Howdy fellow velos,As you can see from the picture above, our hydration sponsors The Rose and Crown have mounted the famous Vinghoe Velos club shirt on full view to all customers. We would like to thank Alistair for doing us proud and for his continued support of the club.

Before we get down to our usual business of planning routes, we have a couple of public service announcements.

The Times Cycle Safely Campaign

If you haven’t already read about this campaign then we can recommend having a look. Whilst we wouldn’t normally support a News International publication, the intent seems to be valid and there is growing support for their manifesto. Feel free to pledge your support if you like the ideas. The website is here – http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/contact/ .

Have your say about a Cycle Path from Pitstone to Tring Station

As part of the Castlemead development, some money has been handed over by the developers to build a cycle & pedestrian path along Northfield Road. As many of our members are already aware, the cycle along this road (especially in the dark) can be a considerably hazardous one. The parish council are looking for input from Pitstone and Ivinghoe residents who would use this new path. You can find more details over at the Pitstone & Ivinghoe village website. Please support this initiative by giving your feedback to the parish council so that the money is put to good use.

Will it or won’t it snow ?

As we go to press here at Velo Towers, it does look like there may be an inch or two of the white stuff falling from the heavens tonight. This, coupled with a forecast clear sky overnight suggests that Sunday morning maybe a trifle slippery on the roads.  Of course that won’t stop us venturing out, but we would suggest that if it is icy tomorrow, you dust off the Mountain Bike or Hybrid and give her a spin instead.

Depending on how severe the  weather is, we may adjust the planned route to suit the conditions – there is even talk of a possible off road ride for those who want to take advantage of the snow to go off-piste.

Long Route – 24 miles

Short Route – 14 miles

Be safe & warm out there.

Could be a short ride and a long hot chocolate if it is very cold tomorrow. Or maybe hills are the way to warm up? Any ideas?

See you tomorrow.
Sally

and this, here’s the rides…………..

LONG ROUTE

SHORT ROUTE

I trust you only get the email once!

We had a lovely ride last Saturday, great company as always. We may have a new tea room to try tomorrow. New cyclists welcome. See you tomorrow.

Sally

The Vinghoe Velos may not be everyones choice of saddle but we continue to be amazed!  Last week saw 22 set off with some extreme ‘fatletes’ chosing to extend the ride at both ends (42 miles – impressive!) whilst others ‘crashed and burned’ early – feels like my time back at school “must try harder!”

Thought for the day:  “I love deadlines especially the sound of them whooshing by!”

Longer Ride

Not so Long!

As always 0945 for 1000 start Sunday at the Rose and Crown

With the Tea Run out at 1000 this morning!

A great turnout for last Saturday’s cold and frosty ride. Nine of us enjoyed some off road riding and a map free trip around the small lanes (of course I knew where we were going!).

Tomorrow’s weather looks interesting, but I’m sure we are up to the challenge. Tea, hot chocolate and cake as always. See you then.

Sally

Welcome to the latest news from Velo Towers.

Today 9 of our members braved the frosty morning for a very successful Saturday Morning Tea ride. They have shown us that not even sub-zero temperates will stop a Velo determined to enjoy a spin (& a hot chocolate) on a beautifully sunny winter morning. They have thrown down the gauntlet for the Sunday riders so why not wrap up warm and join us.

Short Route

Long Route

Some of you last week will have noticed our resident professor of hills “Dave Howe” operating his Super 8 camera. The results have been upscaled to HD and edited down to just the interesting bit – the start of the ride. So we have it here for your viewing pleasure. Anyone who would prefer to have their likeness pixelated so that they can’t be tracked down by the relevant authorities, please let us know and we will return to the editing suite.

Best regards,

The Velos Board.

Looks like a cold and crispy morning, so extra layers of socks and gloves tomorrow. The hot chocolate will be hot (hopefully) and well earned. It should be good cycling weather with very little wind.

See you tomorrow.
Sally

So Santa has now returned to Lapdancing Land and is looking forward to some North Pole dancing. At least he can put his mince pies to good use.  The new year has commenced, and many have now returned to their daily work routines.

Although the calender has rollod on, much of news appears familiar. Thanks to Meryl, Maggie’s back, some South Americans fancy a couple of small Islands, and there’s talk of a double dip recession. However, here at the Velos were not sky news, so look elsewhere if that’s what you want.

So what are we? Well obviously we are a consumer help group here to give assistance in these difficult times. For the slightest of cost, namely your braodband connection and the delivery of free electrons along a conductor, we bring you the best in health planning, fitness and personel finance. So what do I bring you this week? None of these!

Like many we  like to look back over last years’ achievements, and look too what we can do for the future. So what of last year?

Well our numbers increased to well over 60, such that we’ve managed to create rides for all abilities. This remains at the heart of what we do.

For those looking for more challenging rides, summer evenings saw the introduction of road rides with a focus on a quicker pace.

Saturday morning has seen the introduction of Sally’s tea rides which are going from strength to strength, thanks to her hip flask and some cakes imported by her dutch friends. Sally promises some homegrown delights from her alotment later in the season.

Of course to move forward we need also to be critical of ourselves. In this respect we recognise that the writing on this website is rubbish and that our post times are very infrequent. Please accept our assurances that this will not change.

Over the last few weeks the level of anticipation has increased considerably with many asking us “what are the vinghoe velos plans for the future?” My response…… Who do you think we are, bloody HSBC?

Well we have a least got a couple of rides for Sunday.

Long ride

Short ride

Finally if you have the new year blues, dig out your old ELO albums and play Mr Blue Sky. You’ll feel much better.

PS sorry about the funny font size, and I still haven’t got a title.

We will be leaving The Rose and Crown at 10am for a leisurely ride with a tea and cake stop half way, finishing at the pub for further refreshment at about midday. All welcome, keep those New Years resolutions.

See you tomorrow.
Sally