Can you recommend a nice club in Middlesex

sampras38

I live near Ruislip in Middlesex and have been thinking about joining a club for a while now. The only thing that's stopped me so far is that I struggle for time at weekends to do the clubs rides in the mornings, which from my experience of clubs is when most tend to do them. 2 small kids means means I'm either going out at the crack of dawn or later in the aftenoon.

I've ridden with a few clubs before such as Kingston Wheelers & London Dynamo's and still do on the odd occasion when they do the longer rides, but they're a bit far to commit to joining and it's unfair for me to not join.

A bit about me..

Been riding seriously for about 5 years and tend to train about 8-10 hours a week if I can find the time, whether it be turbo or proper rides. The last couple of years I've started getting gold times in most of the Sportives I've entered and ridden in the Alps a few times too with another trip planned this summer.

Any advice most welcome.

Aggieboy

The Gregarios are a few miles from you. A mixture of riders and a nice friendly bunch (see Blog). 9.30am Sundays from The Alpine in Bushey. There's also a lower mileage Thursday outing. Annual trip to Italy too!!

sampras38

Aggieboy wrote:

The Gregarios are a few miles from you. A mixture of riders and a nice friendly bunch (see Blog). 9.30am Sundays from The Alpine in Bushey. There's also a lower mileage Thursday outing. Annual trip to Italy too!!

Thanks Aggie, and I'm often close to Bushey on my weekend training rides so it might be worth a look, plus Sundays are better for me at the moment. Have you ridden with them before?

Aggieboy

Yes, a few times. Really enjoyed the routes and banter. Haven't been for a while as my daughter's swimming training takes precendence. I'd like to go out again soon for a couple of rides before I move to the South Hams in Devon, though. They have nice kit too

sampras38

Aggieboy wrote:

Yes, a few times. Really enjoyed the routes and banter. Haven't been for a while as my daughter's swimming training takes precendence. I'd like to go out again soon for a couple of rides before I move to the South Hams in Devon, though. They have nice kit too

Cheers

What sort of rides do they do, i,e, terrain, distance, speed etc? As in the sunday club rides.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I was thinking that you was after a club to go out at night to. DOH! :oops:

sampras38

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

I was thinking that you was after a club to go out at night to. DOH! :oops:

My days of clubbin are well gone...

Aggieboy

sampras38 wrote:

Aggieboy wrote:

Yes, a few times. Really enjoyed the routes and banter. Haven't been for a while as my daughter's swimming training takes precendence. I'd like to go out again soon for a couple of rides before I move to the South Hams in Devon, though. They have nice kit too

Cheers

What sort of rides do they do, i,e, terrain, distance, speed etc? As in the sunday club rides.

They know some great varied country routes (including climbs!!). Could be North out through Dunstable/Ivinghoe Beacon or West through Burnham Beeches/Marlow etc. My first outing, If I recall correctly, was 98 miles (including home/start/back) at about 17 mph avg. They do less mileage during the winter though. That was a lot for me first time out but as others often say "it's easier in a group" and I found it really enjoyable. If you look in 'Blog' on the website you'll see some routes. If you're in two minds I'd def' say do it. Just turn up. At the meeting point one morning we swagged a bloke on a solo ride who was stopped at the traffic lights to come with us. He goes regularly now.

sampras38

Aggieboy wrote:

sampras38 wrote:

Aggieboy wrote:

Yes, a few times. Really enjoyed the routes and banter. Haven't been for a while as my daughter's swimming training takes precendence. I'd like to go out again soon for a couple of rides before I move to the South Hams in Devon, though. They have nice kit too

Cheers

What sort of rides do they do, i,e, terrain, distance, speed etc? As in the sunday club rides.

They know some great varied country routes (including climbs!!). Could be North out through Dunstable/Ivinghoe Beacon or West through Burnham Beeches/Marlow etc. My first outing, If I recall correctly, was 98 miles (including home/start/back) at about 17 mph avg. They do less mileage during the winter though. That was a lot for me first time out but as others often say "it's easier in a group" and I found it really enjoyable. If you look in 'Blog' on the website you'll see some routes. If you're in two minds I'd def' say do it. Just turn up. At the meeting point one morning we swagged a bloke on a solo ride who was stopped at the traffic lights to come with us. He goes regularly now.

Again, thanks for the info...I'll definately try them out. Got a few 100+ sportives coming up, Hampshire Hilly 100, Wales Dragon etc, plus a week in alps so it would be good to get some decent group riding in. At the moment I'm doing anything from 50-70 undulating miles at the weekend and will add to that the closer the sportives get and I can cope with 18-19 average over that distance.

stuart_c-2

http://www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk/

They're advertised as a MTB club, but have a decent road contingent. Everyone I know in the club are good guys as well. They usually ride out of Uxbridge area I believe.

StillGoing

The Midsommer Murders appreciation society. Oh sorry, not what you were looking for.