Three ride options this Sunday, 58 miles at 9am out to Grendon Underwood, 33 miles at 10am up Dunstable Downs and 22 miles at 10.30am up Dancers End.

Each ride starts at Ivinghoe church with the 9am ride usually ridden slightly faster than the 10am ride and the 10am ride slightly quicker than the 10.30 ride.

Sunday 9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36531264

Sunday 10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36526603

Sunday 10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36526660

This weekend the best sporting event of the year starts, so no doubt there will be plenty of TDF chat on the rides, If you fancy a go at gaining bragging rights join the Ivinghoe Velos Fantasy Tour de France league and see if you can out-wit the rest of us with your own top team. Follow the link https://fantasybytissot.letour.fr/… joining the league 8017 Ivinghoe Velos

The usual route planners Dave B and Dave H have crafted this weeks routes, next week we have a guest planner with Andrew B providing the 9am route, if anyone would like to step up to plan the shorter routes email davehowe@aol.com with a “ride with GPS” link by Wednesday.

Next Tuesday some riders may be keen to watch some football at our normal ride time, so we will offer the same routes on Tuesday and Wednesday evening at 6.30pm. I’m sure this will enable anyone riding on Wednesday to get over the celebration hangover after a great English victory!

Finally anyone who has ordered team kit during the recent order cycle can now arrange collection from John H and enjoy some rides in our lovely team blues.

For those wishing to get done in time to watch England v Czech Republic on Tuesday we have some flexible options for you! Starting at Pitstone roundabout.

For those able to ride earlier, at 5.30pm we have a 17 mile Wingrave loop. This loop will lead into a 15 mile Dancers End loop.

At 6.30pm we have a 15 mile Dancers End loop. This loop can continue onto the Wingrave loop, to make the ride up to 31 miles or you can choose to stop and watch the football after the 15 miles.

The 6.30 group should not wait at the roundabout for the 5.30 group and vice versa.

5.30pm start: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36492914

6.30pm Start: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36492955

Routes are fairly flat, so there should be time to get a beer on the go before the football starts!

Three routes to chose from this Sunday. In preparation for Le Tour starting the following weekend we take on some Bucks and Beds categorized climbs. There may be rain drops.

9am “three peaks” The full beacon, Bison Hill and Sharpenhoe Clappers https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36447061

10am Lumpy Chesham https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36446331

10.30 Wound Wing and Wingrave https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36446365

Please arrive before the ride start time. Ensure your group looks after all riders and stay safe! Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates and additional ride options.

6:30 roundabout ride! This week for those who want to, we will have a practice chain gang ride.

Instructions from Captain Dave B: Using the base route, Can be extended or shortened. First third and last third are an opportunity to group ride with every member taking a turn at the front and holding a steady pace. Middle has a few lumps.
So if we split into groups depending on what you want to do or pace. 30 seconds on the front but not increasing the pace, Then pull over to the right to let the group pass on the inside and drop to the back.. You are responsible for the rider behind you..If they have fallen off then shout ‘Gap’ . Leader slows until a call of ‘Back on’  Practice on the way out to Well Lane, Groups to regroup at Cubbington and then see what we can do on the way home.

Ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36409408

The following Tuesday is the closest we have to the longest day so will be giving riders the chance to a slightly longer option with a cut back alternative. Happy riding!

This post contains a base route for Tuesday evening which riders can adapt to increase/decrease as required. With the light evenings some riders will be wanting to crack 30 miles, while others will be happy with the 20 on offer.

Tuesday base (6.30pm start Pitstone roundabout) https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36318501

There are also Sunday routes included below…

This weekend the Euro football competition starts, apparently it’s a bit like the Tour De France but British teams have less chance of winning than Chris Froome in the Tour. The Rose and Crown will be showing games on a big screen in the garden. This means anyone who usually parks their bike in the pub on Sunday will need to find alternative parking options in the local area as no bikes will be allowed in the pub to help with social distancing.

The Sunday routes are designed to get you back in time to watch England’s soccer ball efforts at 2pm. A great way to come down after a ride high!

Sunday 9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36329980

Sunday 10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36318948

Sunday 10:30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36265511

Looking into the future we have the Hemel Hillbuster to look forward to on 18th July, the Dunwich Dynamo is 24th July, if anyone is feeling energetic! We also plan to take a drive over to the Cotwolds and do 50 miles on quiet lanes with different pace options depending on numbers. We will also offer a 100km Sunday route at 10am pace. Further ahead into August we will hold our annual charity ride starting from the usual place, with options for everyone to enjoy, further details to follow!

Three routes for Ivinghoe riders to enjoy this weekend, so pick the one you fancy and have some fun in the sun. The 9am route is likely to be ridden at higher than 16 mph average, the later routes will depend on personnel on the day, splitting into groups so riders who prefer a certain pace can volunteer their services as road captains, keeping groups together at the pace agreed at the start of the ride.

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36267561

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36265453

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36265511

We have a Ivinghoe Velos WhatsApp Group – all IV welcome to join. The core purpose of the group is brief key messages to let other riders know things like:
– I’m doing the xx ride – anyone else coming?- I am on my way to the start meet-up, punctured please wait ….- I got left behind by the group, had a mechanical, now sorted, see you at ……- etc. 
If you’d like to be added please speak to someone in the group Ivinghoe Velos-Peleton on Sunday so you can request to join the group. On drop Rod an email with your contact details rod.mordey@btinternet.com

With a drier spell of weather on the way we dare to dream that we might complete a whole ride without the rain jacket close to hand! This week in addition to our usual road options Dave H will be leading an off-road adventure, nearly 40 miles of trials, byways and quiet lanes. Anyone is welcome to join us, including any new faces who don’t do road biking, on a relaxed morning away from the traffic. So if you want a dope route, with your pimp MTB, or even a BSO come along, dab if you need to, it’s not too gnarly, no booters planned, we won’t be too shralp but hopefully it will be a sick ride. Expected finish time is 1pm

The 9am road option is a 55 mile trip through Evershot and Woburn, back via Stewkley, ending with a kicker in the back end of the route with an assent of Marlin hill.

We also have a guest route suggestion with Mark Wilson’s Waddesden Greenway special at 10am. This is mainly a reasonably flat ride which includes the cycleway from Aylesbury to Waddesden which is road bike friendly but does have the odd bit of gravel and is a multi-use path so care is needed. This route bypasses the track through Eythorpe which we found recently was closed to cyclists.

Our 10.30 route is a 22 mile route with mostly gentle slopes, a climb through Drayton Beauchamp will test the legs

9am long road, 55 miles trip to Woburn https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36153695

9am MOUNTAIN BIKE route Chennies and Latimer https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35993553

10am Waddesden Greenway https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36013353

10.30am Drayton Beauchamp climb https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36181799

Please arrive ready for your expected route start time with a good idea of where you are heading, look out for all members in your group and have a great ride!

There will, as always through the summer months, be a Tuesday evening ride from Pitstone roundabout at 6.30pm. We have been suggesting the rides in advance while there has been a need to break into groups of six or less. There was only 4 riders out last Tuesday so no need to worry about group sizes! This week the forecast is for showers clearing by the evening so we will meet and head towards the most promising blue patches of sky. With the light levels now ok to ride until around 9pm the routes can get a bit longer for those wishing to vary the routes slightly.

This Sunday we have a big one on offer. The 9am route takes us to Windsor Castle on a 78 mile adventure. As the distance is beyond our usual “sprint” to the pub we will be riding at a sensible pace and will include a coffee break. Anyone who usually rides comfortably at 15mph will be fine. The route journeys through the AONB chiltern hills, then past Dorney Lake, the site of the 2012 olympic rowing, a quick wave to the Queen at Windsor and a nod to Heston at the fat Duck in Bray, before returning through Cookham and Marlow and back up through the Chilterns. We meet at 9am at Ivinghoe church https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36014336

If you are lacking in the time or energy to get to Windsor and back, we have the usual medium and short options. Please arrive before the planned start time and identify the group you are riding with, looking after all members so you complete the course as a well oiled peloton machine. Having a good knowledge of the route will help you make the correct turns during your time at the front of the group. Thanks to Dave B for putting these routes together.

10am ride to Horwood and Winslow, this 36 mile route has little by the way of climbs so should be easy for the group to keep together https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36067897

10.30am ride to Stewkley , 23 miles will less than 1,000 feet of climbing, idea for those getting back to fitness or joining group rides for the first time. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36067959

If you fancy something a bit rougher, the following Sunday (30th May) will include a mountain bike option at 9am, out to the Chess Valley and back to the pub for 1pm.

Enjoy the rides and stay safe.

As lock down restrictions ease, allowing larger groups to meet outside and the changeable weather continues we will send out a proposed ride for Tuesday 18th May but versions and varieties of this can be worked on through the usual channels of social media, whatsapping, brown envelopes passed under the desk or even face to face conversions (with social distancing considerations). We meet at Pistone roundabout at 6.30pm.

This route, on quiet lanes South then North of Tring, has a couple of challenging climbs but as the evening light has extended past 8.30pm there should be enough time for everyone to get round the 23 miles with 1,163 feet of climbing. This route can be reduced by 5 miles by not turning left onto Rays Hill and then taking the next right back onto the route on Cholesbury road heading back towards Tring. At the time of writing all the roads appear to be open!!!

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36058777