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

Three routes all leaving Ivinghoe by the church. No one should be left behind so watch out for fellow riders on your route.

9am Pednor and Chennies https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47201043

10am Bishopstone https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44915119

10.30am Weston Turville https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47199410

Three Rides for your consideration this Sunday, plus a bonus Saturday away day.

Last week I correctly predicted that Lotte Kopecky would win the women’s tour of Britain, so I feel I need to back this up with another tough to get right sporting forecast, so here you go…… Scotland won’t win the Euro’s this summer, sorry Grant! Scotland have never progressed from the group stages in a major football tormament but they have produced a cyclist who broke the world hour record, twice! Graham Obree set new hour records in 1993 and 1994, he was famous for a pioneering riding position and having a bike build out of old washing machine parts. Maybe an even more famous flying scotsman is Sir Chris Hoy, who has been seen frequenting Chiltern Velo in the recent past, with 11 world championships and 6 olympic golds, he was pretty handy on the track. Talking about getting back on track, here are this weekends ride options (thanks to Dave B for the shorter options)…..

Saturday 11am Cranfield High Street (by the war memorial) 55 miles of rolling country lanes and a couple of planned refreshment stops, this will be a grand day out. You can park for free in Cranfield, or ride from home if you’d like to make it a century day! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47065960

Sunday 9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47099262 very wiggly route, but some nice roads to Woburn Sands

Sunday 10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47097832 a loop taking in Eaton Bray, Studham and Potten End, this one is slightly more on the hilly side.

Sunday 10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47097901 up to Ringshall via Eaton Bray and back down Toms.

Three routes for your enjoyment this weekend, 9am 10am and 10.30am.

The Women’s tour of Britain takes place between Thursday and Sunday this week with a focus on the North West & Wales, covering 303 miles across 4 days with around 18,000 feet of climbing. The competitors will average around 24 miles per hour. The recent Ride London Classique was 244 miles over 3 days with the peleton averaging 25 miles per hour on a pretty flat course, this race was one for the sprinters with the world’s best Lorena Wiebes. The winner of the Women’s tour may be an all rounder, I’d say look no futher than Lotte Kopecky, although on home roads lets hope Pfeiffer Gerogi puts up a good show. Highlights 8pm ITV4

The 9am 50 miles route has 13 miles in the middle which are common with the tour de vale ride, so watch out for other riders enjoying their day out from Stoke Mandaville, these riders won’t be averaging 24mph!

The 10am route follows a similar direction to the earlier ride but diverts across to North Marston, some lovely country lanes and some challenging slopes. This route includes the lovely run out of Wingrave, a great opportunity to get the chain gang going!

At 10.30 riders will be challenged with a climb up through little Tring and then the big one up to Hastoe, enjoyable quiet roads and a drop down past Wendover Woods.

9am Quainton Quick 50 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46991168

10am North Marston https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46991976

10.30am Hastoe Climber https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46992024

We are now in between two grand tours, the Giro De Italia has finished, acting as the appetiser for the greatest sporting event in the world. (and I’m not talking about the Benson Finger). The Tour starts on 29th of June in Florence, for three stages in Italy before 18 days in France, finishing with a time trial to Nice, so everything is up for grabs until the final stage this year. In 1989 Greg le Monde overcame a 50 second deficit in a final stage time trial to win the Tour by 8 seconds. While it’s an amazing spectacle and always throws up some unbelievable drama, the “emotional come downs” on the rest days and after the final stage are hard to take! But don’t worry we will be here for you, offering routes and rendezvous to lift your mood, as you crest the summit of col de la Mentmore and start heading down hill with your mates behind you, you may just get that Tour feeling! With this in mind this weekend starts our training for not riding the Tour De France. Come along and enjoy the rides. Vive Le Tour

All rides start from Ivinghoe church this week. Thanks to our Sporting Director Dave B for the short and medium routes.

9am 60 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46882492 as it’s the first Sunday in the summer months we have an optional coffee stop at the “hub and spoke” Harlington after 40 miles. https://thehubandspokecafe.co.uk/

10am 32 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46895121

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46895158

Diary Dates:

15th June “Cranfield North” Ride

7th July 2024 “The Benson Finger” coffee stop ride to catch the Benson Veteran Rally

12,13,14 July Ludlow research party

21st July Tour De France final stage celebration ride

4th August “That’s a big one” Coffee(s) ride

Three rides to choose from this Sunday! Getting out and riding with friends is the best part of the weeekend, so select your ride, plumb it into our garmin/wahoo and join the fun. 50, 32 or 21 miles!

Last week we had a 23 strong rider delegation down in Somerset. I’d like to thank everybody who made the effort to come along, when away with a group you have to show some flexibility to fit in with the crowd on and off the bikes. Everybody threw themselves into the weekend and hopefully enjoyed some amazing new roads, coffee stops and maybe even a beer or two. I’m sure we all returned to the Ivinghoe area with some good memories as well as quite a few miles in the legs!

This weekend several Velos are tackling the London 100 mile route on Sunday, Everyone else will be keen to get back on the bike on some local roads and return to the Rose and Crown!! Thanks to Dave B for the shorter routes. We aim to leave no one behind, so please look after the riders behind you as well as keeping up with those in front of you!

9am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46792094

10am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45534905

10.30am https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46247686