Routes and Rides

Our weekly rides are generally planned with the following aims;
  1. Sunday morning ride - the main club ride of the week. Distance generally between 50 and 60 miles, with varying hills and a variety of routes, dependent on weather.  On average, the climbing will be approx. 1% of distance. So, a 100km route will, on average, have up to 1000m of climbing; which in comparison to some areas, e.g. Wales and Cornwall, is fairly tame. There is an expectation of participants being able to maintain an average of 15MPH. From time to time, we plan a longer ride, sometimes into Wales and/or starting in a different location.
  2. Wednesday evening ride - the standard of this ride is similar to the Sunday ride, but the distance is usually in the region of 30 miles. These rides usually only take place between April and September, although we have run these into the winter months previously. If there were enough interest to night time riding we could do so again in the Winter months.
  3. Saturday morning ride - this is intended to be a fairly easy ride. It is aimed at potential club joiners, members coming back from injury/illness, or anyone wanting a steady ride with company on a Saturday morning. It will be around 30 miles, but fairly flat and there is no expectation of any speed requirement. We will go at the pace of the slowest rider. These rides are run throughout the year, dependent on weather. There is a lower threshold of cancellation to these rides as they are aimed, to some degree, at inexperienced riders and there is not much to be gained by slogging around in disgusting weather.
With all our club rides, there is always the understanding that any individual could be having a bad day. So, our policy is that no one is left behind. Some clubs expect you to keep up, or make your own way home. The Wheelers will try very hard to avoid dropping anyone coming out with us. When we get stretched out, we reform at the top of hills and wait at major junctions for everyone to catch up. Very occasionally, the weather may be considered too bad or just unsafe for group riding. When this is the case, no ride will be posted. Consequently, the upcoming rides will be posted one or two days before the event.