Tell us about your weekend ride

Looks lovely. I did an Alps motorcycle tour last year - travelling through the Vosges was definitely one of the highlights. Saw plenty of cyclists around and was slightly envious. The downhills must have been a blast.

your bike is sinking?!

nice

106 miles trying to join together as many of the 100 best climbs in the UK, i got three, unfortunately one of them was the wrong way around...

ended up having a friend with me rather than riding solo, but as he was just trying to get miles in he kindly let me ride on the front all day, apart from a few hills where he blasted past and finished ahead of me on a number of strava segments.

I hate it when they do that. At the same time, I love knowing they couldn't do it any other way ;-)

Yes.

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We had been up the Madeleine on gravel during the week. This is the view back to the Chaussy.

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A mate of mine always does this to me, despite being a stronger rider than I am. He lets me tow him around all the boring bits, then when an exciting segment arrives he gives it some and drops me

feautibul!

went out with cycle club hackney for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed myself. been meaning to join a club for some time and haven't been able to get round to joining a club for a group ride.
was slightly mystified by their meeting point though as google maps thought it was in the middle of a housing estate so convinced myself that it must be their official club postal address or something. nevertheless cycled as near to the start point as i could make out and waited till i saw some cyclists. didn't see any for a while and was about to concede that i'd got the meeting point wrong when a guy turns up in the club kit. queue me following him down a little alley way till we get to the 'meeting point' which is more or less next to a high rise block of flats. was a bit put off by this i must admit. not sure why they don't meet next to the green by stoke newington common or whatever.
anyway from there we rode out to high beach where the club regroups with others that don't fancy the housing estate meet up point or come more from out that way.
did 60m loop round essex which was pancake flat and averaged just over 22mph so i was happy with the pace. will most likely join the club as the guys on the ride were really friendly and completely different to the stuck up wankers i met on the kingston wheelers fast group.

Cracked.

Cycling >>>

I'd heard that the club has expanded a bit recently and got some faster riders on board. I last tried them a few months ago and it was a bit of a dawdle as there was only one group going out with a massive range of abilities.

The only problem with those guys is there's limited roads available - but if you're living in Finsbury park then it's gotta be Essex or Herts so no big deal there.

And yes, that meeting point is truly bizarre. Hardest place to find ever. And looks like the kinda place you'd get mugged as soon as it gets dark.

Yes i can imagine jim if there was only one group going out. The last thing you want is to amble about when you're after a fast ride with limited time. I can see how that can easily happen if not many turn up.
Unless i'm willing to head south there isn't really a massive amount of options available out in Essex without having to get the train out everywhere as you'll spend a lot of time riding through the suburbs before you get to the countryside. For the time being it will do for me i think. Would like to ride south but it just takes a bit of time to get there that's all.
They've seriously got to do something about that meeting point. I was like 'is this for real?' Was worried more about the puncture risk with all the glass on the pavements!

They've seriously got to do something about that meeting point.

They've met there for years as far as I know, and they seem to be a happy and thriving club. I doubt they will move it to protect the sensibilities of a new class of members.

A new class?

Maybe it's to stop a new class of members joining?

IME if you're involved in the running of a club (or any voluntary organisation) what you don't want hear is moaning, as if it's someone else's problem to sort. What you absolutely welcome 100% are ideas and suggestions for improvement.

Once you're a member just ask riders about the meeting place. See what people think of it and see if there are alternatives that have support.

Essex is mint for riding.

Yep. Those groups of riders you see chatting together: they're talking about how to ruin your day.

#lackofselfworth
#compensation

i'm not trying to transform the club after one visit, i was just commenting on the difficulty in finding the meeting location (which i mentioned to some members) and it helps that i know the area fairly well. someone not familiar must have difficulty finding it that's all. if they want new members to find the place then surely it should be somewhere out in the open where they can be seen? behind a block of flats was a bit mystifying that's all. i'll go out to the high beech meeting point as it's easier for me.

It's a good point. As a new member you probably see that problem clearer than they do, you should get involved in improve the club. I wasn't suggesting you were moaning, I just wanted to counter T-V's post. Clubs should feel like they welcome involvement and change.

Went for a roll out into Sussex yesterday. aiming for Brighton but tired legs and a bit of a headwind brought me up after about 40 miles when I bailed for the nearest train. Very nice though, great to get out into the countryside despite the odd shower.

I had a weekend ride for the first time in ages! Picked up a Burley trailer on Saturday evening so decided to take my boy out in it to get to a friends BBQ.

We ended up doing about 23 miles in total. Me on my road bike towing the trailer and gf on her touring bike. As soon as you strap a trailer on the bike everyone suddenly remembers that you're a real person and perhaps would like some courtesy on the roads. We had so many good drivers giving us loads of room, being patient, passing safely. Just what it should be like all the time.

Trailer wheels need truing and I need some lower gears if we ever intend to go anywhere with serious hills, but it was good to go for a ride as a whole family.

yes exactly. i wasn't moaning, it was more of a general observation. i'm not sure why T-V tried to turn this into some kind of them and us class war. 'a new class of member' what a load of rubbish.
where they meet won't put me off a club at all. its the attitude of the members and where they go, what other things they arrange and whether i find other members who want to go out on fast training rides etc etc. i was thinking more of the first time riders who aren't familiar with the area and nervous about going along on their own that's all. anyway..........

FWIW we moved our club's meeting place 5 mins up the road. It took a mini twitter/fb/website/wordofmouth campaign and a couple of weeks before everyone got the message but it was easy I there was not a single grumble. Clubs can be great!