All posts by john

Velos Rides for Sunday 19th January 2014

rides

The ‘two ride’ format seems to be working so we will be continuing that this week.

The Long Route takes us to Stewkley and Soulbury covering just under 30 miles.

The Long Route

Our more reasonable mileage route this week covers 15 miles and heads towards Champneys. The reward for doing this route is a nice fast finish down the Beacon.

The Shorter Route

As always, please bring a copy of your chosen route with you, either on your GPS device or printed out.  We meet from 9:45am at the Rose & Crown, Ivinghoe with an intention to depart at 10am.

Velos Ride for Sunday 27th October 2013

rides

Vinghoe Velos Christmas dinner

Once again Jayne has very kindly made the arrangements for our Vinghoe Velos Christmas Dinner. The date is the 13th December and the venue is rehydration central : The Rose and Crown, Ivinghoe. Places are limited to just 30 so whilst the absolute cut off date is the 8th December, demand is expect to be high so you will have to act fast to secure a seat at the table(s).

To reserve your place at the No.1 Non-Cycling Event for Cyclists in Ivinghoe this Winter, hand over a £5 deposit to a member of the pub staff ASAP. At the same time, please select your selections from their Christmas Menu . The cost for three courses will be £25.

Alpine Adventure 2014

We have had a fantastic response to the mid-week post suggesting a trip to the Alps in 2014 to climb up some amazing mountain passes. At the moment the responses stand at –
9 definitely
5 possibly
To answer some of the concerns that have been put forward, we plan to ride in (and stay together as) groups up the climbs. The only exception may be Alpe d’Huez where we will all go at our own individual pace and meet for coffee and cake at the top (where we suspect Andy Beezer might have had 2 or 3 coffees before he has company). The B&B is already running out of rooms so we have to be quick and commit at least the deposit this weekend. If you are wavering and have any questions, please do let us know – we will commit to final numbers on Monday. The sign up / questions page is on our website so please get in touch by Sunday evening if you are interested.

Sunday Route

The Met Office is predicting high winds by Monday but we have it on good authority from our friend Michael Fish that they are completely wrong there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Either way, best to get any rides out of the way on Sunday before the proper storm hits / misses.

As always, we meet at The Pub from 9:45am with a 10am depart.

The Route

 

 

Alps Adventure July 2014

newsletter

Now that the Tour de France 2014 route has been announced, we were wondering if there was any interest in an Alpine Vinghoe Velos trip in July that included a couple of opportunities to see the Tour up close on its home turf. The itinerary would be something like –

  • Fly or drive to Bourg d’Oisans (near Grenoble, France) on the 16th July.
  • Stay in a local B&B for 5 nights (this one has availability and is run by a lovely couple who are cyclists with a great knowledge of the local area – http://www.bourgdoisansbandb.com )
  • Spend leisurely days riding up some of the classic mountain climbs (Alpe d’Huez, Col du Galibier, Col de la Croix de Fer)
  • See the Tour climb the Col du Lautaret
  • Return home on 21st

It has to be said that this definitely isn’t a trip that will suit everyone. There isn’t much in the way of flat stuff to cycle on. But for those that are prepared to ride up the mountains (none of which are any steeper than what we ride in the Chilterns – they just go on … and on … ), they will be rewarded with some amazing views, thrilling descents and the very smug feeling that they have conquered some of the best cols in France.

To give an idea of costs, the B&B is around €300 each for 5 nights (4 evening meals are included in that price but we would have the option of eating in town instead for a reduced rate). We would have travel costs on top which will vary depending on if we fly or drive. Easyjet will be cheap if we get in there as soon as the flights are released and they will accept bikes in a box at £25 each way. If we fly there is also a cost to transfer from Airport to Bourg.

Due to the announcement of the Tour route, the accommodation places will fill up very quickly so if you are interested we will need to know in the next few days. The commitment at this early stage would be a deposit of €50 each for the B&B. If you fancy giving this a go, please click on over to our Alpine Adventure page and send us your details together with any questions you might have.