North London Cyclists

mlgt

Just wondered if there are any North London cyclists.

Currently gearing up from 25-30 mile rides. I regularly ride to work.

Im hoping to maybe start a relaxed ride/training and hope to meet others.

I tend to ride 8-10 laps around Regents Park on weekends, my brothers enjoy riding Swains Lane, but Im not that mental!

Be good to meet other like minded riders and happy to start something on the tours section if need be.

Ben6899

Hi mate,

You should pop along to one of our Sunday club rides. We meet at the Holloway Road entrance to Whittington Park at 0830hrs and generally have two groups to cater for varying abilities/wishes on the day.

www.islington.cc
http://islingtoncc.microco.sm/

mlgt

Thanks Ben.

Have sent you a PM.

charliew87

Get yourself up Swains it's not that bad!

goonz

charliew87 wrote:

Get yourself up Swains it's not that bad!

On ur SS if you think your hard enough!

mlgt

Oh I do go on Swains, normally do a few runs for the sake of it. So its not like I cant do it. I just find that I wont tackle such a hill for the hell of it. Although I have gotten better and faster over the last year on it.

Tried it on a fixie and Im afraid I had to walk the second half. But I do intend to get better at hill climbing.

Muswell hill isnt so bad. I find it easier than swains as I can keep a constant rotation, but Im only doing it to get fitter. Once a week we do a few circuits of Ally Pally before heading home up muswell. This is only a 10 min cycle from where I live.

Hence the shout out to meet like minded cyclists. Be great to meet a local who can share knowledge and advice. I have a 14 month old girl, so time is consumed by her most days now.

I intend to join Islington cc for a ride in the near future however.

964cup

Another group (Muswell Hill Peloton) here: we leave from the Laboratory car park (gym at the Ally Pally end of Duke's Avenue) on a Sunday morning at 08:00. Distance depends on mood, weather and participants' curfews, but usually 60-ish K in winter and 80-100k in summer. Speeds around 27/28kmh on average, hilly-ish Hertfordshire routes.

mlgt

Thats great. Good to know a few more groups to join.

Adamkalin

Ben, Im new to club riding and Ive been looking for a local outfit to try and perhaps kick on from there. I find that Im stuck at around the 15mph mark over rides of up to 70ish miles so Im looking for a bit of impetus to kick on. What kind of speeds are your club rides usually?

mlgt, sound like we're in a similar boat. Im open to the idea of meeting new people to ride with, let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Adam

964cup

To amplify my PM, the best way to get faster is to join a group. Not only can you hang on to someone's wheel - which makes it easier to go fast - you also get encouragement. In our lot, at least, no one gets left behind. I only started last year, but was lucky enough to find the group quickly and latch on, and it's made all the difference. If you use Strava, you can usually check out recent group rides to see the average speeds and get a sense of distance and terrain.

Ben6899

Adamkalin wrote:

Ben, Im new to club riding and Ive been looking for a local outfit to try and perhaps kick on from there. I find that Im stuck at around the 15mph mark over rides of up to 70ish miles so Im looking for a bit of impetus to kick on. What kind of speeds are your club rides usually?

mlgt, sound like we're in a similar boat. Im open to the idea of meeting new people to ride with, let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Adam

Adam,

I think you'll be fine at 15mph. We generally head out in two groups: long/'fast'; and short/'not-so-fast'. We're talking up to 100miles at around 17/18mph and about 40miles at around 15/16mph. The Sunday club rides are NOT training rides and are approached with the social element in mind. We regroup on hills and nobody is ever left behind.

Come along!

ClaudeH

There is also London Phoenix. On Saturdays and Sundays they meet at Boots on the A1000 in Whetstone at 08:30 and there is also a 07:00 ride from the Bald Faced Stag in East Finchley. The 08:30 rides are "social" pace, 50-70km whilst the 07:00 ride is longer (100-120km) and varies from fast to too fast (18 - 21 mph).

mlgt

Great to know more North London rides. I think I will join the social paced rides for now and come along for group rides in regents park.

I would like to learn how to ride in a group and see the benefits of this.

Thanks to those who have replied and PM me.

Adamkalin

Ben6899 wrote:

Adam,

I think you'll be fine at 15mph. We generally head out in two groups: long/'fast'; and short/'not-so-fast'. We're talking up to 100miles at around 17/18mph and about 40miles at around 15/16mph. The Sunday club rides are NOT training rides and are approached with the social element in mind. We regroup on hills and nobody is ever left behind.

Come along!

Thanks for that Ben, sounds like it could be a good fit for me, I'll certainly try to pop along one weekend soon. Do you go every sunday from Whittington Park? Look forward to trying it.

typekitty

I joined Islington CC a month or so ago and have been on a couple of weekend rides (slow/short group). Great people and always wait so no one gets left behind.

mlgt

Thanks for the reply typekitty.

I intend to join ICC for a ride, however most sundays I play in a football tournament, so the weekend I have off.
I will be joining for a ride!

Adamkalin

Just wanted to update for anyone following this thread:

Id like to say a big thank you to Islington CC for welcoming me along to the slow group on Sunday. It was a great experience with a lovely route at a very manageable pace so perfect for those like myself new to club riding. There were a handful of first-timers like myself and everyone was extremely friendly so I couldnt have hoped for more.

A special thank you to ride-leader Stephen for patiently helping me out after shredding my back tyre, and apologies to those I kept waiting while we sorted it (not the ideal way I had in mind for my first club run, but there you go!). Im sad that I had to limp home on the train but it was a lovely experience and I'm looking forward to coming again in a couple of weeks hopefully.

Cheers!