Cycling clubs are a hard thing to come by in the London suburbs. Makes sense really, there isn't an awful lot of riding to be done on residential roads full of traffic and pedestrians, so clubs tend to form on the outskirts, in the home counties.
That's not to say London clubs don't exist of course, there's Finsbury Park CC, London Dynamo, Southgate CC to name a few. Even so, those clubs begin their club rides out in the countryside. So really, the name is just a name.
I've been looking for a club that is friendly, unique, relaxed but with competition available and most importantly close, seeing as from my experiences most fit the former.
I recently stumbled across the Gregarios Superclub Ciclista - whilst watching Eurosport's coverage of the Giro d'Italia actually. Commentator Dave Harmon is a member and occasionally ventures out on a ride with the club who pride themselves on their Italian connection. The celebrity roster doesn't end there either; Paolo Bettini is the club's honourary member. I didn't really know how to react to this, I thought it perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, but was assured that Bettini's management team had in fact been in contact with the club on numerous occasions.
That said, it is not something the club takes overly seriously; in fact it fits in perfectly with what seems like an extremely laid back, fun and approachable ethos.
I'd been meaning to head out with the Gregarios for many months, but Summer holidays and weekend breaks had got in the way. Not anymore. As the winter rains and headwinds began I decided now was the time to pick up my cycling activity again. Of course.
Meeting at 9.15am every Sunday morning at the Alpine restaurant in Stanmore (ideal for me, a 30 min warm up ride away), the Gregarios head out on rides around Herts, the Chilterns and occasionally further afield. For my first ride, we headed off in the direction of Great Missenden, intending to cover about 65-70 miles of reasonable hilly roads.
The pace was steady, somewhere between 25-28 km/h for the first hour or so as we made our way out of the suburbs, then Watford and into the countryside. The ride was conversational as everyone got to know each other, although the entire time we were riding into a fierce headwind, meaning it wasn't quite as easy as it could have been. After a half an hour stop at the halfway house, a pleasant cafe somewhere near Tring, that pace was lifted as we tried to work on perfecting a pace line and a chain gang.
Unfortunately, the way back was marred by terrible road surfaces, meaning too much time was spent concentrating on staying on the bike, and keeping the bike in one piece rather than keeping the pace high. That said we averaged around 35 km/h on the way back and soon found ourselves back at the Bushey arches, which begins a short but sharp climb back up Stanmore Hill to the Alpine.
'Every man for himself here' I was told, as the hill sprint began to the post-ride cafe for one last coffee.
I had totally forgotten how much more alert you have to be riding in a group, always keeping a watchful eye on the wheels in front and to the side, making sure not to overlap, or make any sudden movements. But there is something so enjoyable about the dynamic of a group of cyclists, not to mention having great company when out on the road. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with the Gregarios, and having been out with a couple of clubs think I've finally found one that I will keep going back to. I really love their jersey too, which is always a huge bonus!!
Here's a link to the club website for anyone in the area also interested in trying them out:
http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling-clubs/cycling-london-watford-middlesex-herts.html
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