An Introduction to Club Cycling - 8 January 2022

"An Introduction to Club Cycling" is a monthly ride run by ICC 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 must 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

Please read our Group Skills Guide before attending: https://islington.cc/s/ICC-Group-Riding-­Guide-2021.pdf

ALL ABOUT YOU

You should have already been cycling regularly in some capacity and be confident cycling on London's roads.

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.

You should have a moderate level of fitness already. Capable of riding 40 km at an average speed of at least 20 km/h on the flat, 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.

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

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

THE SESSION

We will cycle a 50 km route with some hills. We will discuss group formation, signals, and group communication and you can ask questions about the club.

There may be a cafe stop Highgate at the end of the ride. Depending on pace, we should get there between 11.30am - 12.30pm.

Your ride will be led by an experienced club member and a support rider, who have given up their morning to introduce you to club riding. We hope you will reciprocate by volunteering to support intro and group skills rides and other club activities once you have been riding with the club for a few months.

HOW DO I JOIN IN?

If you wish to attend this session you should sign up here on the ICC 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 no places are left, the session is full. We do not maintain a waiting list so please keep checking back in case a place becomes available. Please do not attend this session if you have not signed up on the forum - you will be turned away.

If you do sign up but cannot attend, please remove yourself from the attendance list so someone else can take the spot. You can do this by clicking the ‘Can’t Make It’ button above which appears once you have signed up.

Please note: If you sign up but do not attend, we reserve the right to restrict your future attendance to Intro Rides. This is due to high demand for places on this ride.

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 straight, 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.

Food and water. We're only doing a short ride, so an energy bar or a banana will do for food, but do start the day with a decent breakfast! Make sure you can easily carry water with you on your bike.

The weather can change quickly so check the forecast and dress appropriately (waterproofs/warm clothing when appropriate).

Money for the cafe stop or to get a train or taxi home in case of an emergency.

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; 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.

JOINING THE CLUB

Once you have completed an Intro Ride or Group Skills ride you will automatically qualify to pay the membership fee and join the club. There is nothing further you need to wait for. See https://islington.cc/membership.

Looking forward to seeing you!

David,
Development Secretary

@aubergene; @AudeGdP; @CatherineH; @Hangrif: @mariablue; @MarkMoss; @OliverGreenstein; @user118756; @user137990; @user138075; @user138688; @user95269; @vicdavies; @Vince; @ZachG; @Zoe

Happy New Year! We hope you’re looking forward to the Intro Ride this Saturday and look forward to meeting you.

Unfortunately, sometimes people drop out without telling us. Please could you reply to this email with a quick message to reconfirm your place.

If you are no longer able to make it, please remove yourself by clicking "Can't Make It" at the top of this page, so others have a chance to take your place.

If you reserve a space but fail to attend we may limit you from attending in the future. If you do not reconfirm, we may have to send you away if we don’t have enough leaders.

Please remind yourself of the information at the top of this thread and read our Group Riding Guide before the ride so we can spend less time standing around during safety briefing and more time riding!

If you still have an @user usernames it would help if you could change to something more personal. This makes it much simpler for us to process new members after the rides.

The meeting place is close to the centre of Queens Walk which runs directly across the centre of Highbury Fields, see map at the top of this thread. Highbury Fields is close to Highbury Corner and Highbury & Islington Tube.

This is the route we will be doing. Please let me know if you have any questions.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31883560

Hi @DavidMason I wonder if there is one more spot available for Sat intro ride? Thanks

Hi @Agyness, at present the ride is full but keep an eye on this page. People often drop out before a ride.

Only two people have confirmed so far.
@Zoe
@Jamesbird (aka @user138688)

Hey @DavidMason, just signed up and confirming I can make it.

Good morning. This is a polite reminder to reconfirm your place by replying to this email or free it up for others by clicking “Can’t Make It” at the top of this page. We’d appreciate it if you could decide today.

The ride is currently full and we have people waiting for slots. It’s also frustrating when club members give up their morning to lead rides and people who have signed up don’t show.

Currently confirmed:
@Zoe
@Jamesbird (aka @user138688)
@matt_leaver

Unconfirmed:
@aubergene; @AudeGdP; @CatherineH; @Hangrif: @mariablue; @MarkMoss; @OliverGreenstein; @user138075; @user95269; @vicdavies; @ZachG; @javi; @TylerH

Hello everyone,comfirming my place.See you on Saturday.

Hi Guys,

I’ve just signed up to ICC and I want to attend a group skills session in order to be approved in the club, can you please advice what I should do as both January sessions are full?

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you.

I have just given back my spot on the group skills if you want to grab that.

Ben

Hi everyone (David). Would be great to come and join you (just moved to London from Luxembourg and ready to get started with a London club). Please let me know how to join in the session if fully booked.

Fairly experienced group rider. This will be cycle club #5.

Thanks so much and hopefully see you Sat,

Will

@

@

Hi Ben,

Your spot seems to be there still, this might take a little while to free or you didn’t probably saved the cancellation?

I am able to make it this Saturday but had a spot on the group skills session on the 22nd which I have cancelled. Hope that helps

@aldovinci92; @WillMorris; @Agyness - thanks for your interest. A few people have cancelled in the last day or two so please keep an eye on this page tomorrow in case a spot comes free for Saturday. The Group Skills ride on Jan 22 is also full, but again places may come free nearer the time.

We run Intro rides and Group Skills each month and I'll message you when I post the February dates.

@DavidMason Morning! I have just signed for a session now. I hope a space is available for me to attend. Many thanks, Sabrina Miah

Apologies just see this - I’ll be there

Morning All - I will be there tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting you all

Hello team,
I apologise for lack of response. I didn't not receive any notifications.
I am very disappointed to say that my partner is unwell so have to not attend to await his results to be safe. (Only just got back from work). Very upset as been wanting to join since October!
I do hope someone sees this and can attend!
I'll see you in February!unless there's a northern ride I can attend?
Many thanks and apologises
Hannah

I have just had to pull out. I hope you can see this and click attending.

Confirm I will be there tomorrow. Thanks!

Sorry for whatever reason I was not receiving the updates.
I'll be there.

Well done everyone who turned out this morning. Could those who rode with me (James+3) put their names down here given it was a bit too wet to take your names down in Barnet.

+GeorginaH my 4 were +Jamesbird +matt_leaver Ben Wheeler and +ZachG

Ben - I think your user name must be a USER123456 type which I'd suggest you change if you join

I think our group included:
@CatherineH
@vicdavies
@Javi

Well done all! Hope you are safely back home, dry and defrosted!
Sorry we had to skip the coffee stop. Please post any questions here and we will try to answer.

Thanks @EvaJ was nice to meet you all!