Discussion
I have been toying with the idea of joining a cycling club & have the newbie run/ try out this coming sunday, Not sure really what to expect tbh, Will they be likely to put you through your paces or just have a gentle stroll ?
Being a more matured cyclist i'm not sure that i really want to race against other cyclists , i just want to learn how to ride better than i do as well as enjoy the social side of bike riding.
Being a more matured cyclist i'm not sure that i really want to race against other cyclists , i just want to learn how to ride better than i do as well as enjoy the social side of bike riding.
I was concerned about this sort of thing (snobbishness, getting left behind) before I joined my club in August. I quickly learned four things:
1) Riding in a group is a lot easier than riding by yourself
2) People who look like they should be a lot quicker than you, normally aren't.
3) Riding in a group is absolutely the best way to rapidly improve your riding.
4) People are, on the whole, lovely and not at all snobbish about your bike or your kit.
Oh and a fifth thing:
5) It is absolutely banging fun and I wish I'd joined sooner. The Saturday rides are now the highlight of my week.
Oh, and one more thing, many decent-sized clubs will set off multiple groups at different speeds. My lot go out as a Fast (which I join when I'm feeling particularly confident and try to hang on for dear life) Intermediate (which is my natural fit right now) and Social (which I haven't joined but would be very much a Marines ride - nobody gets left behind). I think I remember okgo mentioning on here that Kingston Wheelers, his club, have so many members they send out about 12 seeded groups!
HTH!
1) Riding in a group is a lot easier than riding by yourself
2) People who look like they should be a lot quicker than you, normally aren't.
3) Riding in a group is absolutely the best way to rapidly improve your riding.
4) People are, on the whole, lovely and not at all snobbish about your bike or your kit.
Oh and a fifth thing:
5) It is absolutely banging fun and I wish I'd joined sooner. The Saturday rides are now the highlight of my week.
Oh, and one more thing, many decent-sized clubs will set off multiple groups at different speeds. My lot go out as a Fast (which I join when I'm feeling particularly confident and try to hang on for dear life) Intermediate (which is my natural fit right now) and Social (which I haven't joined but would be very much a Marines ride - nobody gets left behind). I think I remember okgo mentioning on here that Kingston Wheelers, his club, have so many members they send out about 12 seeded groups!
HTH!
Edited by Usget on Wednesday 31st December 10:40
Most clubs will have several groups of varying speed. Start off in the slowest group and I'm sure you'll be fine. Our slowest group is around 13 mph average and the fastest is around 18 mph (these are over rolling or hilly routes).
Also check their mudguard policy - most clubs insist that you have FULL mudguards for Winter club runs otherwise you shower your fellow rides in sh*te.
Also check their mudguard policy - most clubs insist that you have FULL mudguards for Winter club runs otherwise you shower your fellow rides in sh*te.
Usget said:
I was concerned about this sort of thing (snobbishness, getting left behind) before I joined my club in August. I quickly learned four things:
1) Riding in a group is a lot easier than riding by yourself
2) People who look like they should be a lot quicker than you, normally aren't.
3) Riding in a group is absolutely the best way to rapidly improve your riding.
4) People are, on the whole, lovely and not at all snobbish about your bike or your kit.
Oh and a fifth thing:
5) It is absolutely banging fun and I wish I'd joined sooner. The Saturday rides are now the highlight of my week.
Oh, and one more thing, many decent-sized clubs will set off multiple groups at different speeds. My lot go out as a Fast (which I join when I'm feeling particularly confident and try to hang on for dear life) Intermediate (which is my natural fit right now) and Social (which I haven't joined but would be very much a Marines ride - nobody gets left behind). I think I remember okgo mentioning on here that Kingston Wheelers, his club, have so many members they send out about 12 seeded groups!
HTH!
Strangely enough it is with the kingston Wheelers.1) Riding in a group is a lot easier than riding by yourself
2) People who look like they should be a lot quicker than you, normally aren't.
3) Riding in a group is absolutely the best way to rapidly improve your riding.
4) People are, on the whole, lovely and not at all snobbish about your bike or your kit.
Oh and a fifth thing:
5) It is absolutely banging fun and I wish I'd joined sooner. The Saturday rides are now the highlight of my week.
Oh, and one more thing, many decent-sized clubs will set off multiple groups at different speeds. My lot go out as a Fast (which I join when I'm feeling particularly confident and try to hang on for dear life) Intermediate (which is my natural fit right now) and Social (which I haven't joined but would be very much a Marines ride - nobody gets left behind). I think I remember okgo mentioning on here that Kingston Wheelers, his club, have so many members they send out about 12 seeded groups!
HTH!
Edited by Usget on Wednesday 31st December 10:40
& Thanks for the replies.
Usget said:
I was concerned about this sort of thing (snobbishness, getting left behind) before I joined my club in August. I quickly learned four things...
It does matter what club. About 20 years ago I joined "Surrey Road" who were based in Sutton. They had a small flourishing mountain bike section. WE would ride on Sundays over to Leith Hill and back. Sometimes by train sometimes not. But be under no illusion the roadies had nothing but disdain for our bikes and everything to do with off road bikes. And were hardly welcoming apart from the annual rollapalooza competition where they needed young guys with some explosive power to help their club do alright. I'm sure this had everything to do with their average age being north of 50. And I daresay it was very much cafe to cafe for them at an average speed probably not much higher than 10mph
They are defunct now as far as I can gather.Usget said:
... I think I remember okgo mentioning on here that Kingston Wheelers, his club, have so many members they send out about 12 seeded groups!
Couple years back I was driving from Kingston to Esher and had inadvertently timed it to coincide with the Wheelers weekend ride. Hundreds of the buggers, huge club. But strangely rarely see their riders on masse near anything hilly 
nammynake said:
Also check their mudguard policy - most clubs insist that you have FULL mudguards for Winter club runs otherwise you shower your fellow rides in sh*te.
Indeed be aware of the different foibles or rules of the clubs concerned. (Check their respective website) The main reason I don't ride with a club (Addiscoombe would be my closest) is because one of the other rules is no riding on aerobars on a group. I understand it, but as I only have a TT bike I shall continue on my own for the foreseeable future. Oh and I have no way of fitting mudguards at all anyway.To be fair, aerobars are a touch silly in a club run! If not for hands being away from brakes (although fast braking in a group has its own issues) then for the sticky-out nature of the bars rapidly translating into sticky-in when it all goes wrong and someone gets gored...
OP: rock up, say hello and say you're new, both to them and group riding. E-mail them if needs be (most have a webpage for this very reason). If people don't, clubs die out! If they're dicks, it'll soon become clear, and you find another club.
OP: rock up, say hello and say you're new, both to them and group riding. E-mail them if needs be (most have a webpage for this very reason). If people don't, clubs die out! If they're dicks, it'll soon become clear, and you find another club.
Jimbo. said:
To be fair, aerobars are a touch silly in a club run! If not for hands being away from brakes (although fast braking in a group has its own issues) then for the sticky-out nature of the bars rapidly translating into sticky-in when it all goes wrong and someone gets gored...
OP: rock up, say hello and say you're new, both to them and group riding. E-mail them if needs be (most have a webpage for this very reason). If people don't, clubs die out! If they're dicks, it'll soon become clear, and you find another club.
Like I say. I get it completely. OP: rock up, say hello and say you're new, both to them and group riding. E-mail them if needs be (most have a webpage for this very reason). If people don't, clubs die out! If they're dicks, it'll soon become clear, and you find another club.
Jimbo. said:
OP: rock up, say hello and say you're new, both to them and group riding. E-mail them if needs be (most have a webpage for this very reason). If people don't, clubs die out! If they're dicks, it'll soon become clear, and you find another club.
This! My local club has runs of 4 varying levels on a Saturday, so I checked the target distance / speed of the slowest one online, then made sure I could just about manage that on my own. I emailed the club run organiser, turned up, went on their "Social Ride", and have been a regular with them since.I have found them very inclusive, open to all, no snobbery, oh yes and they're on FB; if Kingston Wheelers do it's a good way to see what actually happened on the rides and gauge the banter!
My club has a "no drop" policy on these rides, so we wait for any slower people at the top of hills, junctions, etc.
Take a basic toolkit, pump, spare inner tube, water, and if you want to move up from the slower group (and you don't have already) you will soon want pedals and shoes that clip together!
I went out for the first time last Sunday with a local club (MTB) for their social ride, if been considering it for a long time before and now wish I'd joined them earlier.
They had 3 groups, Advance (quick), Medium and Improver - I joined the medium, and was middle of the pack, it was nice following quicker people and I can see doing this regularly will only help me improve. They would regroup every so often and had someone (who knew the area, and could easily have been towards the front) bringing up the rear to make sure everyone was ok.
They also took us around areas of the forest which I'd not been to before so discovering new areas to ride is a good thing.
They had 3 groups, Advance (quick), Medium and Improver - I joined the medium, and was middle of the pack, it was nice following quicker people and I can see doing this regularly will only help me improve. They would regroup every so often and had someone (who knew the area, and could easily have been towards the front) bringing up the rear to make sure everyone was ok.
They also took us around areas of the forest which I'd not been to before so discovering new areas to ride is a good thing.
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