Dulwich Paragon

Does anyone ride with these guys?

They are close by to me and I was thinking of going out on one of the Saturday morning runs...

Occasionally,

Don't worry what anyone else has to say, get off the computer and give it a go.

I often see then when out with my club, and have a bit of banter. JC is right; give it a go, may be for you, but if not, nothing lost.

i'm with Dulwich Paragon. went on the first ride a few weeks ago and they are a very friendly bunch. there are three club rides on the weekend and a few chain gangs during the week. and the first year of membership is free.

I've been going out with them for the last few weeks, really been enjoying it there a friendly bunch too.

Does anyone ride with these guys?

They are close by to me and I was thinking of going out on one of the Saturday morning runs...

if you're thinking of it, come out to one of the saturday rides and daccordi and i can accompany you.

daccordi: not sure if you were there two weeks ago. what were you riding?

2 weeks ago I went out on the Sunday run, got a puncture about half way round so came back on my own. Was out this Saturday for the 8.30 run which they stopped and came back because of the ice so I then tagged onto one of the 9.30 runs. Was riding a massive blue Ribble, although due to state of it when I got home its getting retired and I'll be out on a Bianchi from now.

Been going out on the Wednesday chaingangs the last few weeks and will be out on Saturday probably on the 8.30 run. Been finding the Wednesday chaingangs really good, been getting lots of good advice and experience of riding in groups.

how have you found the pace on the rides? i went to the 9:15 ride two weeks ago and it was pretty cozy, but would like something a bit quicker. can't make the chaingangs because of work, so those are out.

2 weeks ago I went out on the Sunday run, got a puncture about half way round so came back on my own. Was out this Saturday for the 8.30 run which they stopped and came back because of the ice so I then tagged onto one of the 9.30 runs. Was riding a massive blue Ribble, although due to state of it when I got home its getting retired and I'll be out on a Bianchi from now.

Been going out on the Wednesday chaingangs the last few weeks and will be out on Saturday probably on the 8.30 run. Been finding the Wednesday chaingangs really good, been getting lots of good advice and experience of riding in groups.

Ah I've been meaning to get back into the chaingangs after a while off. Thinking I might be out this Wednesday, if not next. I'll be on a plain white bike if so.

Rode with them twice a week most weeks over Summer up until October last year, generally a good bunch, although the rides I did (Wednesday night and Saturday 60-miler) got pretty fragmented a lot of the time.

Never been on the Tues/Thurs gangs, I imagine they're a bit quick for me. The last Wednesday night ride I did averaged 21mph for just over an hour (according to my Garmin), although they're a little slower in Winter.

The Saturday DPNC (8.30) ride aims for 50-60 miles through Surrey and Kent and there's plenty of stops and banter.

when I went out with the 9.15 group on Saturday I had to catch them up from quite far back so I'm not sure if they had split up into different speed groups which I think they do. The pace was quite slow (I'm pretty sure it was the slow group) but there was a lot of ice about and a few crashes so I don't think it would of been a good idea going much faster.
Went out on a Sunday ride a few weeks ago and it was very fast, spent a while hanging on the back and getting dropped on hills (I'm not the best at hills, my excuse is I'm 6'6) then almost killing myself catching up. Got a puncture so it was all over after that!
The Wednesday chaingangs vary in speed alot depending who is out it seems, I've been managing them quite well so going to try a Tues or Thurs ride in a few weeks to see what the standards like, probably get dropped fairly quickly!

Try pm-ing dulwichrider (his name is a giveaway).

I rode once with some of them on the Falling Leaves ride and they seemed nice enough. I wasn't in very good shape though, and they were all quicker - my mate (see above) stuck with me and they ribbed him about his crappy time...

Are there many women who ride on the Saturday with Dulwich Paragon? I'm interested in giving it a go as I live local, but am not sure how I'd keep up if it's all blokes.

Cheers!

There was lots of women out on Saturday. I think there is different speed groups to cater for most, the group I was with was stopping to wait for everyone.

Brilliant - I'm definitely gonna check it out. Thanks!

I ride loads with DP. Saturday rides are meant to be an introduction to club riding although they've got so popular that they usually split into 3 groups nowadays as there are sometimes up to 70 riders. The group splits at Elmers End. They guarantee that they will wait for even the slowest rider, however if you join the fast group, which heads out 1st they may drop you if you're too slow, however you can just fall back until the medium group sweeps you up, and if that's too quick, drop back to join the slowest group and someone from that group will always stay with you. The ride is a fixed route every Sat.

Sunday club runs are quite varied, they can be very quick if some of the cat 1 and 2 riders are out. Other times they are a fair bit slower. However they are always longer rides - 50-80 miles. the route varies. They don't guarantee to wait for you, so it's best to bring a map or some way of navigating yourself in case you get dropped way out in the middle of Kent or Surrey.

I've only ever been on 1 chaingang. they happen on weekday evenings and I find it hard to get to the start in time, so I can't advise on them.

can't say much more than headhunter! (it's tom from brockley central btw HH)

dulwich p are a good sporting club, lots of riders race on the road and there's also an active sportive arm. the saturday club rides have recently been sorted out a bit after getting pretty big. I'll be there this saturday cruising round with my brother. I'll be on the grey and white albertini bike if you want to say hi.

One these days I'm going to manage to make it out of bed and cycle the 1.7 miles to join one of DP's Saturday rides.

Ridden the route a couple of times on my own and it's a pretty nice one.

bump thinking of joining a local cycle club when I get my road bike - VCL and Dulwich Paragon are obvious contenders.

Given I just want to get into doing more road miles with some track action thrown in anyone recommend one over the other?

I've been thinking the same. I've heard DP have had a lot of new joiners over the summer (might have quieted down now that its winter). I went on one of their non-members Saturday club runs in November and there was a lot of people. Everyone was very friendly though =) and quite a few of the girls that started regularly riding track and racing a bit last year are DP riders.
DP do their club run on Saturdays and VCL on Sundays so you might have a preference there?

Sat Vs Sun definately impacts on preference and news that they do non-member club runs. Ta! Shall I give you a nudge if I do join?

Glad to hear that you are both considering joining a road cycle club.
Regardless of where you go, atmosphere should be friendly and welcoming.
Much respect to both DP and VCL for creating great clubs with links at HH

X

Cheers Al.
Poots, please do. Let me know if you fancy tagging along on one of their weekend runs to get a 'feel' of the clubs =)

I'm a member of DP. There was so much interest in joining last year that I think they've limited the number of weekends a month they do new joiner rides, it'd be good to check via the club website. http://www.dulwichparagon.com/

You may want to don sunglasses before visiting the site! Generally I've found the club helpful and very friendly. On occasion the group riding discipline leaves a bit to be desired, but I suspect that's because people are learning the ropes.

I certainly enjoy being a member, it's good to be able to go out and ride socially with an established group.

I'm a member of DP. There was so much interest in joining last year that I think they've limited the number of weekends a month they do new joiner rides, it'd be good to check via the club website. http://www.dulwichparagon.com/

You may want to don sunglasses before visiting the site! Generally I've found the club helpful and very friendly. On occasion the group riding discipline leaves a bit to be desired, but I suspect that's because people are learning the ropes.

I certainly enjoy being a member, it's good to be able to go out and ride socially with an established group.

+1.

DP also organise reciprocal rights with Crystal Palace Tri, my club, so if you want to add some swim and run torture, to go with your road bike miles, the gateway to Hell is open and clearly sign posted.