Becoming a member

Hi,

I've just moved to the area and am keen to join a cycling club. I've cycled with a club in Surrey for the last year or so and usually average 13-15mph. Is the best thing to join your monthly intro ride (I see there is one space left in April) or come along and join a C group(?) Sunday ride?

Thanks,
Katie (can't change my username for some reason!)

Why wait till April? Come along to a ride on Sunday and take it from there. I am confident that you will want to join after that (patting own back, blowing trumpet....)

If you are keen, and can make it to an intro ride, it's probably a good idea to sign up for that regardless (before the places are all taken up).

And, as @kos suggests, come along to a Sunday ride as soon as you want. Saturday 8am Regent's Park laps are also a good chance to say hello and I think there's a group riding session at the Park on the morning of the 26th: http://forum.islington.cc/comments/12840194/

Thanks! I will try to come along this Sunday then. See you at Whittington Park

Good on you Katie - we meet at Whittington Park at 8:30 and there are different groups for different speeds. Just rock up and say hi, someone will help you out.

Great thanks. I'll probably try the C group and see how I go.
Katie

Hi,

I'm trying to spend a bit more time on my road bike, so thought joining my local club would be a good idea! I'm fairly fit (so could probably keep up with a B ride), but haven't done a huge amount of group riding - and certainly none with Islington CC. Would a C ride (hopefully this Sunday!) work for getting to know the various calls and getting up to speed with ride form?

Thanks!
Sam

Hi Sam,

Absolutely! I would recommend going for the slower of the 2 options just in case. I would suggest it would give you a better first impression of club riding to find it a bit too easy rather than suffering most of the way. And you can always join the B ride the next week!

The club also runs specific monthly rides for new members, to teach them the ins and puts it group riding. Over to my glamourous assistant @alexD who is involved in running these for more info

Hi Sam,

Please do come give us a try. As @EDS says, it's best to try the C ride to start off with. Alternatively we offer intro rides (usually the first Saturday of the month) so keep a look out for them. We ask all of those new to the club to join one of these rides as they cover the basics in a bit more detail. We also offer coaching sessions and group skills sessions on a more ad-hoc basis so also keep your eyes peeled for them!

@EDS, @alexD - thanks both! I'll join in this week's C ride to start with and go from there.

Looking forward to meeting people on Sunday :-)

I can take out a slower (65km ish with hill re groups) C ride again this Sunday,
Could do "lumpy Herts" again if liked, or any requests to distance/route?
there's lots on club routes page or in the C ride thread.
steve

Hi All,

I have just joined the forum and am looking for a cycling club. A bit about me; I've just purchased my road bike about 6 weeks ago and have been building up the km's (I'm an Aussie who uses metric!). For the first time, today I rode 45km's. I felt fairly comfortable at this distance and am looking to build up more mileage as I gain more experience. At the moment I do laps of Regents Park on my own but am looking to learn about group riding.

It looks as though the April 2nd, what could you recommend to me as somewhat a beginner in road cycling?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Mike

Hi there, I did my first sportive last week and met a couple of your members. Keen to join the club and if there is a C ride on Easter Sunday I will happily join in - I don't have group ride experience as yet. So will keep an eye out on the C ride thread and hope to meet you soon.

Hi +Diane & +user63226 (mike!)

Both of you would sit perfectly in our C rides. There will be one on Easter Sunday, so do turn up at 8:20 at Whittington Park. Simply introduce yourself to anyone there and listen out for the suggested C routes.

If you enjoy that (and I'm sure you will!) then sign up for one of our Introduction to Group Riding sessions. These will help you gain confidence in riding in a bunch. From there, the sky's your limit!

Look forward to seeing you out on the road,

Jon

Hi +JonnyK,

Thanks for your response. I am not available this Sunday but would be available next Sunday if it is on then?

Do you have any advice for me with respect to training and getting ready for it?

Mike

Hi Mike,

There is a C ride every Sunday from the Whittington Park. We also offer Saturday rides around Regents Park which act as a good way to build up fitness. These start at 8am from outside the zoo. You're welcome to join either or both of these!

Thanks Alex,

I have not ridden in a group before. Will this be a problem? I am fairly confident on the bike and have done at least 200km around Regents Park. I have spent a little bit of time riding in others slipstream around but never in a group.

Mike

Just introduce yourself to the ride leader and they'll go over the basic hand signals and safety brief before you set off. If you can do the distance then you'll just need to concentrate on riding with others which I'm sure won't be a problem!

The signals are covered in the Group Riding Guide.

(Note you can largely ignore section 3 for rides outside Regent's Park)

Brilliant, I was hoping there would still be a ride this Sunday!

True, momentary mind lapse meant I forgot about this - it's a good starting point, as is this video from the GCN website

I do encourage you to introduce yourself to the ride leader though as then they know if they need to look out for anyone unfamiliar with group riding and it's also a useful refresh/reminder for them and anybody else in the group about how we should be riding!

Hi All,

I've just signed up to the club. How do I enable my account such that I can post in all areas of the forum?

Looking forward to riding with you all in the future.

Mike

Hey Mike. @Sir_Shannonball will do that for you once your membership details come through to him. Shouldn't take long.

Hi, I have just filled in the subscription details and tried to join the club. I was trying to post in the forums around joining a club ride this Sunday but don't seem to have permission - does this only work once I have been fully confirmed?
Thanks, EU

Yeah. As above. Ta.