The joy of group cycling

Usually a solo cyclist, I’ve recently been going on some group rides. Here’s why, and a look at some of the benefits I’ve noticed

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I do most of my riding on my own. Try as I might I just can’t get The Chap interested in cycling. Or at least not cycling as much as I do. I’m fine with this. I’m not the most outgoing of people so I’m perfectly happy to ride alone. I’m happy to go out for 100km or more; I’m happy to cycle to a local coffeeshop and have a quiet drink and read of my Kindle.

But even I sometimes think it would be nice to have a friend along. Or several. To share the ride, the scenery, the cake. Well, maybe not the cake. They can get their own. So when a group ride from London to Brighton – a route I’ve wanted to do for some time – popped up on Twitter I had to follow the link.

At the top of Ditchling Beacon. I did walk right at the end, but I'll be back to conquer it. 

It took me to Dirty Wknd. There I found a fully guided ride to Brighton, including train ticket back to London, for just £30. I signed up and almost immediately the fear set in. What if I couldn’t do the distance? What if I couldn’t keep up? What if none of the other riders like me? How would I get to Richmond Park in time? How would I get home afterwards?

All these fears – and others that I haven’t mentioned – are unfounded. Getting there? Well I could just ride, or I could I use the very efficient and friendly taxi service that’s right on our doorstep and which has transported me and my bike several times before. The distance? It’s not even 90km and I’ve done 160km with no trouble. Keeping up? That’s the point of a no-drop policy.

My confidence has grown and grown – I’ve even applied to be a Breeze Ride Champion

As the ride got closer, my anxieties increased. Luckily I have a really good group of friends who knew exactly the right thing to say. Thank you – you know who you are.

When it came to it the ride was, of course, fantastic. Everyone was friendly; it was totally professional yet totally fun; no one got left behind and I had no issue keeping up or finishing. Although I have to confess to walking the very end of Ditchling Beacon. But that just means I have to try again. Since then I’ve done London to Cambridge and several evening rides to Epping with the Dirty Wknders. Those anxieties still surface, but that’s just the way my brain works and I’m not going to let that negative worrisome part of me stop me doing the things I want to do.

The end of the ride: Brighton Pier.

Change of pace
Walthamstow has got a pretty active cycling club, the Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign. They run several rides during the month and I’ve been meaning to go on one for ages. I always manage to come up with an excuse not to, though. But when the August rides appeared on Facebook, there was one to Wallasea Island, an RSPB reserve in Essex, which I thought would make a great training ride for London to Paris.

It turned out to be a great exercise in how experiences shape expectations. The website said “a train-assisted ride to Wallasea Island”. I assumed this would be a case of riding to Wallasea and then getting the train back; a ride of around 65km. It turned out to be a ride to Stratford station, train to Rochford and ride from there. Then a walk around the reserve before returning to Rochford and catching the train back to Stratford and finally riding back to Walthamstow – a total of about 40km. Not quite the training ride I had in mind!

But you know what? It was still great fun. The riding was lovely: great views, great weather, great people. Wallasea Island is very much a work in progress but will be a fantastic reserve one day. It was a complete change of pace from the Dirty Wknd rides and I’ll be going on more WFCC rides.

There are so many positives to group riding. I’ve met a great bunch of people who love cycling just as much as I do. But it’s more than that. In just a few weeks I’m faster and fitter. On the Brighton ride I stayed with the slow group. I don’t know if I could physically kept up with the fast group (I suspect not), but psychologically definitely I couldn’t have done. By the Cambridge ride, though, I was more than happy to go with fast group. I kept up and more importantly had the self-belief to know I could. I’m also a more considerate and aware rider, with a greater understanding of where I should be on the road and where others are.

The mudflats at Wallasea Island. 

My confidence has grown and grown. I’ve even applied to be a Breeze Ride Champion, something I’ve wanted to do for a while but been too scared to actually go for.

I’ve also picked up some great tips. Like if you’re putting your phone in a jersey pocket, wrap it in a plastic food bag first to protect it from sweat. Mount your Garmin so it’s in line with the stem so it’s easier and quicker to access. I even realised I’d been putting my saddle bag on upside down for months.

So for all my introvert ways, I love group riding. I want to do more of it. There are plenty more Dirty Wknd rides to get involved with. Then there’s weekends away, including what looks like an amazing trip to Sardinia. I can’t do the October one, but there are plans for one early next year.