans we return to our usual road format this week. Three routes to choose from. Roll on Sunday!

9am A 100km route out to the pretty Oxfordshire village Stratton Audley, It’s pretty flat and should have a slight tail wind on the return leg. Stratton Audley is an ancient village dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, we prefer bikes to conkers but will still enjoy our visit. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39378255

10am A dizzying loop the loop to The home of Iain Duncan Smith, no not Chingford… it’s Swanbourne! The main road through Swanbourne was laid in 1722, this Sundy we aim to avoid any highway men lurking on the bends. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39307646

10.30am Our shorter route heads in a similar direction up to Stewkley, look out for the Spinney and airport monument on the corner of the Dunton Road/ Cublington Road junction. Back in the 60’s there was a plan to site Britains biggest airport at Stewkley, the monument celebrates the efforts of local folk who were the original NIMBYs. Enjoy this route, mini skirts and flares not required https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39215667

The following weekend is our “Tewkesbury Weekender” event, a few days riding in a different part of the country, or if riding locally “Ride Chartridge” is an option on the Sunday.

As we now have plenty of light to play with on Tuesday evenings, weekly rides from Pitstone roundabout (globe.unite.found) are taking place.

There will be two ride options, depending if you are a grinder of a thrasher. Although this may sound like a new dating service it’s actually a 6pm group which will be grinding up some hills (this week https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39309060) or a 6.30pm group who will thrash along some local roads at the speed of light.

Although rides are expected to finish in day light, bike lights are recommended so riders can be seen by other road users as the sun drops.

Please check out (and add to) our social media channels for more ad-hoc ride options.

This weekend we have something a little different on offer! A big day out away from the roads! Rides will last longer than our usual road routes, so we have stops planned to replenish water and tummies. To ride these routes you will need a hybrid with decent tyres, a mountain bike or a gravel bike.

Ride 1 is a ride back from London along the Grand Union canal. Catch the train from Tring Station at 7.36am train and then cycle Euston to Paddington Basin to start ride at 9.00am. 51 miles of riding, there are several refreshment stops planned on the way; Hayes Bulls Bridge, Rickmansworth Lock 81 café for coffee and food, The Rising Sun Berkhamsted for a quick pint and we finish at the Rose and Crown (Mick is keeping the kitchen open for food for us). We must be mindful that the tow path is a shared use path, so lots of cheery hellos, a polite warning bell and a mederate safe pace will be needed at all times. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39241077 and https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39241191

Ride 2 continues the offroad theme, it’s a standard 9am ride distance of 57 miles but is probably a bit harder than usual as we tackle local lanes, byways and bridleways over to Denham before touching a few bits of the canal route to return. The pace will be leisurely. The planned stops on this route are Lock 81 Marsworth after 31 miles and The Rising Sun in Berkhamsted for a quick pint https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39273591

Ride 3 for those who would like to stick to a road route at 10am we have a 40 mile outing to Haddenham https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38621250

Ride 4 At 10.30 we have a route ridden on a Tuesday evening this time last year, fairly flat after a bump at the start! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35981272

Whilst this weekend might not be the best one to show off your Velos kit, for our usual road rides there is nothing like having everyone in the team wearing our lovely cycling gear. There is currently an order open but please hurry the door slams shut on Sunday! if you would like kit go here https://eucustom.champ-sys.com/teamstore/?VelosMay22

The Tewkesbury Weeeknd is fast approaching!!! Anyone who would like to join us needs to be in the centre of Tewkesbury at 11am on Saturday 21st May. We are also riding on Sunday and a recovery Monday ride too, so why not get yourself some accomodation locally for one, two or three nights and meet up for refreshments in the evenings too. The riding will not be at a fast pace as we need to manage riding on multiple days and also enjoy some different scenery out on the rides with the West Cotswolds and the Malvern Hills featuring!

The Usual Bit

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 ” no one gets left 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.