puts me off joining a cycling club..

[jarlrmai]

I think it is actually quite easy to misjudge relative speeds.

When you are gradually creeping up on someone, your closing speed is helped by (a) the psychological effect of seeing them ahead of you and (b) however modestly, by aerodynamics. So you think to yourself that your closing speed justifies overtaking. But as soon as you overtake, both those factors stop working for you and start working often person you've overtaken. And you find yourself not pulling away as fast as you expected - or, from their perspective, being a nobber

Happened to me on a 2.5 mile 5% avg the other day misjudged the upcoming gradient and went past someone then was unable to maintain that pace on the road but they were able to up thier effort.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I'm probably in a minority, but I would never consider joining a club as I actually enjoy the solitude of riding alone.

I'm in that minority also: cycling is my escape from life's problems, and I'm quite content to do it by myself.

 

[h1udd]

Happened to me on a 2.5 mile 5% avg the other day misjudged the upcoming gradient and went past someone then was unable to maintain that pace on the road but they were able to up thier effort.

I find it quite satisfying being over taken, then taking the lead back ... It's not without an inner smugness

 

[jarlrmai]

I find it quite satisfying being over taken, then taking the lead back ... It's not without an inner smugness

I've been out of cycling for a while with a dodgy knee and I'm misjudging my ability to sustain power up a climb.

 

[tyred]

I go out with the slow group of my club http://www.northlancsrc.org.uk/ so we rarely pass anyone. I think i'm in the minority that acknowledges cyclists travelling in the same or opposite direction, the others just seem to ignore them. Mind you,i have been known to wave at what i think is a cyclist when it turns out to be a motorbike.

I SAID GET NEW BATTERIES FOR YOUR HEARING AID

 

[Accy cyclist]

Just the club I have seen out locally, I don't know what they do personally though.

I have, however, seen them out on a busy A82, which just makes me cringe to think about.

Our Wednesday group sometimes go on the A59 doing about 5 miles in horrible heavy traffic. I've mentioned to others that in my opinion it'd be safer to ride through the small town running parallel with the A road. They ignored me. For some reason they like dicing with death,having wagons pass at 60+ mph.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I rather like the look of your club,a good mix it seems,not a bit of wonder tat there are quite a few of you!

Thanks!
We're a mixed bag of amiables really for whom more regular racing clubs don't appeal. That's not to say we don't have some very fast riders or mile eaters, we just have a more laid back view of cycling, cycling participation and what a club is about.

It's been a Huuuge success! And we have a race club in town and an equally big MTB scene too. 70 people is not unusual on a warm Thursday night ... Must be the free chip butties ....

Last Sunday the mellows wanted to do ~30 miles and lunch, so that's what we organised.

Start your own Freewheeling group! Build it and they will come ....

 

[Blue Hills]

Wonderful pics, just caught up with them - rather remind me of some of the rides i used to lead for an lcc group - nice mix of regulars, ocassionals etc - you never knew who was going to turn up. Sometimes some hard long rides but generally chilled atmosphere.

 

[biggs682]

so im out today cycling up a hill, i hear puffing and panting behind me then see 4 guys from colchester rovers cc on my right overtaking me. i say a quick hello and they ignore me, ok not a problem as they were going for it. however instead of passing and keeping their speed up, they just sit in front of me! it was obv important for them to overtake me, but to then slow back down just yards in front of me shows they did it purely for their egos! when i overtake someone i make sure i drop them or at least keep the speed up. saddos.

totally agree and thats why 85% of my cycling is done solo

 

[Julia9054]

I have never been part of a club due to an inability to get out of bed early enough at weekends but have been looking into it recently. My local club meets 5 minutes from my house so this would be most convenient but when I looked at their website, their rules started with "you must wear a helmet. No helmet, no ride!"
I don't usually wear a helmet, but don't object to them on occasions. I just don't really like being told I must wear one. (And it being their rule number 1!) Is this usual for clubs for insurance or something?

 

[Dogtrousers]

@Julia9504 that's a not uncommon, but by no means universal, rule. Probably that's not the right club for you.

Some people are clubby, and like joining clubs. Some people are sporty and like joining sporty clubs. Some people are more solitary and don't like joining clubs and are happier riding alone or in informal groups. That's all fine.

We often have these "I don't want to join a club because ... " threads. OK, you don't want to - there's no need to justify your preference - nobody's forcing you.

 

[Julia9054]

@Dogtrousers - you are right. I am generally not a clubby person. I was researching it because I am not getting our as much as I would like due to my regular riding partners losing interest/having other priorities. I don't mind riding on my own but tend to get bored over a couple of hours without company. I just thought it might help, that's all.

 

[Dogtrousers]

@Dogtrousers - you are right. I am generally not a clubby person. I was researching it because I am not getting our as much as I would like due to my regular riding partners losing interest/having other priorities. I don't mind riding on my own but tend to get bored over a couple of hours without company. I just thought it might help, that's all.

Sounds like you might like a club like @Fab Foodie 's A prominent mandatory hat rule suggests to me that it may be a more sporty/racy kind of outfit.

 

[User32269]

The only people I like riding with are my kids.
If I ever get the desire to hang out with a bunch of sweaty accountants in spandex, there are personal ads on Craigslist for that sort of thing....I've been told.

 

[Fab Foodie]

@Julia9504 that's a not uncommon, but by no means universal, rule. Probably that's not the right club for you.

Some people are clubby, and like joining clubs. Some people are sporty and like joining sporty clubs. Some people are more solitary and don't like joining clubs and are happier riding alone or in informal groups. That's all fine.

We often have these "I don't want to join a club because ... " threads. OK, you don't want to - there's no need to justify your preference - nobody's forcing you.

Part of the problem is that traditionally cycling clubs were either focused on racing or CTC type rides with nothing in between. With Freewheeling we tried to break the mould and met quite some resistance to our ideas. We stuck to our guns whilst people tried to drive us towards one or other existing models and we proved that there was a strong desire for a less formal club, a less formal riding experience and a wide range of rides for different levels of participants. It's not perfect but for the price of a pint membership fee it's pretty damn good.

But here's the thing. We don't judge success in numbers, we judge it in fun, friendship, miles enjoyed on bikes. It's easy to start, you just need a few like minded souls and build it from there. There's huge demand.