Three rides this Sunday, all departing from outside Ivinghoe church at various times in the morning, getting everyone back to Ivinghoe for lunchtime.

1030am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48110111

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48110043

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48113944

While the later rides head East to tackle Dunstable Downs the 9am ride goes West hoping to take advantage of the forecasted strengthening Westerly wind for an assisted return. Distances this week are 23, 35 and 50 miles and all rides have a similar mid range climb ratio, so something for everyone!

Roll on Sunday!

Three routes to choose from this Sunday. With a bit of careful planning the 9am route should merge with the 10am route at Whitchurch/Oving (29 miles on the 9am route, 14 miles on the 10am route) The final 20 miles will then be the same for both rides, so I’d suggest any biscuit stops should take place somewhere after the joining point to increase the chances of seeing the other Velos group on the road! The 10.30 route joins the party at Wingrave but this is a relatively shorter route so unless riding super slow should arrive back first…….. to get the beers in at the pub. All rides start from Ivinghoe church.

Thanks as always to Dave B for providing the medium and short routes, if anyone would like to step in as a guest route planner please let us know!

Great turn out last week, loving this summer weather!

10.30am 23 miles, mostly flat with a little climb up to Wingrave https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48014071

10am 35 miles with the Weedon climb late on to test the legs https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48013989

9am 50 miles rolling, not steep, Oving and Weedon to climb https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48014658

Three routes planned for Sunday, 9am, 10am and 10.30, all starting from Ivinghoe church. While the later rides Climb Toms Hill and Pedley Hill the early ride heads in the other direction with a trip to Silsoe.

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47890231

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47890157

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47897127

We are not a cycle club, there is no membership fees, riders can come along as often or as little as they like. However this relies upon regular riders turning up, if everyone stopped riding with us regularly there might not be a group to ride with when you want one! We are a group of friends enthusiastic about riding bikes with a good knowlege of local routes and the mechanical working of our bikes. New and returning riders are most welcome particularly if you like fairly informal group riding and buy the beers when we return to the pub. We have various distance and pace options to suit most casual riders. While our quickest rides can go along at a reasonable pace, If you are training for the Olympics (2028) we are probably not the group for you! Our top speed average rarely exceeds 17mph while our lower mileage rides are often around 14mph, depending on how much climbing is involved! Riding in a group saves a good 20% of your usual solo effort so join the group for some easier miles!

Rides Start and finish in Ivinghoe, at the junction by the church, our general aim is to leave no one behind unless they are dead set on wanting to continue solo (we often hear riders say they are happy to continue on their own but we know it’s always easier in a group so we moderate the pace to get everybody back, or split into pace groups). Having the route saved into your bike Sat Nav helps keep the group together if there are any splits due to traffic and helps when you are taking your turn on the front.

While we meet and complete suggested routes each week, we can make no guarentees about traffic safety and road conditions, anyone joining us must be responsible for their own safety, ensure their equipment is in good order and ride with due caution. We occasional need to divert from the planned course due to road closures but try not to increase our distances too much.

The usual three options this Sunday, with the longer route having a coffee stop option. There is no getting away from the hills this week…..

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47803860 24 miles via St Leonards.

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47803802 31 miles over to Chesham & down Aston Hill.

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47820054 55 miles out to the Chalfonts with cofee at Blackwells in Chipperfield, or if that’s a miss in the garden at Little Heath Tea Room.

This is going to be Brill!

The 9am ride this week heads west to take advantage of the forecast westerly wind for the return leg, heading over Brill hill the easier way and descending past the windmill, this route is fairly low on climb ratio and a great chance to bag a fairly easy 100km. Our 9am crew moderate the pace to enable everyone to join the train. We may chose to stop from refreshments when passing a local shop or tea room depending how energy reserves are going.

The 10am route is a bit spicy with hills over towards Chesham, including The Hale and Asheridge Road, This is a great BBC ride (Buckland, Bellingdon, Cholesbury). Good to get some elevation in the legs up and down some quiet country lanes

At 10.30 we have a shorter version on the 10am ride heading in the same direction but saving the riders from the deep dip into Chesham

10.30am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47722614

10am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47720808

9am route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47722549

Rides Leave Ivinghoe Church at the stated time, we aim to leave no one behind, so please have the route plumbed into your headset computer and try not to deviate from the course!

As we come to the end of three weeks of watching the world’s best cyclists ride around France we can enjoy the feeling of riding in our own little Peloton, while the word actually means “ball” it’s most often used to describe a twisting snarling mass of racers cutting through the coutryside, looking after leaders, getting sprinters into the right position, or just clinging on at the back! Fear not once the TDF finishes we move straight into the Olympics, with the time trials taking place next weekend and the road races the weekend after that. (and plenty of track and BMX mixed in too). Football never did come home, but cycling is always “a la maison”. While in some sports the olympic gold is the pinnacle, it’s easy to say that the Maillot Jaune is well above a medal when it comes to the cycling pecking order, with this in mind, all eyes will be on 33.7km individual time trial on Sunday from 1.40pm onwards, will the “race of truth” change any of the standings? After 21 days of racing over 2,174 miles will it come down to the stopwatch in Nice?

Back on home soil, we have three routes to test your racing ability, are you planning on being a domestique, a leader or maybe saving yourself for the final sprint? I’m afraid there will be no team cars, but as usual the velos will look out for each other out on the roads.

All three routes head in the same direction and have the same expected finish time, well before the first TDF rider leaves the start ramp in Monaco.

9am 50 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47610201

10am 33 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47609663

10.30am 25 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47610363

Rides start at the advertised times from Ivinghoe church and return to the Rose and Crown for refuelling purposes.

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47519520

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47495688

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47495759

The usual three options this Sunday, the 9am route is 46 miles, the 10am route is 28 miles and the 10.30 route is 22 miles.

Anyone wishing to try something different can join the Ludlow explorer weekend with rides starting at 10am on Saturday and Sunday https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46934552 & https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46916954 hotels and B&Bs still available for Saturday night!

Diary date. The Tour of Britan visits Northampton on Saturday 7th September. There is a chance to see the start and finish of the penultimate stage of the race as well as get in a local ride while the riders complete their course. Potentially parking outside the town and riding in to the start/finish area

Ivinghoe rides all start from the church in Ivinghoe, Ludlow rides start by St Laurence church, conveniently next to a Greggs bakery.

As it’s the first Sunday of the month the longer ride includes a coffee stop. For July we reprise an old favourite, the Benson Finger. Starting earlier than usual at 8am, this route takes us through the chiltern hills to the waterfront cafe in Benson, hopefully passing the Benson Veterans cycling club heading out of Benson on their anual rally (it’s worked for the last two years)

The 10am route also heads in that direction with the theme of hills to start and flat on the way back and if riders would like a coffee stop there is an option at Orchard Farm in meadle.

The 10.30am route tackles some hills before dropping down into Aston Clinton and could stop at coffee at 108.

8am The Benson Finger https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43457092

10am Not The Finger https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47395953

10.30am Not The Not The Finger https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47396000

Rides Start from Ivinghoe church and we could be split into pace groups if there are too many riders to safely ride together, otherwise riders will stick together and look after each other on the rides.

The following weekend we will post usual Sunday rides but there is also a chance to see some different scenery with a trip to Ludlow, three rides are planned, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, riders can come along for a single ride, two rides or stay for the whole weekend. This is a fact finding misson before next year’s full group trip in May where we test routes and hospitality!

9am Cranfield anticlockwise 50 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47309020

10am Evershot anticlockwide 35 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47309095

10.30am Eggington anticlockwide 22 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47309135

Three routes to chose from and the eagled eyed among you may notice the 10am route is the same as the 9am route but 15 miles shorter, so there is every chance that groups may come together on the return. This is the sort of crazy stunt we pull while route master Dave B is off climbing mountains! Talking of mountains, both routes tackle the Long Lane climb up to Toddington.

For the next three weeks, starting from Florence in Italy and leading to the time trial finale to Nice the tour de france will have us captivated and even more motivated to ride than usual, if thats possible? France has the most tour winners with 36 wins, followed by Belgium and then Spain, what price a British winner this year? Well Andy Yates is 22/1 well behind team mate Tadej Pogacar who is odds on favourite this year. We will all be watching to see if Sir Mark Cavendish can add a stage victory so he can head the leaderboard for all time stage wins, he’s not won a stage since 2021 so chances are slim. To enhance your enjoyment of the tour (or possibly not depending on your luck) you can pick a team in our fantasy TDF league (league 61005 Ivinghoe Velos Challenge) You’ve got to be in it to win it! https://fantasybytissot.letour.fr/#welcome/register/?sponsor_player_code=qxfg8t2&league_id=61005

Rides start at the stated times from Ivinghoe Church. We aim to leave no one behind, so look out for the riders behind you as well as keeping up with those in front. Please had a good idea of the route so you take the ride turn while leading the group, we don’t want to leave anyone behind enemy lines in Bedfordshire.

It’s that time of year again … Le Tour is only a few days away. If you would like to join our Ivinghoe Velos Fantasy TdF League, please see the details below. All are welcome. The only change this year is that we are playing by the main rules … which should make it a bit more interesting. It is easy to play, so worth giving it a go if you are new to this “sport”. The main prize is a secret … and very, very rare.

Join me in the league now no.61005 : Ivinghoe Velos Challenge
By clicking on this link : https://fantasybytissot.letour.fr/#welcome/register/?sponsor_player_code=qxfg8t2&league_id=61005