Wishing all Ivinghoe Velos mail list receivers a very merry Christmas!

This week Sunday happens to be boxing day, if you feel the need for some fresh air after Christmas why not squeeze into some Lycra and come out for a ride! We will be meeting at Ivinghoe church at 10am, looking to do around 30 miles, no pre-planned route, we will make it up as we go along and ride at a pace comfortable for all.

We also have bank holidays on Monday and Tuesday so plan to offer 10am meet ups at the church on these days too. There will be a poll of facebook so riders can indicate which days they plan to get out.

We may be heading towards some kind of restrictions, however it’s likely that we can continue to meet up outdoors for exercise. There may or may not be opportunities for post ride refreshment. We will obviously react and adjust plans accordingly.

Stay safe and healthy and have a great Christmas break!

Our last Sunday before Christmas should be a nice, socially distanced, social affair, so please come and join us for a gentle flat spin where we can exchange Christmas pleasantries or share festive frustrations! Our main route of 29 miles heads out at 10am, if you’d like extra miles please do your own “warm up” before getting to Ivinghoe church ready for the start. For anyone unable to join us on 19th, we wish you a merry Christmas, may santa bring you some new shiny bike related toys. On that subject, for those who have ordered Velos kit, it is now ready to collect, please contact John if you’ve not already done so.

If you can’t manage the 29 miles on the main route we also offer a 23 mile short cut starting at 10.30am at the church, you may well bump into the main ride on the way round!

As the next Sunday is boxing day we won’t put out a prescribed route but have every intention of meeting up at 10am for some fresh air and a spin for a couple of hours to clear the head and work off some of the Christmas pudding.

We will also be taking advantage of the bank holidays on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th with open invitations for rides again at 10am from the church.

We will pop a poll on facebook so riders can see if there are others intending to ride each day.

Once into the new year we will be supporting those resolutions by offering easy routes for newcomers and unfit returners. Obviously our plans may change based on government edict, crossing everything that we are able to start the new year riding together!

19th December 10am 29 miles Ho Ho Halton https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38185852

19th December 10.30am 23 miles Ho Halton https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38185860

We have two rides to chose from this week crafted by route master extraordinaire Dave Bembridge. Over the last two Sundays rider numbers have been particularly low, if this continues this week we will ride in one group per time slot and ride at the pace of the slowest rider. If numbers permit we will break into pace groups. We will support riders returning from illness or possibly early Christmas excess!

10am 30 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38152331

10.30am 19 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38152347

As always we meet at Ivinghoe church, so if you are not partying at Downing Street on Saturday night, see you at the church on Sunday morning.

As we move into deep midwinter we will arrange an evening online social zwift ride. If you would like to be involved please follow me on zwift: D AVE.HOWE so I can set up a meet-up where we can practice working together. I’m thinking 7pm on Tuesday as a nominal first attempt. Only two more weeks and the evenings start getting lighter!!!

Three routes to chose from this Sunday, we have a cold but bright forecast, please check out the road conditions on the day and use our social media channels to keep in touch with other riders if you feel a later start or chunkier tires might be needed.

We have reduced our distances slightly, the 9am route does an 18 mile loop before cutting into the 10am loop (2.5 miles into the route) so if riders numbers are low there will be a chance to join up to make a reasonable size group. Depending on numbers we will do the usual pace splitting, please stick to the expected pace within your group, looking back to ensure everyone is benefiting from the group draft.

9am Longer DD https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114621

10am Standard DD https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114182

10.30am WT https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38114189

With rider numbers expected to be lower that usual this week the 9am route will complete a 15 mile loop before returning to the church to meet 10am riders, giving everyone more chance of riding in a decent group. Stay safe people and enjoy the rides! We have gone back into our bank of rides to select these from December 2019, I time when covid was just a curious report at the end of the news. Please meet at the usual place outside the church.

9am ride add on: https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4986836.html

10am route https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4986815.html

10.30am shorter https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4986813.html

As you may know we have recently had a few covid 19 pings within the group and also at the Rose and Crown, so regular pre-ride testing is recommended, I am one of a group isolating this weekend.

On a similar theme, I’ve had a request from a Sunday rider to point out that when riding in a group, excretion of bodily fluids should be reserved to “out the back on the group” if you really have to do it. Spitting isn’t great at the best of times, particularly in the times we are living in. If you believe the behaviour of a rider is not up to standard please point it out respectfully, we all want to feel comfortable and safe while out riding as a group of friends.

Thursday 25th November from Ivinghoe Church at 9.30am 35 miles. We pass the new cafe “chiltern velo” which may or may not be open for a stop. If not it’s down into Berkhamsted for a choice of coffee outlets. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38070402

As you may know we have recently had a few covid 19 pings within the group and also at the Rose and Crown, so regular pre-ride testing is recommended, I even took a test to send this post!!!

On a similar theme, I’ve had a request from a Sunday rider to point out that when riding in a group, excretion of bodily fluids should be reserved to “out the back on the group” if you really have to do it. Spitting isn’t great at the best of times, particularly in the times we are living in. If you believe the behaviour of a rider is not up to standard please point it out respectfully, we all want to feel comfortable and safe while out riding as a group of friends.

Good to see so many Ivinghoe Velos making it to the church mid ride last week, to observe remembrance Sunday. This week we have three routes in Beautiful Bucks for you.

9am 45 miles Win Slow: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38033710

10am 29 miles on the Drayton Loop https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38025549

10.30am 22 miles via Soulbury https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38025670

Please arrive in advance of your expected start time with a good idea of the route you are riding on. Our aim is to leave no one behind, so looking behind you to moderate your pace to support riders behind is as important as keeping up with the riders ahead.

Time is running out on our kit order window, which closes on 22nd November for a chance of a Christmas delivery. Order NOW at https://eucustom.champ-sys.com/teamstore/?IvinghoeVelos

On Thursday this week we have a 33 mile road ride starting at 9.30am from Ivinghoe Church.

Roadie Thursday: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38018606

On Friday there is an away day 32 mile mountain bike option, starting from the Hellfire caves in West Wycombe at 10am, taking in some of the chiltern cycleway along with Thames side towns Marlow and Henley.

MTB Friday: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38020210

Midweek rides are social with refreshment stops planned in.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Our usual tradition is to stop our ride at 11am to observe the remembrance day silence and pay our respects to people who have died in wars around the world. The aim is to return to Ivinghoe church for 11am and then continue on a common final loop. This also gives riders the chance to join us at 11.10am to complete the last section of the ride after our stop at the church.

Due to the importance of timings this weeks rides will leave exactly at the start time, so please give yourself time to arrive early.

9am 44 miles: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37982858

10am 29 miles: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37995728

10.30am 23 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37966644

11.10am 17 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37995698

Meeting at Ivinghoe church at 9.30am on Thursday, this is a 30 mile route with a coffee stop planned for Ashley Green https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37965897

On Sunday our aim is for routes to take in the remembrance day ceremony at 11am, details will follow in the usual weekly post.