Any rides for beginners?

+1 to will, andyp and eds comments,

i ride with different groups each weekend, relying on their local knowledge..
and chap nav concept..

Forum ride are also a great one to start with, especially when it's all about the companies and not the speed.

In fact, the more people, the less you think about how far/fast/tired you are.

Most forum rides are the exact antithesis of good, disciplined group riding.

I loved my chap nav, couldn't live without it.

@ andyp, quite right, just involved more consuming and drinking the wrong type of "fuel" on top of others.

Forum ride are also a great one to start with, especially when it's all about the companies and not the speed.
.

most people in cycling clubs are pretty good company and less all-over-the-place-cyclists-who-are-half-drunk-baggy-short-wearing-longdistance-newbies than on most forum rides (forum rides are however very entertaining).

a forum ride once a month to break my regime has brought a new level to my cycling..
defo a comedy level

There's a good perspective on this page. In fact, I's way off the pace in this thread. As much as I'm into my Garminating, they're poor instructors/ company.

+1 to what Texas said. Apart from the bit about people in clubs being good company. That is obviously a lie.

most people in cycling clubs are pretty good company and less all-over-the-place-cyclists-who-are-half-drunk-baggy-short-wearing-longdistance-newbies than on most forum rides (forum rides are however very entertaining).

They are not as bad as they used to be , but club runs were not always the friendliest places to be, this inlcudes CTC runs..

That said , they are a good way of learning the rules and when Oil is up or down...
Forum rides are on the whole more entertaining, especially when the leader looses the rest of the ride.

Last spring i started doing more cycling (more than just the London commute around town) I found getting up early and getting a train out of London was a great way to get away from the traffic and get into good countryside quickly.
I headed for Suffolk and Norfolk first as it's not too hilly and you can get yourself used to clocking up a few miles before heading into hillier parts.
Try the South Downs for something really enjoyable but hilly.
Be careful though as although their are loads of great cycling routes nation wide, which you don't need any GPS to enjoy, they may not all be suitable for a road/racing tyre.

Norfolk is beautiful for cycling. Not many hills though, which is a pain as I'd love to start hill climbing more.

So did the Sutton to Brighton route, what with going off the route I reckon we did about 80miles so I'm not quite as unfit as I thought. Felt dead when I got home but not really aching the next day. Looking forward to next weekend now. Appreciate all the suggestions defo going to try them out.

Thought I'd bump this thread with a question. What route(s) would people recommend for somebody (me) that's not really ever done anything longer than going the long way home commuting or doing a few laps of parks? I was thinking fairly short - maybe 25 miles or so (round trip), starting from centralish London. Would be nice if it's possible to get away from traffic and maybe get some pretty views in, any thoughts?

edit- routes for solo rides, not ready for group rides yet!

Richmond Park is always a good place to discover your capabilities. Ride out there or get the train and then ride the 7 mile loops in the knowledge that there are cafes to stop at and feed or rest should you need them, the hills are slight and short and there are plenty o other cyclists around. You will find that you can ride far further than you think you can. Once you have done that, you will have an idea of the distances that you can manage and then look for more varied routes. You will also see how you compare with other cyclists and may realise that you are ready for a group ride sooner than you imagine.

^ Your immediate problem is that to get to almost anywhere where you have the opportunity of both quiet roads and pretty views (I take that as countryside) will mean riding more than 12 miles from central London anyway so you are already at your 25 mile round trip limit before you start.
Looking at London on Google Maps Satellite view, the Lee Valley looks a good bet as it's around 6 miles from Tower Bridge but I'm not familiar with that area so can't comment on it's suitability for cycling.
My other suggestion would be head straight out 25 miles or so and then just get the train back. This will massively increase the available opportunities for variety of rides and routes and give you many miles more coutryside to enjoy.

Thought I'd bump this thread with a question. What route(s) would people recommend for somebody (me) that's not really ever done anything longer than going the long way home commuting or doing a few laps of parks? I was thinking fairly short - maybe 25 miles or so (round trip), starting from centralish London. Would be nice if it's possible to get away from traffic and maybe get some pretty views in, any thoughts?

edit- routes for solo rides, not ready for group rides yet!

Which area do you live in? There are various convenient destinations by train from where you can start. Check out the Tuesday Night Ride Club routes list:

http://www.lfgss.com/post1990472.html

You're rather spoilt for choice there. :) These are all slightly longer than what you want but there's a lot of variety--hilly, flat, moderately hilly.

Firstly, thanks everyone so much for the advice. Love this forum!

Richmond Park is always a good place to discover your capabilities. Ride out there or get the train and then ride the 7 mile loops in the knowledge that there are cafes to stop at and feed or rest should you need them, the hills are slight and short and there are plenty o other cyclists around. You will find that you can ride far further than you think you can. Once you have done that, you will have an idea of the distances that you can manage and then look for more varied routes. You will also see how you compare with other cyclists and may realise that you are ready for a group ride sooner than you imagine.

Yeah I guess I will give Richmond Park a go, it's just that getting there is a bit of cross town mission, and I'm sort of biased against doing laps of parks because I do that a fair bit at Regent's Park and get bored just going in a circle over and over again. Although I hadn't realised it was as long as 7 miles for one circuit, which makes it much more appealing. Will give this a try. Yeah the idea is to work up to a point where I'm confident enough in my own ability to happily join a group ride.

^ Your immediate problem is that to get to almost anywhere where you have the opportunity of both quiet roads and pretty views (I take that as countryside) will mean riding more than 12 miles from central London anyway so you are already at your 25 mile round trip limit before you start.
Looking at London on Google Maps Satellite view, the Lee Valley looks a good bet as it's around 6 miles from Tower Bridge but I'm not familiar with that area so can't comment on it's suitability for cycling.
My other suggestion would be head straight out 25 miles or so and then just get the train back. This will massively increase the available opportunities for variety of rides and routes and give you many miles more coutryside to enjoy.

I had realised this but was hoping that there might be somewhere slightly quiet and slightly pretty within the M25 - not countryside but just somewhere pleasant to ride. Thanks for the tip about the Lee Valley, I will have a look... just seen the following on their website as well, which sounds fantastic:

Covering 10,000 acres Lee Valley Regional Park is a cyclist’s paradise. Explore riverside trails, scenic country parks, rich nature reserves and urban oases. There’s over 27 miles of pathway linked to Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 1

Also thanks for the idea about returning by train. If you were going to cycle somewhere about that distance away and return by train, where would you go?

Which area do you live in? There are various convenient destinations by train from where you can start. Check out the Tuesday Night Ride Club routes list:

http://www.lfgss.com/post1990472.html

You're rather spoilt for choice there. :) These are all slightly longer than what you want but there's a lot of variety--hilly, flat, moderately hilly.

I live in Maida Vale (W9). So probably North and West London are better for me, but I'm open to suggestions anywhere. I hadn't seen that list before, thanks for the heads up. No excuses now, gonna go for a long ride some time next week!

wvm is right: if you want to do an out and back from home you will not get much countryside for 25 miles. If the ride out of London seems like a bit of a grind, don't rule out using Oyster cards for quick trains which can pop you outside the M25 for ±£3. It's well worth doing, many of the TNRC routes are good for that, the Hemel Hempstead one may be closest to you.

The lea/lee valley canal path is good, but it isn't paved, so you'll be dodging walkers and families etc. That's probably about 25 miles to the end in Ware/Hertford, and is lovely in spring summer. I've also ridden out of London on the Paddington canal path to Iver, which I enjoyed.

Otherwise, there are tried and trusted routes to Cambridge, Southend, Brighton which you could do partially. And then inevitably steam onwards when you realise how much you are enjoying it....

Good point, I should take advantage of my Freedom Pass to take the train out to the countryside for a quick ride.

every time I go on the forum ride, I always hated the "getting out of london" part before the real countryside appear.

I know it's late notice, but I'm going to go do a few laps of Richmond park tomorrow, I'm meeting someone at Look Mum No Hands at 1pm to sell some forks then will head down through putney do a few laps then go back to Angel. Will be geared and lycra'd but not going too fast, if anyone wants to tag along they're welcome to.

wvm is right: if you want to do an out and back from home you will not get much countryside for 25 miles. If the ride out of London seems like a bit of a grind, don't rule out using Oyster cards for quick trains which can pop you outside the M25 for ±£3. It's well worth doing, many of the TNRC routes are good for that, the Hemel Hempstead one may be closest to you.

The lea/lee valley canal path is good, but it isn't paved, so you'll be dodging walkers and families etc. That's probably about 25 miles to the end in Ware/Hertford, and is lovely in spring summer. I've also ridden out of London on the Paddington canal path to Iver, which I enjoyed.

Otherwise, there are tried and trusted routes to Cambridge, Southend, Brighton which you could do partially. And then inevitably steam onwards when you realise how much you are enjoying it....

Thanks for the tips. Can I just turn up unannounced at Marylebone and take my bike on train to Amersham or somewhere? Or does one need to book a bike space?

Also great tip about the canal at Regent's Canal, that's right next to me but for some reason it hadn't occurred to me to go out along that.

Keep your eyes on the rides forum for some good rides in company. Some of the longer ones such as Herne Bay or Southend will give the opportunity to head out into new teritory with the option of bailing to the nearest station if it all gets a bit much.

I know it's late notice, but I'm going to go do a few laps of Richmond park tomorrow, I'm meeting someone at Look Mum No Hands at 1pm to sell some forks then will head down through putney do a few laps then go back to Angel. Will be geared and lycra'd but not going too fast, if anyone wants to tag along they're welcome to.

good thing noone tagged along actually. I ended up doing a really convoluted route around london because I was just enjoying cycling, got 2 punctures and the weather was really quite miserable.

I'm up for any rides from East London or surrounding area.

Due to my job role, I'm unable to ride during the week, so any rides during the weekend or after work during the week would be fine with me.