Three route options for riders to enjoy this Sunday. The longer route is going to a public vote, think of it as a cross between Sports personality of the year and Britain’s got talent. The 10am and 10.30am are set in concrete (that makes them sound like they won’t be too rapid) All routes will commence from Ivinghoe church and return to the Rose And Crown.

Bob and Grant are guest route planners this week, so thanks for the routes guys and enjoy!

10.30am 23 miles, getting as far as Stewkley https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52936898

10am Owlswick 34 (although the route doesn’t quite reach Owlswick) It’s a flat one so back at the pub for opening time! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52869975

9am The Public vote: one of these three options will be confirmed via our socials on Saturday morning, the ride will leave the church at 9am and will go North, South or West. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52949263 or https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52939116 or https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53029276

Three route options for Sunday. Current forcast is for an India summer like day, so get out with one of our groups. Remember if you don’t ride with a group when you can there may not be a group to ride with when you want to, your participation may encourage other’s participation.

Rides start from Ivinghoe church at the stated times, we aim to leave no one behind.

9am The Flat One https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52949162

10am Ballinger And Back https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52778889

10.30am Halton 22 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52946033

Three rides to choose from this Sunday! With it being the 1st Sunday of the month, we have a coffee stop option on the longer ride. The stop will be in Chinnor.

All rides start from the bus sheter outside Ivinghoe church, be there, or miss out!

Thanks to Richard F for providing us with route options for 10am and 10.30am

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52870146 off to standbridge and back via Dagnall, 22 miles, fairly flat to start and then the climbing comes in towards the end of the ride

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52869975 Out to Kimblewick the flat earthers will love this one.

9am coffee ride https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52886744 “Four-mill-ity” a tour of four local windmills with some early climbs and a flat second half after the cofee.

Pitstone windmill is an early 17th century windmill currently owned by the national trust. 1627 is carved on a piece of the framework, believed to be the earliest year of any windmill in the British Isles still standing. Indeed some of the wood heralds from a tree felled in 1595. The Pitstone mill is a post mill design meaning the structure is resting on a central post and the whole mill turns to bring the sails round into the wind. 

Hawridge Mill was built on the current site in 1883 at a cost of £300 by Hillstons of Tring, the design superseded an unprofitable smock mill. This is a tower mill meaning it’s strong brick construction could support bigger sails and house the sails at a greater height. The mill operated until 1912 when it was converted into a private residence. The author Ben Hatch lived in the mill during his teenage life, his nickname at Chesham school was “Windy Miller”  in his book “are we nearly there yet?” he mentions living in the mill and working in the legendary Macdonalds in Chesham. Ben’s book “road to Rouen” is also worth a read.

The Lacey Green windmill sits prettily on top of a Chiltern hill, built around 1650. For a number of years in the 20th century it had a now disproven claim from Chesham folk that it had been moved the 9 miles east from Lownes Park. In operation until 1915 the mill was then turned into a weekend cottage. After years of neglect, in recent times the mill has been restored to be a stunning example of a smock windmill, which means only the top, or cap rotates to bring the sails into the wind. The name smock was given to mills like this due to the visual likeness to the garments worn by farmers. Construction was generally sloping weatherboards.

Chinnor Windmill, another post mill, was first constructed in 1789, although it’s likely there were mills on the site for hundreds of years before this one.  It was demolished in 1967 to make way for housing but luckily most bits were kept and moved to Essex, where they were discovered in 1980 and  a group of dedicated volunteers rebuilt the mill around 150 yards from the original site in Whites Field. 

We will aim to have a coffee at the windmill at Chinnor, if this is not possible the biker bean cafe is just around the corner.

Three routes for Ivinghoe Velos riders to enjoy this Sunday. The shortest option is a 21 mile route as far as Cubblington. The medium route at 10am is 32 miles and takes riders to Ballinger. The longer option this Sunday starts at 9am and takes riders on a 47 mile journey to Thornton and back.

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52778953

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52778889

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52791271

Any questions, concerns or requests for help can be posted on our facebook group page, the Ivinghoe Velos Rear hub, so riders who are intending to be out on the routes can chip in.

The usual three route options for riders this Sunday, we have a 9am 46 mile option, a 10am 35 mile option and a 10.30am 22 mile option. All rides start from the bus shelter in front of Ivinghoe church. As a general rule the longer the route the faster the group but we don’t break any land speed records. The routes are road bike specific, there may be the odd bit of cycle lane included.

Last week the 9am long route averaged 16.2 mile per hour (moving speed) while the 10.30 short route averaged 13.5 miles per hour, the 10am medium route, which no one attempted last week, should fall somewhere between those two. Join a ride at a pace and distance you enjoy, if you ride faster than 17mph when riding solo we would suggest you find a club more suitable to your abilities- or join us a mountain bike!

10.30am Halton https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52680290

10am Winslow https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52594937

9am Cuddington https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52701164

Thanks to Richard F for putting together the short and medium routes. If anyone would like to be a guest route planner so we get the odd different perspective on routes please let us know!

As we move into the winter months we will scale back the longer route and move the start time back to 10am, we may squeeze one more slightly longer 9am coffee stop ride at the start of October if the weather is looking favorable.

Please check out our facebook page “The Ivinghoe Velos Rear Hub” for ad-hoc midweek rides and maybe if you are planning to get out you could invite others to join in with a post on there.

Three routes to choose from this Sunday. The forecast at the time of writing is for a dry sunny start to the morning, with showers arriving late morning and a breeze from the south.

At 9am we head South first to complete the Pednor Loop before heading back for a trip up to Wingrave it’s a 44 mile route designed to arrive back at Ivinghoe Velos HQ soon after midday. At 10am it’s a 35 mile round route to Winslow, back via Swanbourne. At 10.30am riders will do a 21 mile route to Berkhamsted and back via Ashridge. Thanks to Richard F for providing the 35 and 21 mile routes.

9am The Pednor Loop https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52621507 44 miles

10am Winslow Way https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52594937 35 miles

10.30am Berkhamsted And Back https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52595241 21 miles

The Ivinghoe Velos is 15 years old. The first ever ride was planned at the Rose & Crown back in July 2010 and the first actual route published was on 1st August 2010, there were two route options- a medium (14 miles) and a long (21 miles) Riders were invited to dust off their choppers and remember to pack a puncture repair kit as well as a drink in the ruck sack.

Always a group of friends, never a club, we have been on many adventures over the years, cycling has enriched all our lives and riding with others has added to the fun, so if you can join one of our group rides you will be continuing the traditions. The motto is no one gets left behind which requires riders to moderate the pace to accommodate all riders in the group as well as riders being realistic about the ride they join. We welcome new riders who are keen to try riding on the roads in a group, if you can maintain 15mph on your own you should be fine to ride in our longer group rides….. If you can maintain 17mph on your own we are probably a bit slow for you! The group will only continue with your participation, so if you want a group to ride with in the future, come out when you can!

Roll on Sunday.

The usual three route options this week, with the longer route being a coffee stop ride.

Inspired by the pro riders on the tour of Britain taking on our local roads on Thursday, get out on Sunday and enjoy a group ride with the ivinghoe Velos.

9am Out to Emily’s Tea Room https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51602359 47 miles

10am Chesham and the Beacon https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52488188 30 miles

10.30am Eggington https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52488234 22 miles

The Ivinghoe Velos is 15 years old. The first ever ride was planned at the Rose & Crown back in July 2010 and the first actual route published was on 1st August 2010, there were two route options- a medium (14 miles) and a long (21 miles) Riders were invited to dust off their choppers and remember to pack a puncture repair kit as well as a drink in the ruck sack.

Always a group of friends, never a club, we have been on many adventures over the years, cycling has enriched all our lives and riding with others has added to the fun, so if you can join one of our group rides you will be continuing the traditions. The motto is no one gets left behind which requires riders to moderate the pace to accommodate all riders in the group as well as riders being realistic about the ride they join. The group will only continue with your participation, so if you want a group to ride with in the future, come out when you can!

August is a long month, containing 5 Sundays, so here is your last outing for the month which has contained some lovely riding conditions & plenty of activities We have the usual three routes from Ivinghoe church. 47, 32 and 22 miles 9am, 10am and 10.30 start times. New riders, returners and regulars welcome you just need to arrive before the ride start time with a working road bike and a good idea of where you are going! Last Sunday’s pace was 9am=16mph, 10am=15mph, 10.30am=13mph, you can expect similar this weekend. Thanks to Richard F for the short and medium route options.

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52408105

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52390964

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52390377

Next Thursday the pro riders come close to us during the Tour Of Britain. There will be a planned ride from Ivinghoe, along the lines of the usual Thursday social outing to include stopping road side to watch the riders zoom past, some where near Evershot. Watch out for timings once the race details are confirmed. With the start being in MK and the finish in Amphtill riders could also visit the start/finish fan parks if they wanted to get a longer look at the riders.

The longer Sunday ride on 7th September will be a coffee stop ride. As I’m in Wales for the TOB next weekend maybe someone would like to suggest the destination & route (before I put too many hills in)?

The Ivinghoe Velos is 15 years old. The first ever ride was planned at the Rose & Crown back in July 2010 and the first actual route published was on 1st August 2015, there were two route options- a medium (14 miles) and a long (21 miles) Riders were invited to dust off their choppers and remember to pack a puncture repair kit as well as a drink in the ruck sack.

Always a group of friends, never a club, we have been on many adventures over the years, cycling has enriched all our lives and riding with others has added to the fun, so if you can join one of our group rides you will be continuing the traditions. The motto is no one gets left behind which requires riders to moderate the pace to accommodate all riders in the group as well as riders being realistic about the ride they join. The group will only continue with your participation, so if you want a group to ride with in the future, come out when you can!

The usual three ride options for riders joining us on Sunday. After 62 mile rides on the last three Sundays we drop down to 45 miles for a change at 9am, the other routes are the usual 32 miles and 23 miles.

All rides meet before the start time outside Ivinghoe church.

10.30 am short route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52223457

10.00 am medium route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52223276

9.00 am long route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52274373

During the early 90s my musical brother was in a local band called “snot trough” as you can imagine romantic ballads were not a speciality. “BVHC” was their top song which was all about the Bovingdon Village Hard Core, the 9am route travels to the heartland of the BVHC, expect the sound of Thrash Metal from behind garage doors.

The 10am route travels to Dunstable, a town famous for producing indie popster “badly drawn boy” Damon Gough won a Mercury music prize in 2000 for his album “The hour of the Bewilderbeast”, sounds just like an Ivinghoe Velos 10am group!

At 10.30 Our route takes in Cow Roast, if you return on bank holiday Monday you will see cover version band “mouth on a stick” playing at the Artisan pub, an energetic acoustic duo who will perform songs from 1950s to modern day classics, you might even hear the song “I want to ride my bicycle”

Roll On Sunday.

Three routes for your enjoyment this Sunday. All starting from Ivinghoe Church at the stated times, please bring your yourself, a working bike and a paper map or ride instructions on your bike computer. We aim to leave no one behind, so moderating the pace for all riders in the group would be sensible.

The shortest option makes it’s way to the end of the world, so you could be in for a rough ride. Oh no sorry, it’s Worlds End and it’s part of our flat earth society collection, so a nice easy one for 10.30am riders https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52168510

Leaving Ivinghoe at 10am the mid range option is a 31 mile outing all the way to Drayton Parslow via Soulbury and back via Stewkley https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52168375 watch out for the devils foot in Soulbury

On a still night In August 1963 a royal mail train was stopped by a bogus red signal, half a mile from Bridego bridge where two drivers were violently attacked, the engine and first carriage were uncoupled and shunted to Bridego bridge where 120 huge bags of cash were unloaded into a truck under the bridge. 

In today’s money the haul would amount to £65 million. 

The gang disappeared into the Buckinghamshire countryside telling Royal mail staff to remain still for 30 minutes or they would be killed. Aylesbury police began a search around the Buckinghamshire countryside, the same countryside we ride through on Sunday.

On Sunday we ride in the tire tracks of the getaway vehicles, perhaps using the same quiet lanes the gang used to escape to Leatherslade farm. The route is 59 miles, passing the scene of the robbery at 4 miles and the hideaway farm at 34 miles. The ride starts at 9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52183981

Following a tip-off from a herdsman working in a nearby field on 13th August police found the farm where the gang had hidden and began searching through finger print evidence. The gang wanted the farm burnt to the ground but this wish was not carried out by their accomplices so evidence remained on beer cans and a monopoly set at the farm.

When it was realised most of the gang were south London based detective Tommy Butler known as “the thief taker” was appointed to lead the investigation. The first arrest followed days later with Roger Cordrey arrested in Bournemouth. Over the coming days through August 1963 arrests continued….

Some of the gang hid or ran for years with leader Bruce Reynolds not caught until November 1968, a very fine month in my opinion.

It is said that three members of the gang were never brought to justice, so look out for clues on Sunday’s ride, keep your eyes peeled as they say. Roll on Sunday.