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