The sun will be shining, perfect cycling weather and a great ride planned. See you all at the Rose and Crown at 10am. New riders always welcome.

Sally

We have three items for you in our mid-week post : off-road ride scheduled for Thursday evening, French adventure planned for September and a update on Andrew and Jose’s charity ride.

Off Road Ride

So first off, we are putting a call out for any off-road riders who would like to join the normal Thursday evening muddy trek around the local villages. We are meeting up on the 22nd (i.e. tomorrow) at the Pitstone Memorial Hall at 7pm sharp. Our in-house navigation specialist Dave “Ain’t no mountain high enough” Howe has planned the route below with some definitely uncharted territories so please join us as we try and avoid getting lost. Lights will mandatory as where we are going, there are no street lights !

Thursday evening off-road route

French Adventure planned for September – all welcome to join

Below is a message from Velos regular Peter.

Jim and I are intending to go on a cycle ride in France! We are proposing to go to either Caen or Cherbourg from Portsmouth with Brittany ferries.  The date that we have in mind is Monday 10^th September. The intention being, to spend four nights in France, doing around fifty miles per day. Brittany ferries have already worked out good circular cycling routes for us, the detail can be found by following this link.

There are also .pdf files describing in detail both the Cherbourg and Caen routes. These routes are designed to avoid busy roads and to follow the numerous Velo tracks, both routes are around the 200 mile mark in total. We will arrange transport to get down to Portsmouth  and nothing has been decided about accommodation, needless to say we are out of the school holiday season so I do not envisage any major problems in this area.

If anybody is interested send an E-Mail to pthompso@btinternet.com

Charity Ride by Andrew & Jose

The sponsorships are picking up for our two intrepid endurance cyclists A & J Hetherington but they still need your support. They are riding all the way to Paris for for a fantastic charity, Action Medical Research, dedicated to to improving the health of babies and children in the UK. Please take the time to read about them on the sponsor page and, if you can, sponsor our two members in support of the tough task they have set themselves.

Andrew’s Sponsorship Page

Jose’s Sponsorship Page

Thanks for listening and see you on the next ride.

As many of you will know Jenny and Simon, having been 2 of our earlier members leave the cosy confines of Ivinghoe and the comfort of HQ, the Rose and Crown.  As Simon recently recounted 2 years ago they didn’t own a bike, yet now between them they have 4 between them in the UK alone (not forgetting 2 at their holiday retreat!).

Simon’s first run out on the fabled sunday ‘short’ ride saw him laid up on the sofa for the afternoon with exhaustion yet the 60 mile Luton Reliability ride a few weeks back was no problem.

For Jenny initially the return to cycling was the Industrial estate at Pitstone regaining her natural  balance but as with Simon she rapidly progressed to her gleaming new road bike to join the Sunday ‘long’ ride on  a regular basis.

So to this weekend we will be cycling (provided no monsoon) to say farewell to great friends, failing that please try and make it to HQ for 1230 tomorrow to have a drink and say farewell properly.

Longer Ride

Shorter Ride

What a lovely week it has been for cycling. Hopefully the warm spell might hang on for tomorrow’s tea ride- but whatever the weather, another exciting ride (and another tea room) awaits those who wish to meet outside the Rose and Crown at 10am.

Sally

Well if we were a public body then I would be forced to put out an inane and grovelling appologing for the lateness of this posting, and the quality of its content. But we’re not.

However I have spent much of this morning on the dog and bone to Angie, the German Chancellor, trying to arrange one of those loans where you only have to pay back a small proportion of what you owe. As a means of reducing my overdraft, and credit card bills I thought it would be a sound strategy to approach the exceptionally generous Germans for a few free euros.  Much to my horror the old bird started to babble on about collateral and credit ratings, ability to repay, and many other criteria that I thought would simply not apply.

I explained that I bank with a spanish bank, and that any bailout to me could simply be considered as an advance on the bail out that the rest of the nation would surely be begging for soon. Then there was more banging on about collateral, and I felt I was not going to get a word in, but eventually she choked on a piece of sausage and I jumped in. I explained that we are a long established cycling club, that our honoury president is Sir Jimmy Saville (RIP), and that our splendid shirt that resides in the Rose and Crown could be offered as security. When she asked “who is zis Jimmy Deville” I slammed the phone down in disgust. 

 It seems to me that we live in strange times when a gipsi gets free handouts and the worlds grafters get nothing. Well take back your wheezing VW beetle that we’ve been burdoned with for over half a century, the velos can do without you.

Here’s this weeks ride, you’ll be glad it bypasses Germany.

Long Route

Non Existant short Route.

The weather is mild with no wind, perfect cycling weather so grab your bike and make your way to the Rose and Crown for another mystery tea ride. See you there!

Get ready for summer and get the wardrobe fitted out with the latest in cycling mankinis and ultra tight tops, whilst treating your bike to a new set of super fast tyres; to help with this the mighty Vinghoe Velos have recently set up ties with the

Both the Road Room and Mountain Mania will offer ‘members’ of the Vinghoe Velos 10% discount on accessories and be delighted to talk about the best price for a new bike simply by you telling them you ride with the Velos.  It is possible that in time a discount card will be coming and news on this will follow if that is the case.  We are also discussing with them the thought of a new jersey with the thought being a long sleeve full length zipped top and everyone’s input on this would be appreciated along with some idea of the level of interest in a new jersey.  It is hoped that the Road Room will help drive out better prices for the new Jersey.

Jerseys

We continue to receive requests for our original Jerseys from old and new members alike and require a minimum number to go ahead.  If we can muster a minimum of 5 orders (with Cheques for £38 per jersey made out to A Hetherington and left in an envelope in the pub along with your name and sizes required) I will progress an order, but will not cash cheques until an order is placed!  Sizing is best done by discussing with and trying on other members Jerseys.

This weekends rides, please see yesterday’s post for details of the tea ride leaving at 10 today from the Rose and Crown.

Sundays rides

Meeting, as usual at 0950 at the Rose and Crown

Long Ride

Shorter Route

In signing off I unashamedly ask for your support in helping Jose and I raise much needed funds for 

by sponsoring us through the link above

In anticipation many many thanks

Andrew

11 out last week, good ride, good company, good tea and cake. Tomorrow we may go to a tea room near a wool shop, so anyone wishing to pop in and buy a ball of wool, don’t forget to bring some extra pennies or you might not have enough for cake too.

All welcome.
See you tomorrow

Sally

We had a lovely ride up to the tea room at Wing last week, although very windy on the way home. Well earned refreshments were enjoyed by all:

Tomorrow the weather looks dry with very little wind, perfect for cycling. Look forward to seeing you all outside the Rose and Crown at 10 am.

Sally

Here at Velo central I like to think we provide a valuable service to our members and the local community as a whole. However we do on occasions get some strange emails and requests for assistance. Many seem to originate in Thailand and appear to compliment us on our insightful posts and knowledge, although they are invariably poorly disguised attempts to sell Viagra. I am not aware of any link between saddle fatigue and the need for such drugs, however you may have noticed my absence from recent rides.

More significantly, I have recently received a request from a local organisation to plug their up and coming summer festival. Yes those friendly bearded chaps from the Ivinghoe Entertainments Committee have requested some assistance from me. They have failed to offer me any inducement whatsoever, and so I have naturally declined their request.

 Alas they are a persistent bunch. If like me you thought that the big white tent on the lawn in June, was an over engineered scout project, then you are wrong. No, I am told this is an entertainments facility. On the Friday evening a bar is provided by our splendid friends at the Rose and Crown, and a fine multi course meal is delivered to your table. Immediately after the food, the men in the tent perform the ancient ritual of the chicken dance to an excellent live band, The Choice. The ladies wisely remain at their tables, dressed in their finest clothes, clothes that say to their menfolk  “if you could dance you wouldn’t just be looking at me.

 This event for some reason is known as the ball, though how quite how Beckham and his ilk could kick it I do not know.

 On a Saturday evening a bar is provided by our splendid friends at the Rose and Crown. I told them to stop repeating themselves, but they went to explain that a comedy evening was to follow, and be hosted by non other than Arthur Smith. Not that one down the road from you either, the actual one.

 Now I listened patiently to all of this, but again re-affirmed that I would not allow the Vinghoe Veloes website to be used in this shameless manner. But would they stop, no they continued on like a Jehovah’s witness in your living room.

Having failed to have ignited my interest they then tried to pull on my heart strings. Fools! They explained that the committee provides entertainment for the benefit of the villages and makes no profit. Now surely it’s bad enough to be a bad manager, but madness to admit it. Now I don’t do sympathy too well, but I did suggested that they look at some of our earlier posts where they would find some sound financial advice. Did this deter them? No they then went on to say that when they make a surplus they give it away to local charities that make a contribution to the village!

 Anyway, to cut to the chase, they tell me that tickets go on sale 3rd March 2012, 9.30-12.30, at Ivinghoe town hall, and other venues through out the village thereafter. If you buy tickets for both nights then you get a discount on the second night. You start to see how they don’t make a profit.

I told them that I couldn’t possibly advise members of the Vinghoe Velos, and their friends, that tickets for these fantastic events would be on sale from 3^rd MARCH 2012, in the town hall. We are after all a cycling club, and in that vein I shall now continue.

Long Route

Short Route

Here’s this weeks rides.