An introduction to club cycling - 06 April 2019

'An Introduction to Club Cycling' is a monthly ride run by ICC specifically for people who would like to try out the club cycling environment in a non-pressured and supportive group.

If you wish to join ICC then you will need to complete one of the compulsory training sessions, either this Introduction ride or the Group Skills in Regents Park.

You must be signed up for this event to take part. If you are not signed up here on the forum, you will not be able to participate.

PLEASE READ

Unfortunately we cannot offer this session to complete cycling beginners as we are not teaching cycling proficiency.

ALL ABOUT YOU:
1.You should have already been cycling regularly in some capacity and be confident cycling on London's roads.

2.You should be familiar with your bike, its set-up and be confident riding it. If you've only just bought your bike, take it out for a couple of spins on your own to gain confidence before you join a group ride with us.

3.You should have a moderate level of fitness already. Capable of riding 25 miles at an average speed of at least 12 mile per hour, with several steep hills and only brief stops. If you're not yet comfortable at that distance or pace please build up with solo rides before coming along.

4.You should be interested in learning how to ride with a group, and open to improving your cycling skills and communication with other riders.

THE SESSION:
We will cycle a 25 mile route and discuss group formation, signals, group communication.

There will be a cafe stop at the end of our ride where we can discuss things such as endurance fitness, hill climbing and any other questions about the club. Depending on pace, we should get to the cafe stop in East Finchley between 11.30am - 12.30pm.

HOW DO I JOIN IN?
If you wish to attend this session you need to sign up to the ride here on the Islington forum.

Register as a user on the forum (please help us by creating an actual name rather than the default username) then click the 'Yes I'm Attending' button above to confirm your attendance. If you see no places left, it is because the session is full. We do not maintain a waiting list so please keep checking back in case a place becomes available.

Places are strictly limited - this is to ensure we can safely guide you on our route. Because of this, please do not attend this session if you have not signed up on the forum - you will be turned away.

WHAT TO BRING:
As with all club rides, you must wear a helmet to take part in this ride.

Your bike must be in a good and roadworthy condition. Check your wheels are true, that your gears shift reliably and your brakes work correctly. Ensure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure.

Spare inner tubes, tools and a pump. Other riders may help you if you are in trouble but you should be self-sufficient and at the very least be able to fix a puncture.

We're only doing a short ride, so an energy bar or a banana will do for food. Make sure you start the day with a decent breakfast!

Bring water, making sure that you can easily carry it with you on your bike.
The weather can change quickly so make sure you have checked the weather report and dress appropriately (waterproofs/warm clothing when appropriate).

Money for the cafe stop or in case of an emergency (you might be in a situation where you need to get a train or taxi home so bring enough cash or your cash card!)

WHAT TO LEAVE AT HOME:

BIKE LOCKS. Please leave your heavy D lock at home! You will not need it on this ride.

RUCKSACKS. You should be able to stuff all your things into jersey pockets or a saddle bag. Please aim to travel light.

OTHER STUFF:

ALL RIDERS MUST observe the Highway Code AT ALL TIMES when riding with Islington CC. This includes: riding no more than two abreast and riding in single file to allow traffic to pass on narrow roads, obeying traffic lights and signs, not riding on pavements and not abusing other road users.

Please acknowledge any courtesy shown to you by other road users and stop at pedestrian crossings where necessary.

Riders attend club rides strictly at their own risk. Please listen to your ride leaders and follow their instructions.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Alec,

Development Secretary

Hi there. Would love to take part so I can get a feel for my level of fitness I have done a few 30 mile rides lately but want to do more. Please give me timings & route thanks. Richard

Hi Richard,

The timings are as stated above (08:30 from Whittington Park) Speed will be dependent on the riders on the day so that will dictate the return time.

We don't post the route in advance to avoid people turning up on the day who haven't signed up for the ride (these sessions get fully booked in advance).

Any other questions just shout.

Richard

just to add to what +SallyB has said, we ask as above that you can ride for "25 miles at an average speed of at least 12 mile per hour, with several steep hills and only brief stops" so as long as you are confident of doing that you'll be fine. People do sometimes want to check the route beforehand but we don't release it for the reasons Sally has stated but you can test yourself over any route or do some laps of Regents Park.

As one of the ride leaders I look forward to meeting you on the day

Stephen

Hi,

I just signed up for the session, never cycled with a club before so very excited! Looking forward to meeting you :)

hi there,
I've signed up to join on the 6th, looking forward to it. I'm used to cycling in groups and longer distance, although has been a while so looking to get back into it, and be part of a social club. My name is Bonnie btw, it doesn't seem to be updating in my profile.

Hi!
What kind of bikes are recommended for this? I have a steel vintage road bike (from late 80s), with the gear shifters on the downtube on the frame. I would like to know if this bike would be okay to do this session and join the club. Thanks!

Hi, this will be my first time cycling with a club, looking forward to it and to meeting you all :)

That should be fine as long as you can maintain the average pace mentioned above. Most people have more modern bikes but you'd be most welcome.

Hi there, just joined up to the intro ride. Like the people above, I tried to change my user name but it didn't seem to register. My name is Andrew and I look forward to meeting you all.

Hi Andrew, it’s probably due to the name already being used.

Hi Alec

Please let me know if space becomes available on this event

Thanks

Liam

Hi there,
I’d love to try out the intro session to ICC. Can you let me know if there are any places remaining for next weekends sesssion? Many thanks,
Paul

Hi guys, I’ll post some more session dates tomorrow

Same as above Alec, would be great to attend a session if there is a space going.

The event is now fully booked and we don't operate a waiting list as such, it's just a case of popping back when you can to see if a space has opened up.

If you are down to attend this session and can no longer make it, please can you click that you won't be attending, this frees up a space for someone else to come along in your place.

Thanks.

I’d be interested to sign up for this also, whenever a space becomes available.

Id also be interested if a spot would become available

For those with a little more riding experience the Group Skills sessions are also fine to enter the club with.

Good morning, I am one of the ride leaders for tomorrow. I hope you are all looking forward to the ride.

I have also included a link to the ICC Group Riding Guide. If people could read this beforehand it will save standing around before we start cycling!

Now that this ride is full, and others are keen to join, if you can no longer attend PLEASE remove yourself from the event. Just click 'can't make it' at the top of the page so that your space can be freed up for someone else.

Also if those of you who's usernames are user12345 etc. could change them to something more memorable that would be great and ease admin should you decide to join.

Hello, is it possible to join the waiting list?

Well done to the 7 of you who came on this morning's ride. I hope you enjoyed it and, if so, will join the club. Any further questions, please ask. You are now able to join the club and feel free to join a Group Skills session if you want to learn more about group riding but its not compulsory.

For the 2 people who dropped out at the last moment and the 8 people who signed up but didn't turn up, this is really unhelpful and selfish of you, especially as I count at least 5 people above who wanted to come but couldn't sign up because the ride was full.

Thanks for this morning Stephen. I have now signed up to the club and look forward to the next ride. Cheers

Thanks for this morning , really enjoyed it. A

Thank you from me as well, was really fun :)