Spring is here, the nights are drawing out, the time to increase cycling activity has arrived! So get yourself out on two wheels this weekend and enjoy a ride with the Ivinghoe Velos! We have three routes all starting from Ivinghoe church and returning to the same point before 1pm. We welcome new riders and our groups have several different pace options, the longer ride is often ridden in excess of 15mph, the shorter routes are usually between 13mph and 15mph. It would be great to see some of the mailing list who have not ridden with us before. Riding in a group is a great experience and we leave no one behind, unless they really want to do their own thing!

This weeks rides are 9.30am 42 miles, 10am 32 miles 10.30am 21 miles.

9.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42375511

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42298322

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42298464

The most important thing to do on Saturday night is reset your clock as we lose an hour this weekend, you can then stay awake all night worrying if the clock will then reset itself back again, so take it’s own hour off, by the morning you won’t know where you are. Luckily we will provide routes to get you back on track!

Talking of getting on track this Sunday we have an adventure ride, jump on the train and head North to Northampton and then use your bike (which you hopefully remembered to put on the train) to get back home. We have a lovely route suggested by Jason which involves 57 miles with the wind behind you, I call that great planning! After leaving Northampton via the Nene Valley way we head through lots of lovely villages, via Salcey Forest and the canal centre of Stoke Bruerne on through Iconic Sliverstone and picturesque Buckingham. The train times are Berkhamsted 8.57, Tring 9.02, Cheddington 9.07 and Leighton Buzzrad 9.14. Arrival in Northampton will be around 9.50 and then it’s a steady group ride back with the potential of a refreshment stop along the way.

For those wanting to stay local Dave Bembridge has crafted two routes, a 32 mile ride via Heath and Reach at 10am or a 21 mile outing to Cublington at 10.30. These are our usual Sunday offerings starting from Ivinghoe church, we may split into pace groups if rider numbers are big.

Northampton train station 9.50am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42058942

10am Ivinghoe Church https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42298322

10.30 Ivinghoe Church https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42298464

Northampton has been the venue for several stages of the womens tour of Britain and will host strage 2 this year, on the 8th June traveling from Northampton to Ampthill. A great chance for spectators to watch the start and then cycle to the finish. The milk race has also visited Northampton on occasion. This race was so called because amateur riders were given jerseys with “drink more milk” written on them, for a time the race around the UK pitted amateurs agains pros. After races the milk marketing board would pronounce that the winner, who would recieve a £10 prize, won the race due to the properties of milk. So down a pint of gold top and get ready for Sunday!

Three rides for your consideration this week. As we are moving towards spring the longest ride will now move to 9.30am, we also have 10am and 10.30am rides on offer. Being Mothers day the aim of the game this week is to get back relatively early so you can enjoy family time, or a beer or two at the pub.

Marta Bastianelli and Lizzie Deignan are two of the very few mothers competing on the women’s world tour. They have been able to juggle motherhood with continuing their successful cycling careers. Bastianelli won the 2018 European Road championship as a mum. Lizzie Deignan won the Paris-roubaix femme in 2021 after retruning from having a daughter in 2018 and is due to return this season after having a son last September. On the track we have to look no further than Laura Kenny for annother inspiration mother, Laura is the most successful British female athlete of all time and won her most recent medals after giving birth to Albie and is currently expecting her second child. With Laura and Jason’s genes I’m sure Albie will be pretty hot on two wheels, just like our Sunday crew.

Our rides leave Ivinghoe church on Sunday morning and return in time for a restorative beer at the Rose and Crown, or a dash home to cook mum dinner. As a guide last Sunday our longer ride group achieved 16mph on a fairly flat route, while the shorter team average just under 14mph on a slightly hillier route.

9.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42244898 39 miles

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41439757 29 miles

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41439771 22 miles

The most famous bike ride in the world is the tour de France. Ridden across 3 weeks starting this year on 1st July, riders will cover 3,404kms with the longest day being 209kms. The ride finishes in Paris on 23rd July. Don’t worry our routes have all the thrills of a tour stage but are somewhat shorter and don’t go up any mountains (this week)

The rider who has the lowest overall time during the tour de france is given a yellow jersey to wear, this maillot jaune was choosen as it matched the paper the sponsor newpaper L’Auto was printed on. The first ever yellow jersey was issued on 18th July 1919 to Eugene Christophe, it was made of thick wool and he complained it made him look like a canary.

Our stylish blue kit is a far nicer option, so pop on your blue top this Sunday and join us for a Buckinghamshire “stage” around the villages.

Rides start from Ivinghoe church and return to the same spot a couple of hours later The longer 10am route has a relatively small amount of climbing (39 feet per mile) so is slightly longer than previous weeks at 41 miles, the medium ride has almost the same amount of climbing as the longer ride but over 27 miles (55 feet per mile), while the shorter 10.30 route is 22 miles with the same climb ratio as the medium route (55 feet per mile)

10am long route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42182376

10am medium route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42182316

10.30am short route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42182351

Depending on the number of riders we may split into pace groups to ensure riders get round at an average speed that is comfortable to them. Last Sunday the longer group averaged around 15.5mph while the shorter groups were around the 13.5mph mark. Please ensure no one gets left behind and look after the guys behind you as much as keeping up with the wheel in front of you. After more frosty weather the roads are likely to have more holes than ever so please point out any hazards well in advance.

New riders and always welcome to join us, we ride road bikes on Sunday mornings with ad-hoc additional rides during the week. We are a group of friends rather than a club. We average between 13mph and 16mph. If you ride faster than this solo you might want to check out the local clubs in the area.

In the second ever edition of the tour de france in 1904 Henri Cornet was awarded the win after four riders ahead of him were seen getting off a train during the race. To recreate this, on 26th of March one of our ride options will be to catch the 9.02 train from Tring Station up to Northampton and then cycle back, the journey back on two wheels is just shy of 60 miles on some lovely quiet lanes

The Lanterne Rouge is the last rider in the tour de france, the worst, slowest competitor. The name originates from a light hung on the last carriage of a railway train (so the signalmen could look back to check if any couplings have become well, uncoupled). Red is the colour with the longest wavelength so it can be seen from further away than any other colour.

So is the Lanterne Rouge really the worst, slowest competitor? Absolutely not! Usually they are battling illness or injury and valiantly continue the race to the bitter end while others drop out along the way. They may have been following team orders and given everything in the early part of stages and then slowly drop back through the peleton to their daily struggle to get to the finish before the time limit.

Modern Tour de France riders have to finish in a time between 10% and 25% (depending on the type of stage) slower than the winner’s time to be able to start the next day. Back in the first tour de france in 1903 there was no limit and the last placed rider Arsene Millocheau racked up 64 hours 57 minutes and eight seconds longer than winner Maurice Garin, that’s 50% longer!

That first tour de france was held over 6 stages with an average length of 250 miles, however there were three rest days between each stage. Each rider won prize money as long as they achieved more than 12 miles per hour. Arsene Millocheau was often missing from the results in the sponsor newspaper “L’Auto” because he finished after the print deadline.

Each week The Ivnghoe Velos set out for adventures in Herts, Beds and Bucks and someone is at the back of the group, that person may be battling illness, injury or a few too many beers the night before but they are out there and will finish the ride. Riding together and supporting each other so no one gets left behind is what we are about

So whether you are a regular or have recently happened upon our friendly cycle group on facebook or word of mouth, get out and join us when you can, enjoy the ride, you may be the lanterne rouge but that’s ok, you are still a hero for taking the plunge. We can’t guarantee a champagne reception at the end, but someone might buy you a beer.

Rides start from the church in Ivinghoe, there are two 10am options, both the same route until the final 3 or 8 miles, so you can see how the weather is before you decide long or short. The 10.30 of 24 miles ride also has the same start and finish as the 33 mile 10am ride. All rides return to Ivinghoe.

10am 33 miles: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42125560

10am 38 miles (same route with a 5 mile add-on) https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42133515

10.30am 24 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42125596