To speak of many things
Of seats & brakes & saddles bags
Of trusty old chain rings
And why we all get on our bikes
On Saturday mornings.

“But wait a bit,” the Riders cried,
“Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!” *
“No hurry!” said the ride leader.
They thanked her much for that.

“A loaf of bread,” the Walrus said,
“Is what we chiefly need:
Traybakes and teacakes besides
Are very good indeed–
Now if you’re ready, Riders dear,
We can begin to feed.”

It’s all about priorities and on the Tea Ride, it the chat and the cake stop.

Everyone welcome, helmet on, roll up, 10am at the Rose & Crown, Ivinghoe – and off we go!

*Original words… not those of today’s compiler….no offence intended!

Tuesday 20th May

Dave “Ride to the Hills” Howe has put forward a great route for Tuesday evening. We meet at Pitstone Roundabout leaving at 6:30pm. Lights are recommended just in case.

Pitstone to Redbourn

Monday 26th May (Bank Holiday)

Sarah Wilson and Liz Carpenter have put together a plan for an extra ride on this Bank Holiday. They will be leaving Pitstone Roundabout at 10am, heading over to the Old Fisherman in Shabbington, stopping for lunch plus some re-hydration and then heading back home. All of the Velos are invited so you fancy joining them, please use the contact us page to send us a message ASAP – Sarah would like to let the pub know our numbers in advance to ensure they make room for us.

Bank Holiday Route

We will be putting out the usual Saturday and Sunday rides later on in the week.

Phew, what a scorcher !

The forecast is fantastic for this Sunday so we have a bonus early morning ride planed. It starts at 8am and is one we have ridden before – “The Benson Finger” routed by Mr Andy “#Mountain” Beezer. You can expect a bevy of tough climbs in the first half and a fast flat route home. Hydration will be important so we plan to stop at a corner shop at the halfway mark for refuelling. If you are going on our Alps trip, or riding the Chiltern 100 then this will be an ideal training ride.

8am Start – The Benson Finger (71 miles)

10am Start – Flat Short Route (22 miles)

10am Start – Mid-Sized Route (34 miles)

Basin to Bar Cycle Ride – 1st June

This year’s event will be taking place on Sunday 1st June 2014. Dave Bembridge and Graham Hollands have been busy behind the scenes planning this years event. Our fund raising will be for Cancer Research. If you’d like all the information about the ride, or better still to sign up, or simply to make a donation then you can do so by following this link to the Virgin Money giving page. If you’re intending to ride please leave a comment with your donation to this effect. If you’d prefer to donate and register in person at the Rose and Crown then please do so.
We also have a map of the route.

Meet at 10 am outside the Rose and Crown for tea, cake and adventures in what looks to be fantastic sunshine. No one left behind so all riders welcome.

Many of our group will be enjoying the Chartridge Sportive on Sunday. For those not partaking we have two rides on offer this week. Both start from the Rose and Crown departing at 10am. Please bring a copy of your chosen route with you either on paper or on GPS device.

Long Route

Short Route

Our illustrious founder may well be off on another jolly jaunt, but don’t worry, the show will go on and we will have you home in time for a pint at the pub to round off tomorrow morning’s Tea Ride. It will also serve as a nice warm up for the excitement of the 59th Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow evening (just in case you didn’t know, we somehow managed to scrape together an entry again this year, which is where the Molly bit comes in).

As ever, the Tea Ride will leave the pub at 10am and aim to return by 12.30pm.

British Girls on Home Turf

For those looking for slightly more strenuous exercise, John Hegs will be leading a ride off in search of those fabulous ladies in the Women’s Tour of Britain as they head through the Welwyn Garden City area.

For those wishing to join him, this is the route over there and the grand depart from the Rose & Crown will be at 9am.  It’s going to be rather damp around the edges, so mudguards are advised and the pace will be to suit the conditions/riders.

We gather again, 6.30pm tomorrow, at the Pitstone Roundabout for an evening blast on our road bikes. There will be two main groups – a sensible paced one that Sarah has agreed to lead & will plot a route on the day, and a bat-out-of-hell group that, judging by the previous couple of week’s antics, are taking no prisoners – so be warned !

Bat out of hell route

Rides

Three rides to chose from this Sunday –

9am start, 49 mile Bembridge route

10am start 20 mile route

10am start, 29 mile route

As usual, we depart from the Rose and Crown and bringing a copy of the route is always a good idea.

A Message from Martin

Hot on the heels of Jose who is currently mid way through an amazing multi-day charity bike ride, we have a message below from Martin Sisley about his plans. Please support him if you can in his epic challenge as the charity is one that has had a direct impact on our club.

As many of you will know – I’m cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats in June this year, with a couple of work colleagues.

This is an unsupported and self-funded trip, totalling approx. 1020 miles over 13 days. Along the way, we will also visit the southern-most tip of the mainland UK (Lizard Point) and the northern-most tip (Dunnet Head).

For such a trip, it seems a shame not to raise money for a worthy cause, and given that the Air Ambulance has helped out the Velos in the past, I’ve decided that is where the money should go. Each Air Ambulance is operated by an indepdnant charity and depends on donations to keep flying.

Each mission flown costs in the region of £2500, with an average of 3 missions per day. No funding is received from Central Government or the National Lottery. This means that every single penny needed is raised by the community and businesses of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

I don’t like asking for money – but please – give whatever you can. My aim is to break through the £2000 barrier and I’m sure with your help we can do that.

https://www.justgiving.com/MJSisley

More info on the Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust – http://www.tvacaa.org/thetrust.php

Thank you in advance.

Meet outside the Rose and Crown for cycling adventures, tea and cake. Weather looks dry.

Apologies for the late notice – we have a road ride planned for this evening leaving the Pitstone Roundabout at 6:30pm. The route has been crafted by Dave Howe.

Tuesday Route