So we can say goodbye to February, probably the worst month for riding in the history of the Ivinghoe Velos. March brings more optimism for better ride conditions so join us at 9am or 10am on Sunday for some super routes in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

The 9am route is 50 miles, climbing up into the Chilterns before heading back, wind assisted through the Aylesbury vale. The longer 10am route (38 miles) visits Wingrave, Wiggington, Berkhamsted, and Nettleden, while the shorter option (28 miles) also heads to Wingrave and then over to Wiggington.

Dust down your trusty steed, spring is on the way, time to ride…….

9am 50 miles Risborough Route https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5015501.html

10am 38 miles Berkhamsted Ridehttps://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5015524.html

10am 28 miles Wiggle to Wiggington https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5014457.html

Rides

A bit of recycling this week as we don’t think that anyone actually rode the routes we put out for the last couple of Sundays (which was quite sensible given what the weather was doing).

9am 50 miles South to Penn https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4883756.html

10am 23 mile Wiggington loop https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5006061.html

10am South to Chesham https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5006062.html

10am MTB option https://gb.mapometer.com/mountain_biking/route_5006895.html

Velos Kit Order

We have received the following email from our kit supplier with regards to the recent order –

I have been informed overnight that your order will now be shipped on 16/03. I am very sorry for this inconvenience.

This is a situation that is beyond our control. The circumstances are that the coronavirus has impacted our business and effectively our factory has only returned back to work this week, mainly down to travel restrictions that have been put in place by the Chinese government. We are now back up to about half capacity which has seriously affected what we can put out.

I am so sorry for any issues this might cause but I hope you can appreciate these circumstances are out of our hands.

As Dennis approaches us this weekend the forecast for Sunday in not particularly encouraging. We have expected wind speeds of 45 miles per hour and 90% chance of rain. So a bit less windy than last Sunday, but maybe wetter! We are putting out one 10am road option (35 miles) and one mountain bike lanes explorer (21 miles). If you feel brave enough, or are getting a bit stir crazy, give it a go!

10am road route: Dennis The Menace https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5010097.html

10am MTB route: Dennis Does Dancers https://gb.mapometer.com/mountain_biking/route_5010102.html

Ivinghoe Velos have got a reputation for being a friendly bunch, welcoming all to our weekly rides, however this weekend we may be contending with an unwanted guest. Ciara, the latest storm to hit Britain arrives on Sunday, just around the time we start our rides. Winds are forecast to be around 50 miles per hour with a strong chance of rain.

We will publish our usual ride choices along with an additional MTB ride which might feel safer than skinny wheels this week. Please consider your safety and enjoyment before coming out on Sunday morning. We can always repeat these routes in future weeks if the forecast doesn’t improve.

9am 50 miles South to Penn https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4883756.html

10am 23 mile Wiggington loop https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5006061.html

10am South to Chesham https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5006062.html

10am MTB option https://gb.mapometer.com/mountain_biking/route_5006895.html

Before we reach the end of January you have one last chance to order club kit. There is a great range of Ivinghoe Velos cycling clothing available to order, we don’t offer kit orders many times through the year, so if you’d like to ride in our colours in 2020 go to http://eucustom.champ-sys.com/teamstore/?IvinghoeVelos2019

We are over quitters day (the day when new years resolutions are most likely to come to an end), so if you are still thinking of riding this weekend it looks like you’ve made it to a happy healthy 2020! Three routes as usual. All routes head in the same direction. Please arrive at the Rose and Crown, Ivinghoe just before ride start time with a copy of your chosen route. We aim for reach route to ride as a group, allowing fellow riders to benefit from some drafting on what might be quite a windy day.

9am 50 miles towards Knebworth https://www.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5003031.html

10am 36 miles Redbourne Route https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5002951.html

10am 26 miles Markyate Meanderhttps://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5002950.html

Three ride options as usual this week. The 10am routes offer 27 or 34 miles staying fairly local to the Tring area, while the 9am routes takes us on a 50 mile loop out to Shabbington. Please arrive just before the ride start time with an idea of your preferred planned route!

9am 50 miles, Not Too Shabby Shabbington https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5000735.html

10am 27 miles Hasty To Hastoe Beginners Welcome! https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5000371.html

10am 34 miles: Winging It To Wingrave https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_5000379.html

If you are a member of the Ivinghoe Velos Rear Hub facebook community you will be able to log on and add your vote to the ride you intend to join, giving others the motivation and knowledge that they will not be riding alone!

This Sunday we have three top routes on offer. The shorter 10am ride will introduce newer riders to some undulating “slopes” out to Stewkley and back via Wingrave. The medium 10am route heads the same way, adding in a loop to Newton Longville. The longer 9am route visits some superb cycling countryside out to Codicote and Whitwell. As usual we start and finish at the Rose and Crown pub in Ivinghoe. All levels of road cyclists are welcome and we plan to have an experienced rider on all three routes to lead groups round.

To keep yourself in the Ivinghoe Velos social media loop we recommend you join the Ivinghoe Velos Rear Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/789658201073391/ In this group you can suggest midweek rides or organise to join others who have suggested ride options. We are also adding a weekly poll to find out which ride everyone is planning to join on Sundays, so please add your vote, it’s really motivational for others to see who is out riding and to know they will have company out on the road!

Ivinghoe Velos is a group of people who like to ride bikes together rather than a club, the advantage of this is it costs you nothing to ride with us! We do however like to show off our identity when riding together. We have a very elegant range of kit designed in-house to feature the Ivinghoe Beacon hill profile on the shirts, the kits is great quality and looks good on everybody! We have a new kit order opportunity open right now, so please click on the link if you would like to have a look and order. Hurry along the order deadline is the end of the January (and we need enough orders to make it worthwile) http://eucustom.champ-sys.com/teamstore/?IvinghoeVelos2019

Sunday 19th January 9am 50 miles https://www.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4997067.html

Sunday 19th January 10am 22 miles https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4996321.html

Sunday 19th January 10am 33 miles https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4996325.html

Come along on Sunday to banish those January blues! We have three routes on offer beginning at 9am or 10am. For the seasoned cyclist who can maintain 15mph-16mph we have a 9am trip through Woburn Sands, it’s a flowing 50 miles without many big hills. At 10am you could choose from a 31 mile hilly route or a flatter 25 mile route. The 25 mile route has been carefully designed by Dave Bembridge to be a gentle introduction to road riding and he will lead this ride to encourage new riders to stick together as a steady group.

Please arrive slightly before your intended start time so we can identify the groups. Last week we had 18 riders out which was great to see, we hope for more of the same this Sunday! All rides start and finish at the Rose and Crown in Ivinghoe. We don’t have a mid ride coffee stop but encourage riders to stop by the pub afterwards for post ride cycling chat!

9am The Woburn Sands Of Time: https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4994734.html

10am 31 Hilly: https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_3770980.html

10am 25 miles to Halton: https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4993939.html

We start the new year with three ride choices, all starting and finishing at the Rose and Crown in Ivinghoe. The early 9am route is an old favourite ridden since 2016, it’s 46 mile ride through Chipperfield, Chorleywood and Chalfont, this ride is for those riders looking for 15-16mph, we moderate the pace to keep the group together so we all benefit from the draft! At 10am we have two route options at a pace of around 14mph to 15mph. The 34 mile route takes on the challenging Bison Hill past the zoo before heading over to Berkhamsted and back over the common. The 23 mile route is a slightly more gentle affair, enabling those who have over done the turkey to get back into their cycling by riding over to Wingrave, then Long Marston and into Tring. Thanks to Dave Bembridge for these 10am route plans.

9am 46 miles https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4860462.html

10am 31 miles https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4306148.html

10am 23 miles https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4384418.html

We would love to see any many riders starting the new year with a healthy dose of exercise and fresh air, please arrive slightly before your intended start time with route details to keep you on track, we endeavour to stay together within our groups and regroup at the Rose & Crown for post ride discussions. Stay safe and enjoy the rides!

Seasonal greetings to all from Ivinghoe Velos Towers, we hope your stockings were full of Garmin gadgets, turbo toys and wiggle wonder. We are in the odd inbetweeny bit of the year, after Christmas festivities but before new year kicks in, what a great reason to get on the bike! Understandably most of us will have spent the past few days in a “rest period, refuelling for future endeavours”. With this is mind this week we are suggesting a reasonably flat all inclusive ride to be ridden at a relaxed pace all starting together at 10am.

The route also includes our annual highlight challenge “see how far you can go without peddling”. To facilitate this we will ride up to the lay-by on the B489 Beacon road and then peddle round to the Ivinghoe Aston turn, once you’ve made the turn there is to be no peddling until you come to a standstill, the winner will be the bike stopping furthest beyond the Village, hopefully our record holder Mr Hegarty will be out to defend his title!

Our 10am route is a 34 mile loop around Leighton Buzzard there are a couple of minor climbs on route, we will regroup at the tops and ride the rest of the route in a group, the decent from Wingrave towards the end is a favourite for team work, so get in the draft, we should all be back at the Rose and Crown for around 12.30pm to top-up on the refuelling. https://www.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4989536.html

For anyone who has been away for too long and is keen to show their face, anyone brand new thinking of joining us, or anyone with friends on family around for the weekend who would like to get involved we have a lovely suggested 15 mile route which starts with the main group, so feel free to come and say hi! https://www.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4989543.html

Please arrive at the Rose and Crown ready for a 10am start, we will work to get everybody round together, if you need more miles get out early and swing by the Rose and Crown for 10am. A short stop is planned at 20 miles as we enter Stewkley, who will be bringing the most festive snack?