Our Sunday rides are to restructured into two specific targets, training and social. For those that just want to go as fast as they can and feel good about it and can still talk when they get to the coffee stop or end. And those that just want to soak up the countryside views, have a chat, and then chat more at the stop and then chat all the way back.
So simply put, there are two main categories, Training Ride & Social Ride, each of which depending on the riders abilities will split into two groups.
TRAINING RIDES
Advertised as one group on SignUp Genius as Fast/Intermediate
This will then consist of two expected groups at the meeting point into
FAST (Training ride) – 18mph+
INTERMEDIATE (Training ride) – 16-17mph
- Same route
- You ride at your own ability
- Group may fragment
- EACH GROUP WILL HAVE A LEADER. Not a sweeper.
Ensure you have the route loaded, or know the route, be prepared to be dropped, these are training rides and we recommend that at the start you buddy up with a similar rider of the same ability so that if you cannot keep pace, you continue to ride together, it will be your responsibility to get home.
These rides are suitable for the seasoned rider, who’s is out to improve their overall fitness and speed and venture into some discipline like road racing. It is not safe at these speeds to chat and therefore are not classed as social rides. You will need to be watching the road and the riders with you for any hazards. Ride safely at all times and within your own ability. So if you want to, you can push, push yourself as much as you want.
Remember it is not a race.
You can start in a fast group to improve and get dropped. You can then join in the intermediate to continue to ride as a club group, this will help you improve your overall ride strength and fitness.
SOCIAL RIDES
STEADY (Social) – 15mph
SOCIAL (Social) – 13-14mph
- Same route
- You ride at the pace of the slowest rider
- Group will stop and regroup and maintain as a group
- Individuals may swap groups
- Each group will have a sweeper
These are Social rides, no drop policy, we will ensure that the group stops and waits for any rider that is falling behind the whole group will ride at a pace that suits the ability of the whole group.
You can start in the steady group to get a feel of how to get an average of 15mph, if it’s a tad too much and you are not enjoying it, let your group know at a recovery point, that the next time you get behind, you are going to stop and wait for the social group and continue to ride with them, this will help you improve your overall ride strength and fitness as there is a big difference between riding at 13mph and 15mph.
This allows you to push yourself as much as you like and aim for a goal of 15mph. Rides are aimed to be safe to chat and enjoyable, so you can ride within your ability and ride safely.
Please remember we will be waiting for you at the end of the ride, so you start in the steady group and say you are going to stop/wait to join in the social group, you need to do that, and if you as you’re waiting decide to change your mind and go off home, you must wait and let them know. If during the ride, you decide that you are close enough to be filtering off home, you need to let your group know. We want to know you are safe.
Starting this Sunday (11.04.21)
So for this Sunday 11th April and for a trial period with the hope to continue with this structure, we are proposing that our fast Sunday ride is now advertised as a Training Ride and will be labelled Fast/Intermediate. And we will be offering a shorter and less paced ride that is a Social Ride but this will be a steady pace, zone 2 type ride, that is the 15mph+. We will continue to offer the relaxed social 13-14mph paced ride on the first Sunday of the month as it is popular and attracting new and existing riders that want to soak up the countryside views and chat, it has been discussed to increase the frequency of this to twice a month, so watch the calendar for these and we’ll post on facebook as soon as the next one is entered on the calendar.
Two rides this week are on SignUp Genius
TRAINING: FAST/INTERMEDIATE (48miles Mint & Ginger) – leader MC,AW or DG
SOCIAL: STEADY (39 miles Mint & Ginger) – sweeper AP
The routes will be published later today.
We hope this is what the club riders are looking for and we welcome your feedback this weekend. Please talk with Ian and Andy when you’re out with them.