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Want to join Islington Cycle Club on a ride, but unsure about your ability? Then why not come along and join us for a workshop session entitled 'An Introduction to Club Cycling' which is intended to equip you with some skills, knowledge and confidence to attend one of our regular clubs rides with ease!
Making the jump from regular commuter cyclist to club cyclist can initially be intimidating - but with a little investment in your base fitness and support from like-minded individuals (hopefully us!) you should be cycling along with us in no time at all.
This is NOT a session for cycling novices. You should have already been cycling regularly in some capacity and be confident cycling on London's roads.
What will we cover in our session?
- We will cycle a short route (15-25 miles) and discuss group formation, signals, group communication.
- There will be a cafe stop where will will discuss things such as endurance fitness, hill climbing and any other techniques or cycling related stuff you wish to talk about.
- The session should last a couple of hours.
If you wish to attend, please come along for 10am on Saturday 22nd February to Whittington Park on Holloway Road. A degree of road sense and safety is essential, under 16's must be accompanied by an adult.
What to bring:
- A road bike is preferable to a hybrid. Islington is primarily a road cycling club, so we feel this point is very important and having a road bike will make your ride more enjoyable (not to mention speedier!)
- Spare inner tubes and a pump. Also, please check your tyres are fully inflated before you join us.
- Energy food. We're only doing a short ride, so an energy bar or a banana will do.
- Water. Make sure that you can easily carry water with you on your bike.
- Waterproofs and / or warm clothing. The weather can change quickly - make sure you have checked the weather report and dress appropriately.
- Money. Either 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:
- Your D-Lock. You won't like climbing hills with a lock in tow.
- Your rucksack. You should be able to stuff all your things into jersey pockets - or invest in a saddle bag. Rucksacks aren't much fun on a club ride.
- We will cycle a short route (15-25 miles) and discuss group formation, signals, group communication.
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@LisaFrankers You'll definitely have the opportunity to put in some good miles with us! There's quite a few ICC members who will be riding in RideLondon100 so you'll be in good company in terms of training goals. Hope to see you soon :)
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Hi Lisa,
We'd love to see you on a ride. What kind of cycling have you done already? Fingers crossed the weather breaks to give us some nice cycling conditions this weekend.
:)
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@JohnP - naughty you. You must like us if you've been out 4 times!! Here is the link to sign up: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/club/subscriptions?&club_id=2040
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That's most excellent to hear! Welcome to ICC @Damian. - hope to see you on a club run soon!
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Welcome to the club Gordon!!
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@MattM - one of the proposed rides this weekend is this: http://connect.garmin.com/course/4728459
The audax recce ride is postponed due to the bad weather - some of the roads are waterlogged.
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No longer a member of ICC
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Sorry I should have clarified... The 10am thing this Saturday is a special group riding skills workshop in addition to what David has mentioned above! Sorry if that was confusing :)
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And if you are unsure about chaingang technique then please do join us, this Saturday at Regents Park inner circle, 10am - where I am sure we will be covering chaingangs at a slower pace (and in daylight!)
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Hi +Jade
Don't worry about holding us up - please do come out for a Sunday ride as they are a lot of fun and we love to see new faces. We run two rides, long and short, and we don't ever drop anyone - I am sure there is a perfect ride for you :)
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Hey there +user6374
The coffee and cake rides are the perfect way to start cycling if you are new to the sport (I couldn't quite tell from your post what experience you had....). If you are completely new then do consider building up your fitness base by gently increasing the mileage of your rides.
I think with the coffee and cake rides you can enter through the British Cycling website.
With the club rides just turn up on Sundays, 08:30 at Whittington Park Holloway Road Entrance. The shortest ride is about 30-40 miles averaging 12-14 mph. A good degree of road sense is essential, and make sure you dress appropriately for the weather conditions and bring plenty of food and water with you. Have a read around the 'Clipping In' section for further information! We hope to see you on a ride soon :)
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+James_S - Welcome to the club! There's always Islington members participating in a variety of events here in the UK and abroad. Keep an eye on the forum for specific discussions.
+user6361 - I don't see why you can't join one of our rides while you're in London - come and spin your legs with us! Look out on the forum as people usually discuss who is going down on Weds and Sats. Saturdays in Regents Park are a good bet - 7am if you've got the legs for it, and 8am for a more moderate pace. We meet by London Zoo entrance.
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We're there all weathers +johnnyw. You're more than welcome to try out a ride with us - we look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning!
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Hello +user6264 - thank you for getting in touch. We are always enthusiastic about increasing our junior membership - so your daughter would be most welcome. I think for the first time it would be ideal if you rode along with her, but I am assuming that you will be from your post.
Many people join us on hybrids, and it is not a problem. We don't drop anyone from rides, and make sure that the group is looked after and stays together. The average speed of the shorter ride is between 12-14mph.
My main tips for first timers probably revolve around base endurance fitness. Many people are surprised at how tiring 35-40 miles can be so do make sure you have a good level of base fitness by building up your miles on the bike, and bring plenty of food and water to keep your energy levels up. Also do make sure you dress appropriately with lots of layers - It's pretty cold out there at the moment, and being poorly dressed can make cycling in the winter pretty miserable!
Hope to see you both soon!
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Hi +HannahJF - you will be most welcome on one of our rides, we look forward to seeing you on a club ride soon!
Have a look through this 'clipping in' section of the forum - hopefully any questions on club ride etiquette and distances/speeds should be answered here. If not, give us a shout and we'll answer your questions the best we can.
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Yay! Welcome to ICC +Morgan :) You'll be doing those longer rides in no time at all....
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Can the 100th member have a small prize?
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Hello +Morgan - so nice to hear that you had another successful ride this Sunday. Stephen's rides are always well led and well paced :)
Don't forget to join up if you like riding with ICC (assuming you haven't already!) - we ask people to become fully fledged members after a couple of rides to help support the club going forwards.... And you might even be our 100th member, we are SO close now!!!
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@Eddiespoke - I wonder whether your efforts would be better utilized if you got in contact with the development team at Microcosm instead of posting your observations here?
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Yay! Welcome to ICC - let's see if you can overtake +RichardM on the comments score... there is a prize for the top commenter on the forum!
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Hi @user6149
You're more than welcome to join us for a Saturday session. Generally, we encourage people to try out one or two rides, then we ask you to join the club if you like it beyond that.
Islington Cycling Club
"You will always be in our hearts and on our roads." - @Giro d'Italia on Michele Scarponi
How do I know if I want to join Islington Cycling Club?
We welcome new riders to join us as a guest for up to three rides. After that, you’ll have to become a member to continue riding with us.
How far and how fast do you ride?
On Sundays our club rides divide into groups that do different distances and speeds. Typically we have 'A', 'B' and 'C' rides with 'A' being the longest and fastest. We aim to never leave anyone behind and keeping together and helping each other is what our club is all about! On Saturdays our Regents Park rides start at 7am (faster) and 8am (not as fast). Check our forum for up to date details of each ride.
Do I need a road bike?
Ideally, yes. Road bikes are lighter, and faster making them ideal for on-road conditions over longer distances. You don't need an expensive carbon framed machine to see the benefits of a road bike, and many of our members ride steel and titanium frames (along with the standard aluminium framed bikes).
What should I bring with me?
Stuff to fix your bike - a pump, puncture repair kit, spare inner tubes (2-3) and tools. Plus snacks and water to keep you going. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather and have a set of lights for early morning/evening rides.
"How fit do I need to be to join one of your rides?"
Ideally you should be able to complete a 40 mile on-road ride at a steady pace without stopping. If you have any doubt about your ability to keep up with the 'C' ride (our slowest ride which averages between 12-14mph) then you should try the 'Intro To Club Cycling Workshop', followed by some 8am Regent Park sessions on Saturday mornings to build stamina and endurance.
I’ve never ridden in a group before, what should I do?
We run an 'Intro to Club Cycling' session once a month if you are unsure about the demands of club cycling. Check the events in the 'Clipping In section for the next one. Take a moment to look through our Group Riding Guide if you are new to club rides.
Where can I post on your forum?
You can view most sections of our forum. Once you have registered, you can also post comments and start conversations in the Clipping in section. There is one area (The clubhouse), which is completely members only.
Do you have racing teams?
We are a new club and are developing both our men’s and women’s teams. There is plenty of scope to get involved.
Are there opportunities for juniors?
Islington Cycling Club is a British Cycling Go-Ride club. We offer some coaching for 8-14 year olds. Juniors may join our rides, but must be accompanied by an adult.
What else do I need to know?
Our club runs several social events, as well as cycling events, such as The Great Escape audax – a 200km challenge ride - and club time trials.