So here we are many of us have expressed an interest in and are planning to ride this event on Sunday firstly as a personal challenge but also in memory of Steve Herring’s wife, Sue.

Details and entry forms for the ride can be found here

For those looking at doing the 75 mile route we plan to leave PITSTONE ROUNDABOUT at 0715 to meet anyone driving to the start at the Registration point at 0800.  For those planning to make this a century ride the proposed route there and back is here

Those doing the 35 mile route can meet at PITSTONE ROUNDABOUT to leave at 0815 to arrive and meet those driving to the start at 0900.  the proposed there and back is here or those wishing a little less use the route below

Of course being fully inclusive and for those not wishing to tackle either of the above distances Iain Rennie have also included a 10k fun ride which starts at 1100.  Meeting at the ROSE AND CROWN for the usual 1000 Sunday start time this will enable a steady ride using this route to get to the start of the Fun Ride and then a pleasant ride home after to celebrate in the region of 29 miles!

All of the Iain Rennie routes are signed and marshalled but for those with those gadgety garminy type things Graham Hollands has kindly provided the GPX FILES

75 Mile Route – may need to add a couple more miles on way home!! 😉

35 Mile Route

For those with Vinghoe Velos Kit please try and wear it, for those wishing to purchase the new kit updated details will be on the site soon!

3 rides for Sunday

Once again we are blessed with a decent weather forecast so we are planning three rides for Sunday. One of them is a bit longer than normal so it will start an hour earlier. As usual we meet at the Rose and Crown. Please bring a copy of your chosen route with you.

9am 53 mile route

10am 35 mile route

10am 27 mile route

Many thanks to the two Daves (Howe and Bembridge) who are this week’s Routemasters.

The Summer Festival 20th – 21st June 2014

This week we received a message from our friends the Ivinghoe Entertainments team which we would like to pass on –

This year’s Ivinghoe Summer Festival is set to be the best yet. The Black Tie Ball on Saturday the 21st of June is without doubt the not to be missed event of the summer. We have been able to book a fantastic Group “The Collection” fronted by Keavy Lynch from “Bewitched” and ITV’s “ the Big Reunion”. We have new caterers who specialise in events of our size and style and for good measure we’ve moved the black tie ball to Saturday evening to make it easier to bring along your friends from further afield. If you haven’t been before then this is THE year to come along and join in the fun.

…and if that isn’t enough we’ve also got an “Early Bird” offer of two free bottles of wine (RRP at least £ 30) for anyone who books a table of at least eight people by the 8th of April.

For more information please visit our web site www.ivinghoeentertainments.org.uk , twitter @ivinghoeents or Facebook www.facebook.com/invinghoents or call Penny on 01296 668017 for more details.

We all look forward to seeing you at what we’re sure will be a cracking night.

And finally, a reminder about our recommendation for the ride Next Sunday

As we mentioned before, a number of our riders are going to take on the Chiltern Cycle Challenge next Sunday with Steve Herring in memory of his wife Sue. If you would like to join us, please sign up on their website and in turn raise some money for the wonderful charity – Rennie Grove Hospice Care .

or blame it on the boogie – we don’t care!

In a burst of unusual efficiency, we have a route planned – flat with plenty of downhills – which you can view / download here – and a stop at  Jackie’s at Cheddington airfield.

The sun has got his hat on and so shall the Tea Riders, Saturday, 10am, at the Rose and Crown please.  No excuses.

The rides this week have been kindly supplied by Mr Dave “9 hills” Howe. The weather forecast is positively spring-like so we are planning longer rides than normal.

Long Route – 40 miles via Chalfont

Shorter Route – 30 miles via Bovingdon

Both rides depart from the Rose and Crown at 10am.

Tomorrow we are off to the Unicorn at Cublington for their wonderful tea and cakes- a special request from our birthday person of the week. This is a 20 mile round trip with some gentle hills. As it is a slightly longer ride I expect we will get back to the Rose and Crown between 12:30 and 1 pm.

See you outside the Rose and Crown at 10 o’clock prompt.

Biggles’ 55th Birthday Ride with the Slapton Wheelers

As mentioned in our posting earlier this week, our pal David Lewis (aka Biggles) from the Slapton Wheelers has kindly invited us to his 55th Birthday celebration ride. It starts and finishes at the Carpenter Arms in Slapton and they have two distances on offer – 55 and 29 miles. The start times from Slapton are 8:30am and 9:30am respectively so we are proposing the following meeting times at the Rose and Crown if you would like to ride over there with your fellow Velos.

8am meet for the 55 mile route

9am meet for the 29 mile route

We had a fantastic time when we met up with the Wheelers last summer and we can be certain of a warm welcome for any of us that ride with them on Sunday.

10am rides

For anyone interested in a later start, we have two rides that leave the Rose and Crown at 10am.

Longer route

Shorter route

Meet at 10 am outside the Rose and Crown for more tea, cake and adventure. Weather looks fair, so get the bike out of the shed for some gentle cycling.

In view of the awful weather forecast today and the number of riders who have already abandoned I have decided to pull the plug on the grumpy old men’s ride for today. We will have another go on a better day next week.

GOMAW Tour Series

The GOMAW (Grumpy Old Men & Women) tour series continues on Friday in the absence of Mr B with a trip through the grounds of Gorhambury House near St Albans and lunch at the Italian Cafe in Chesham that we visited a few rides ago.

GOMAW route

Meet at 10am at Pitstone roundabout on Friday 28th Feb.

BIGGLES 55TH ‘GET-TOGETHER’ RIDE – SUNDAY 2nd MARCH

David Lewis from the Slapton Wheelers is celebrating his 55th birthday with a ride out on Sunday and some of the ‘vinghoe Velos are planning to join him. Here is his email….

I said I’d be in touch nearer the time…

And thanks for the very positive response.

Having checked the long-range weather forecast for Sunday I think it is worth going ahead. If the weather turns bad then rules 5 and 9 apply!

As I mentioned before I see this as an opportunity for us to meet up and ride in small groups with friends and people we know through Strava and to have a few drinks in our ‘Clubhouse’ (The Carpenters Arms) afterwards.

And of course to commiserate with me for being another year older!

I am going to warn the landlord (Elliott) and ask him to put on some chips. Our very good friends at Ivinghoe Velos have been over to the ‘Carpenters’ before and I am hoping for a good turnout from them (Andys and John please pass this on).

It is not a race! (I can’t believe I am saying that) – although I expect a few characters will have a go at some ‘segments’ en route – rather an opportunity to chat and get to know one another better.

Who knows, in the future this may become Slapton Wheelers’ very own ‘Reliability Ride’ as a compliment to our existing summer sportive ‘The Slapton Wheeler’ – I hope so.

There are 2 routes on offer – a 55 miler and a half-distance (it is actually 29 miles). I will be on the 55 miler (naturally) but there is no shame in opting for the shorter distance.

Both routes are attached to this email an can be viewed in Garmin Connect. If you need the .gpx files for your gps let me know.

I suggest the 55 mile group starts at 0830hrs and the other group at 0930hrs roughly allowing 3:30hrs (@16mph) and 2:30hrs (@12mph) respectively and a combined eta at the pub of approximately midday.

With a bit of luck the two groups might meet up as they follow the same route towards the end.

If you are a visitor please make yourself known to me and/or any of the Slapton Wheelers/Wheelettes; They are a very friendly bunch and not at all precious as can be noted by some of the ridiculous ‘nicknames’ on the back of their shirts.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

PS As previously stated feel free to bring along a friend/club member and if you can spot that I have left anyone out of the ‘addressees’ please feel free to forward it on.

PPS For those of you who want to drive to Slapton, there should be enough parking in the pub car park at that time on a Sunday morning

Regards

David (aka ‘Biggles’)

The GPX files for David’s rides can be found:

Here for the half distance

and

Here for the full 55

The routes are also available on Garmin Connect:

Half Distance

And

Full Distance

Rides on Sunday

We have three distances to entice you with this week. First off, a number of the Velos are going to ride the Luton Cycling Club Reliability Ride, part of the Chiltern Classics Series of early season sportives. It’s 100km (62 miles) in length and officially starts from Edlesbourough Village Hall at 8:30am. We will be meeting at the Rose and Crown at 8:15am to cycle to the start. The plan is to ride as a group averaging 15mph and we would very much welcome anyone who wants to join us. The details of the ride can be found on the Luton CC website.

If a 10am start suits you better then we have two other rides on offer.

Long Route – To Chartridge and Back

Shorter Route – Hawridge Loop

As always, we meet at the Rose & Crown. Please bring a copy of the route with you either on paper, or in your chosen electronic gadget.

Audax Rides

A number of our group led by Jayne Raynor are planning some Audax rides this year. Please do let Jayne know if you are interested in joining them for one of these events which will we guarantee will be a lot of fun.

“As you probably know, every year a few of us do the Stevenage CTC Start of Summertime Ride. This year it’s on 30th March 2014. There are three distances, 62km, 115km & 210km. Details can be found here http://www.stevenagectc.org.uk/summertime.php. We also do the Emitremmus ride in the autumn too.

We’re also going to do the Wessex CTC Coastlet 100km Brevet Populaire Ride on Sunday 13th April 2014, details here: http://www.wessexctc.org/dcldetail.htm

Some of us have booked in to Swanage YHA for the Saturday night ready for the ride on Sunday (accommodations is proving difficult to book due to Easter) and we’ll be travelling home sometime in the evening after the ride.

Lastly, we’re also doing the Gridiron on 12th October (this will be our third year – time flies) details here: http://www.wessexctc.org/grdetail.htm

These are not the all guns blazing sportives, they have a time limit but are not timed and they are really nice sociable events for all sorts of abilities, bicycles and ages and a great camaraderie. Even better, really nice refreshment stops.

Jayne.”