Group Skills - Thursday April 28

Group Skills is a session for prospective and current members of ICC which teaches group riding skills so that we can ride together more safely, more sociably and with less effort. It is a great opportunity to refresh and build on skills.

If you are new to the club and wish to become a member you will need to complete either a Group Skills session or an Introduction to Club Cycling training session. Please make yourself known to the ride leader when arriving so they can confirm your attendance to our membership manager.

We will look at communication skills and formations such as pace line and two up, plus how to pace/lead the ride from the front and rotate being at the front.

If you know all this, come and share your knowledge and if you don't, come and take advantage of the sharers.

Note that we will adjust the level depending on the ability of the group.

ABOUT YOU

You should have been cycling regularly in some capacity and be confident riding 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 and be able to ride 50 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.

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

THE SESSION

Meet in the Regent's Park Inner Circle, at the big gates opposite York Bridge. Sessions typically last about 90 minutes. There may be a cafe stop Highgate at the end of the ride for those who are interested.

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

HOW DO I JOIN IN?

If you wish to attend this session you should register as a user on the forum then click the 'Yes I'm Attending' button above to confirm your attendance. We will ask you to reconfirm a few days before the ride. You will need do this on the Forum.

Click Register in the top right corner and change your user name from the default User12345. To make sure you receive messages please click “Edit Profile” in the top right corner, then click “Notification Settings”, and tick “Enable Notifications”, “When you are @mentioned in a comment” and “When an event you are attending is imminent”.

These rides get booked up quickly. 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.

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.

If you do not attend and do not remove yourself, we reserve the right to restrict your attendance of future Intro Rides and Group Skills. This is due to high demand for places.

If you are a former ICC member please add a note below to let us know.

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 if you want to visit the café afterwards.

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 or Group Skills ride you will qualify to pay the membership fee and join the club. Once you’ve signed up through British Cycling our membership secretary will process your application and be in touch shortly to welcome you to the club. See https://islington.cc/membership.

Looking forward to seeing you!

David,
Development Secretary

Would love to join this if a spot comes up. Rob 07714139350

This ride is now fully booked. @Robert and anyone else interested in joining should keep an eye on this page for any last minute cancellations.

@aroe @CallumT @DeanoS @EmmaK @RichardN1 @user143013 @user143028 @user143034 - we look forward to seeing you on Thursday. If you are no longer able to make it, please remove yourself by clicking "Can't Make It" at the top of this page. If you reserve a space but fail to attend we may limit you from attending in the future.

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 username 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 the Regent's Park Inner Circle, at the big gates opposite York Bridge.

@DavidMason I've changed my username - not sure which number I was originally in the list above! But will be there.

@DavidMason apologies I can no longer make it as I have COVID, but will try for the next one.

I've unchecked 'attend' as I'll be joining but as a volunteer returning club member. One space freed up!

Thanks Katie. Get well soon.

Hi David. Does that mean there’s now an available place If so , and if there’s no waiting list, I’d like to fill it Thanks Simon 07720966629

Thanks for running the session, and good to meet everyone

Cheers Richard and others, well done everyone and I hope you are looking forward to future rides with the club as there are lots of ways to get involved.

I thought the runner doing laps on the road in the opposite direction was a good addition to the session to make sure we were all communicating and concentrating ;-)
I might try to get her details to see if she can do the same at future group riding skills sessions.