As Forest Gump famously said, riding in April is like a box of chocolates (you have to keep taking layers off). While there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate equipment choices, this weekend promised to again test the planning and selection process. Rides meet and leave on time from Ivinghoe church.

Three rides to choose from, The shorter ride takes on the early bits of the longer ride and the medium ride does it’s own thing with a trip to Studham and then down past the zoo.

The long ride adds on 5 miles compared to last week but it is flatter, actually only having 200 feet more than the medium ride which is 20 miles shorter! We stick with 9.30am 10am and 10.30am start times.

10.30am 24 miles to Cublington https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45365879

10am We are all going to the zoo 30 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43193241

9.30am Tour De Claydons 50 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46373243

We will aim to up the milage again next week and then in two weeks time (12th May) we will be offering the classic 100km+ Silverstone Route which is great preparation from our trip to Wells as well as the Ride London 100 which happens at the end of the month.

We are a group of friends who ride together rather than a cycle club, we have no hard and fast rules, no subscription and have no delusions of grandeur. If you are “group ride curious” we must just be a great place to start, we welcome new riders, our rides are on road bikes with pace generally around 14mph to 16mph depending on the wind and hills. When riding in a group you can achieve slightly higher average speeds because you can take a turn sheltering from the wind and the motivation to keep up helps push you harder than when out on your own.

Three rides this Sunday, all starting from Ivinghoe church. looking ahead we are exactly one month away from a weekend is Wells (Somerset) 17th to 20th May. The weekend away features four days of riding on similar outings to our usual Sunday rides but on different roads and with the chance to socialise off the bike before and after rides. The rides are planned to be ridden at “tourist pace” to allow riders to take in the scenery and ride multiple days in a row, each ride has a refrshment stop. Anyone who wishes to join needs to book their own accomodation in or near Wells and be ready to ride at 1pm on Friday afternoon and 10am on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We have longer and shorter options each day, designed to showcase some of the best riding Somerset has to offer. Riders can join for any or all days and we will look at meeting & eating spots for the evenings.

Back to this week, Please be ready to ride from Ivinghoe church at the stated start time, we may split into different pace groups if there are a large number of riders on a route and the more modest pace group will ensure no one is left behind! Once again the earliest ride sets off at 9.30am as we stretch ourselves towards summer distances…..

Rides finish at the Rose and Crown, handy if you are thirsty or hungry after your morning endevours!

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46247686 Wendover Loop 21 miles 680 feet of climbing

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46247630 Fighting up Rocky 31 miles 1551 feet of climbing

9.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46261195 The Airport Run 44 miles 2,426 feet of climbing

During the summer months we plan rides for Tuesday evenings, Some riders like advance notice of these so they can plan in the rest of their week’s riding. The rides start at 6pm from the roundabout in Pitstone as long as it’s dry! We will offer 2 distance and 2 paces to ensure everyone gets a chance to do what they want, so the paces will be “ride hard” or “recovery”, “Ride hard” is for riders who want a bit of a stretch, we will aim to push the pace but the group is stonger than the individual so we will try to stay connected. “Recovery” is for riders looking for less intensity, maybe turning the legs after a hard weekend of riding, or building up to something later in the week.

Tuesday 23rd April 6pm short https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46261364 16 miles

Tuesday 23rd April 6pm less short https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46261344 21 miles

Three rides to choose from this Sunday, all starting from the church in Ivinghoe. During the summer months we like to offer longer routes, so as we transition towards that, this week the milage for the longest ride has increased slightly, We don’t want you to think you have to cycle faster to make the all important pub time, so the start time has moved by half an hour to 9.30am. Once we get up to doing over 50 miles we will move the start time to 9.

9.30am Little Horwood 43 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46154459

10am Whitchurch 29 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45032139

10.30amCublinton 20 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45037529

All rides start from the church in Ivinghoe. In the near future some “away day” options will be planned for some rides starting within an hours drive of ivinghoe to give us the chance to ride on some different roads for a change. These will include a chiltern hills ride, the Cranfield classic and North Oxfordshire.

The planners at Ivinghoe Velos Towers have been liasing closely with the national weather forecasting teams to come up with routes giving riders a gentle push on the return legs for Sunday. The longer ride this week is a 37 mile offering called “Little Miss Windy” as once we get to Little Missenden you will hardly have to pedal to get back to Ivinghoe!

The medium route crafted by Dave B also takes riders South first, dipping into Chesham before lanes back via Aldbury, this is a 28 mile loop with col de la Hastoe to navigate after 5 miles.

The 10.30 route is a re-run on last weeks shoter ride so join this one if you missed out on it last time! This carefully crafted option does reach higher ground but takes the shallow side up the hills making the climbs achieveable for all levels of rider.

We meet at Ivinghoe church and rides leave on time so get there early with the route plumbed into your headset computer. Old school printouts with turn by turn directions are also acceptable but you may not have many friends left by the end of the ride.

10.30am short but sweet https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45415357 The Hastoe Loop

10am medium/rare https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46065326 Mount Nugent Loop

10am Long and Strong https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46083156 Little Miss Windy