Getting started at a Cycling Club

Hi guys, I’m not Ant or Adam but I’ve just joined my local club and thought it might be worth a post for anybody who reads this, who is thinking about joining one.

My local club is GS Henley, (no prizes for guessing where I’m from) and I tentatively went out on a few beginner rides initially to get a feel for the club. The good news is- everyone was incredibly friendly, and I wasn’t a member at that stage either, so they are more than welcoming to people that want to come and try it out! Eventually I realised my pace was a little faster than the ‘weekend warriors’ s so tried my luck with the faster group. This was a bit of a shock as they are very, very fast and very , very quick up hills! But I’m slowly chipping away at my averages, and not getting dropped quite so often so will be there eventually under the guidance of some of the more experienced members- this sort of leads on to the other main worry I had- getting dropped and lost! But I feared wrong as despite my ideas- everyone stopped at the top of the hill if I was slower, or made sure that there was somebody waiting at a corner- to help you get back into it! Very useful for keeping your confidence up.

I realise this is starting to sounds like a bit of a plug for GS Henley, but, as I have the advantage (?) of spending a few of my weekends closer to oxford- I tagged along with another club called Zaphhi- who were just as friendly and welcoming to a newb as GS were.

So the moral of the story I guess is that whatever your doubts about joining you local CC and going for rides is- do it, even if you just try it out for a day despite any ideas that you have that it won’t suit. I can’t see any downsides and when I’m in a group, I ride faster and try harder with more motivation- great for  training as when I’m alone I often sturggle to hold a fast average and obviously- the coffee stop at the end makes it all worth it.

Piers HS

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