That London bike Clubs

roger_merriman

Mattsaw wrote:

Are there any clubs that do Saturday morning runs rather than Sunday?

Only London Dynamo that I know of, and that's chain gangs around the park making sure they don't get a good reputation!

Others do organise rides on sat but aren't the club run as such.

rick_chasey

roger merriman wrote:

Only London Dynamo that I know of, and that's chain gangs around the park making sure they don't get a good reputation!

True story.

rick_chasey

Did you go on the club run in the end?

ddraver

No, wussed out. Given my post in PR, it appears it was a good decision! Maybe next week, depends how the first week at work goes. Alternately excited and terrified at the moment...

rick_chasey

ddraver wrote:

No, wussed out. Given my post in PR, it appears it was a good decision! Maybe next week, depends how the first week at work goes. Alternately excited and terrified at the moment...

Still in oil?

ddraver

Yep, still geologist but with an operator now not a consultant. Means I have to actually make decisions rather than just recommend them!

asprilla

I thought he was talking about that streaming web show you do.

rick_chasey

Asprilla wrote:

I thought he was talking about that streaming web show you do.

Who says I wasn't?

ddraver

Oh so YOU are chunkylover_53?

spasypaddy

Mattsaw wrote:

Are there any clubs that do Saturday morning runs rather than Sunday?

yes, London Phoenix.

roger_merriman

ddraver wrote:

Where do you start from Emma?

Would seem to be Houslow, all seem to start from Houslow Central. see http://www.twickenhamcc.co.uk/tcc/club-rides/

which does make a bit longer than some though SW london until you get into the Surrey hills etc. can't say I'd be fond of riding for fun ( commute is another matter) down the A316 which has traffic that only a moment ago was traveling down the M3, the A308 is not much nicer, and there are quieter nicer ways to avoid the A316/A308

Kit looks nice, and thus far, I live and work close (ish) by and they tend to have good road manners etc.

Blonde Cyclist

ddraver wrote:

Where do you start from Emma?

Sorry for the delayed response (although it sounds like you made a good call not going out this weekend, I didn't make the same call...)

Tuesdays and Saturdays we meet at the clubroom: All Hallows Church Hall – Long Room, Erncroft Way, Twickenham (it's quite near the stadium).

Emma

Blonde Cyclist

roger merriman wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Where do you start from Emma?

Would seem to be Houslow, all seem to start from Houslow Central. see http://www.twickenhamcc.co.uk/tcc/club-rides/

which does make a bit longer than some though SW london until you get into the Surrey hills etc. can't say I'd be fond of riding for fun ( commute is another matter) down the A316 which has traffic that only a moment ago was traveling down the M3, the A308 is not much nicer, and there are quieter nicer ways to avoid the A316/A308

Kit looks nice, and thus far, I live and work close (ish) by and they tend to have good road manners etc.

It's OK in a group... And we don't normally ride it back in to London (so we miss the M3 effect thankfully). Not quite sure why the website is showing us as starting in Houslow though - it's definitely Twickenham Be lovely to see either of you!

roger_merriman

Blonde Cyclist wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Where do you start from Emma?

Would seem to be Houslow, all seem to start from Houslow Central. see http://www.twickenhamcc.co.uk/tcc/club-rides/

which does make a bit longer than some though SW london until you get into the Surrey hills etc. can't say I'd be fond of riding for fun ( commute is another matter) down the A316 which has traffic that only a moment ago was traveling down the M3, the A308 is not much nicer, and there are quieter nicer ways to avoid the A316/A308

Kit looks nice, and thus far, I live and work close (ish) by and they tend to have good road manners etc.

It's OK in a group... And we don't normally ride it back in to London (so we miss the M3 effect thankfully). Not quite sure why the website is showing us as starting in Houslow though - it's definitely Twickenham Be lovely to see either of you!

Ah have to say did wounder did tend to see the kit twick/hampton/teddington way but not Houslow.

I don't have any interest in racing which is one reason I stopped being in a club, at the moment I'm a fair way off being fit and able haven't yet attempted to ride a bike since I fractured my skull in early December, if the weather improves i might have a careful wobble on the old MTB in the park next week.

The A316 was fun during the Olmpics as Wiggens and co left London I zipped along a fairly empty A316 to support someone in WestMid Hospital.

Headhuunter

Mattsaw wrote:

Are there any clubs that do Saturday morning runs rather than Sunday?

If you're in SE London Greenwich Tritons do a Sat morning ride from Blackheath... They're a really good bunch although of course they're triathletes which is completely inconceivable to some cyclists

daddy0

If you're in SE then Bigfoot http://www.bigfootbikeclub.org/ meet in Hayes which is right on the border of where suburbia stops and country lanes start. Club runs on Saturdays, all levels, ad hoc runs the rest of the week.

Also I have heard good things about Addiscombe CC, chatted to one of them yesterday out on the road and he was very welcoming.

daddy0

BTW - do any of you SW guys know a good club to suggest to my Sutton based friend? He got a road bike just before xmas and is very green.

Headhuunter

Daddy0 wrote:

If you're in SE then Bigfoot http://www.bigfootbikeclub.org/ meet in Hayes which is right on the border of where suburbia stops and country lanes start. Club runs on Saturdays, all levels, ad hoc runs the rest of the week.

Also I have heard good things about Addiscombe CC, chatted to one of them yesterday out on the road and he was very welcoming.

If you're going to start including clubs that meet on the Kent/London borders there are quite a few more - GS Avanti are a good bunch for example...

rjsterry

https://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4391

Can't speak for any of these, but I'd imagine if you hang around somewhere like Woodmansterne on a Sunday morning, you'll catch a ride from one club or another heading out.

jspash

Mattsaw wrote:

Are there any clubs that do Saturday morning runs rather than Sunday?

Rollapaluza do both Sat & Sun http://www.rollapaluza.cc/forum/

They leave from North (Pond Square Highgate), East (Lea Bridge or Whipps Cross), and I've heard of occasional outings from South of the river, but sorry I don't go South of the river. I've done the East route through Essex which is quite nice. Out of London and into winding lane cow country within minutes. Couple of speedy guys on fixies too. Very relaxed, but quick.

mattsaw

Thanks for the Saturday ride suggestions, I'll take a look.

I'm in Surbiton, a stones throw from where the Kingston Wheelers set-off, but annoyingly Sunday morning is when I take the kids to rugby which rules out anything until after midday.

menthel

I looked into a club close to me in Raynes Park. The Wheelers don't start too far away (still would mean getting up even earlier) but the Windmilers go from outside Starbucks in Wimbledon- anyone ride with them or know of them?

asprilla

Female mate of mine rides with Wimbledon Windmillers. They seem like a nice bunch. It appears that they go out on a Saturday.

menthel

Asprilla wrote:

Female mate of mine rides with Wimbledon Windmillers. They seem like a nice bunch. It appears that they go out on a Saturday.

They do. I just worry that as a smaller club they won't have a group slow enough for me! They say that if you can do 3 laps of RP in 1.15 you are fine. I have done 1.09 but don't go to RP that often. I guess I can only try. I may also need to go somewhere with a Sunday ride as my wife tends to run on a saturday morning.

okgo

Mattsaw wrote:

Thanks for the Saturday ride suggestions, I'll take a look.

I'm in Surbiton, a stones throw from where the Kingston Wheelers set-off, but annoyingly Sunday morning is when I take the kids to rugby which rules out anything until after midday.

For the last 400 Saturdays (ok I have not counted, but its every Saturday) there have been at least one, but often up to 3 or 4 rides going from Surbiton out to all sorts of places with the kingston wheelers.

I know people have said it, but I don't quite think it has sunk in, there are rides organized ad hoc on the forum for nearly every single day of the year, http://www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk/kwccf ... um.php?f=4 - as you can see there are a huge number of rides that get put up for all paces/distances etc.

And of course for Sundays as many have said we often get 50-150 on really nice days turn up in Laithwaites car park and up to 8-10 rides go out from there.

If you live near there I really cannot see a better option to be honest, hence I have never thought about going elsewhere. And in terms of finding people to ride with, there is really someone for nearly every level, through from people who don't have proper road bikes yet, to people who race to a decent level against the clock and on the road

vermin

Dynamo bashing will always be fashionable but I've found most members to be normal human beings who like riding bikes. Ignore Rick, he just couldn't keep up.

The Saturday morning RP sessions, which provoke most of the abuse from outsiders, are great fun for those involved in them and, I think, provide a really good shortish training session. There is always a large number of small groups going at different speeds to suit riders of all abilities, so beginners and the less-fit-than-I-used-to-be are catered for as well as the aspirants. The fact that the ride always follows the same course provides an opportunity to measure progress and the last lap of a session is always a race, which adds a bit of fun.

The Dynamo then goes off for a long run out to the home counties on a Sunday morning.

okgo

I dunno, your fast group were doing 18 min laps this Sat gone, hardly rocket-fueled

vermin

okgo wrote:

I dunno, your fast group were doing 18 min laps this Sat gone, hardly rocket-fueled

I took care to use the word "aspirants" and nothing more... Of course, I don't ride with them any more, so the standards will doubtless have slipped.

tgotb

okgo wrote:

If you live near there I really cannot see a better option to be honest

Some people prefer small clubs, or clubs with a particular ethos or emphasis on a particular type of riding; KW are very strong in road racing and TT, and have a huge variety of club runs, but there are clubs which are much stronger in other disciplines...

okgo

Agree. What sort of other disciplines do you have in mind? Just be interested to know really as I thought we had a fairly good spread, though maybe not huge on Audax/Tandems etc?