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.