Possible new member enquiry

Firstly hello :)

Sorry if this is a long one :)

My name is Ryan and i'm 35.

I've been riding on and off for quite a few years now (although last year i was lazy )and have been a lone cyclist. I have tried some groups and club but these have either fallen into the usual "testosterone" filled rides which don't interest me or they have a long cafe stop which again doesn't float my boat, for several reasons.

I'm ideally trying to find a club/group who just enjoy riding together on regular runs at a modest to decent pace. I usually average around 26kph over a 2-3 hour ride but am not able to "ride on the rivet" for long periods.

Reading many of the posts on here you may be a viable club to try, but i do have a few questions if you don't mind :)

On you sunday runs do you have set routes that you use or is it where the wind takes you as it were or at the very least is a distance for the days route known before the start?

Do you have cafe stops on your sunday rides? I ask as I cool down really quickly and just cannot get upto speed and also cramp after a break longer than say 10/15 minutes.

Do you ever do off road routes say on cylcocross bikes or is it strictly roadies only?

Anyway i hope you don't mind me asking the above and look forward to any replies.

Hi Ryan,

First off... Welcome.

Every sunday varies depending on who is leading the ride. We try to set out the route before however this isn't always the case and the person leading will tell us on the day.
Our short ride normally is 35-40miles and our longer one tends to be between 45-65miles

You can check out some of our rides on our Strava page. http://www.strava.com/clubs/islington-cycling-club

Depending on the route we will do a cafe stop in the middle of the ride or at the end. Sometimes we ride out to a cafe, such as our Ardley Route or Special one offs. Most of the time we will stop on our way back in Finchley (about 3.5mile from Whittington Park)

We don't really do any off roading but we have a couple of people who are interested in cross. We do have a ride coming up which will follow the Rapha Hell of the North route.

Hope this answers your questions.

Rob beat me to it, come along and give us a go, I'm sure thst you wont be disappointed. This is a good group and I am sure you will like it.

Thanks both for the replies.

I'll probably come along to try on either Sunday week or the 16th feb.

Can I just ask?

I don't currently have mudguards as they are a PITA on my bike plus I don't really like using them. I do realise that if I become a member then these are mandatory. Would I be allowed to come on one trial ride without them if I stay towards the back? I don't really want the expense and hassle of getting some if I don't need them.

Anyway hope to pop along soon

Ryan :)

Ryan
No problem. I look forward to seeing you on a ride soon.
Regards,
Richard

I'd say fewer than half of our riders fit mudguards and the vast majority of rides end at a cafe back in London rather than stopping half way round. I really don't think either of these concerns should put you off - this is the friendliest club i've ever been part of.