Thinking of becoming a club member?

If you are thinking of becoming a club member then you have 2 things to do.

1. Start riding with the club.

2. Join the club.

Both of these things are very easy.

The best way to find out your ability and the best level of the club activities for you is to attend one of the training sessions on a Monday night at the Tiddington Home Guard Club. These are held on a 400m Tarmac running track under floodlight. The sessions allow safe riding without having traffic navigating and potholes to worry about. The best advantage is that you can ride at a pace suitable to you without being left behind or leaving the group behind. We have found that these sessions develop group riding skills and fitness very quickly and socially.

If you are an experienced cyclist then as an idea of the other road rides that we have, very similar to most other club in the UK we have club runs and training runs for the racers. To see which of these suits you read on…

1. Before starting to ride with the club you should chose which of the clubs rides suits you best.

Can you ride 25 miles at 16 mph on your own? If so the Sunday club run is fine for you. Whilst the club runs are further than 25 miles the effect of being in a group will extend your endurance. If you are in any doubt over whether you can make it on a club run but would like to try it anyway contact ‘Wedge’ with about a weeks notice and he will arrange for a Chaperone to look out for you on the club run and ride home with you should you feel that it is too much for you. Don’t feel this is a bind for the club, it is quite normal at clubs all over the country and we have all been there, it’s much easier to plan in advance though!

Can you ride 30 miles at 17.5mph? If so as well as the Sunday ride the Saturday bash is suitable for you. You will need some skills at riding in a group for this ride. If you have never ridden in a group then if you mention it at the meeting place somebody will look out for you and show you the rope. If you have never been on a Saturday ride before then you should not be tempted to the front until you are sure that the pace is okay for you. Saturday rides are often spilt in two with a slower group leaving 5 minutes before the racing members.

Can you ride 30 miles at 19mph? If so you are probably up to the Tuesday bash. This is a fast training ride and it is a wise precaution to know the way home, the bash will not wait after the first 5 mile neutralized zone. There are short cuts on the two routes that you can use to regroup and recover.

Want to race? To ride the club time trials you must be registered to an RTTC (Road Time Trail Council) affiliated club, Stratford CC is affiliated. Then once you are a paid up member of the club you may turn up half and hour before the start of the race and sign on and ride the time trial. It is your responsibility to know the route (they are all quite simple). Time trials are all individual and so you are only racing yourself, this means that you are already good enough to start racing.

Not up to the rides and want a training program to get you into shape? If you join the club we have the expertise within the club to outline a training plan for you and some goals so that you can target joining the clubs social rides in good time.

Junior Membership

Stratford Cycling Club is committed to introducing and developing young people to cycling in a safe and fair environment. To achieve this we adhere to British Cycling’s Go-Ride scheme. Our coaches are Go-Ride qualified and our junior activities are all run under Go-Ride guidelines.

Stratford CC are fortunate to have use of an excellent traffic-free facility at Tiddington, near Stratford.

As well as a hard-standing 400m oval track where we teach group riding and track racing skills, we also have a first-class off-road course for cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing.

Our coaches are qualified and insured by British Cycling, and offer a fun and friendly environment for all ages.

Regular road rides run through the year (see the event calendar), from the car-park at Milcote crossroad car-park, half way up the Greenway. Parents must accompany children on these rides, and a road-bike is essential.

There is also a monthly mixed on/off road ride, typically in the nearby Cotswolds,for which a mountain bike will be needed. See the event calendar."

The best way to find out more is to come along and watch a session and speak with one of the coaches who can give you the right advice for your family.

Junior membership in the club entitles a young person to attend club sessions and to ride in competition for Stratford Cycling Club. Juniors may only ride in Senior club activities when a club coach advises that the activity will be suitable for the young person, this is to protect the young person from a situation where they are found well and truly out of their depth. When a young person is ready to start riding with the senior section then this will be managed for each individual to make the transition as safe, fun and beneficial as possible.

Junior membership costs £15 | Download Form

Family membership.

A single membership fee of £40 will entitle all the members of families living in the same house to any level of club membership they wish (racing membership upgrade must still be paid). The idea of this is to help cycling families with the cost of membership.

Family membership cost £40 | Download Form

 

SAFETY & ETIQUETTE

First Things First!
Before setting off on your bike always check your brakes, gears, spokes, tyres etc. Always carry a spare inner tube, tyre leavers & a pump. And make sure you know how to change your inner tube should you puncture. Carry a mobile phone!!

Riding in a group
Do not cycle more than two a breast and try and keep as close to the edge of the road as safety permits.

Try to hold a steady line. Do not make any sudden moves, unless forced to.

You should always be aware of what is ahead, potholes parked cars, walkers etc., start making your move with time to spare. Always shout back and let everyone know!

Let people know when a car is coming. ‘car up’ (behind you) or ‘car down’ (coming towards you)

The closer you can get behind the cyclist in front the more shelter you will get the more energy you will save, when you are ‘holding a wheel’, always keep your front wheel slightly to the right of theirs then if they do flick you have somewhere to go, and always have hands, preferably, on your brakes but certainly within a finger’s movement from them.

If you need to slow down, ease back gradually. Do not stop pedalling and sit up and never hit the brakes.

When cornering the idea is to spread your weight evenly across the bike – push your bum back in the saddle and your hands forwards into the bends of your bars and relax. Where possible keep pedalling, the momentum helps your balance. If you cannot keep pedalling point your knee into the corner and keep your outside leg straight. Try not to brake whilst cornering brake before you hit the bend.

Get comfortable with having a drink. Taking a bottle from a cage is a very common cause of accidents.

The ‘chain gang’

There will be 2 lines 1 moving towards the front the other dropping back rotating everyone to the front for a few seconds. The idea is to keep moving smoothly at a good speed. When you move to the front and it is time to pullover do not sprint past and open gaps causing people to chase. Move past steadily and move over smoothly allowing the rider behind you to do the same and the pace should accelerate gradually. Once it is too fast for you to continue rotating sit just off the back without disrupting the chain.

 

Happy riding.