Hi

No idea where to post or anything?

Myself and my son (aged 13, not me, my son ) have recently got a couple of MTB's and quite fancy a trip out on them with some people, this appears to be right up our street. We normally do road bikes and generally ride between 30 and 60 miles depending on which routes we decide to take on the day. Our fitness level is not huge and we find any type of hill very challenging, hence one of our routes is going round the Gogs 4 times to try to improve it, but we have only done it on a couple of occasions so far. We are aware a road bike is very easy going compared to any off road but would love to give it a try.

I see you all meet up Tuesdays and Thursdays, but do you ever ride at weekends and during day time hours?

Thanks
Steve & Mike

No responses, did this go live?

Hi Steve

Most of the group meet on Tuesdays or Thursdays but occasionally ride in the daytime (usually at a weekend).

My advice would be to come and join us for an evening ride - at this time of year when the evenings are relatively light you can join us for all or part of the evening - check the destination pub on the website to see how close to home we are finishing. If you want to drop out early or before it gets too dark that should be mangeable if you're happy to find you're way home. Alternatively you're welcome to join us in the pub of course.

Hi Steve

The alternative is to 'do a Dom' as championed by Dom.

This involves driving to the destination pub, then riding to brookside/Japas to the ride start. This time of year you'll be almost all in daylight.

This week and next are a tad confusing though
- tonight is a train ride out and ride back (not brilliant if you need to bail out early),
- Thursday is Tony's big adventure (essentially pairs orienteering, not very good if you're new to the area and/or specifically want to ride in a group)
- next Tuesday we banish Claire to the colonies with a short ride followed by curry
- next Thursday we meet at Brandon country park to ride in Thetford forest. (not great if you don't have a car)

Normal service should be resumed thereafter...

WHat sort of average mileage do you do on an average evening out with the club, I just read about one ride being 44 miles in an evening on an MTB, well done for those that did it.Not sure I could manage that sort of mileage at the moment on an MTB :(

Thanks
Steve

By this time of year even the most unfit of us tend to have put a few miles in and are relatively capable. Rides at this time of year tend to be anything from 20-30 miles. The longer rides tend to be on "special" nights. Doing a Dom will make a difference, there are also sometimes options for those wanting a shorter ride.

I tend to ride on a Thursday rather than a Tuesday.
If we have new riders out that can't keep up the pace or need to drop out early, that is not a problem as I'm happy to keep company, encourage you, or guide you back to civilisation. I'm not the only one who does this, but there are more of us out in the summer than the winter.
As you will no doubt have guessed it is easier going in the summer than the winter, hence the longer distances, in the winter, on really bad weather sessions we can be down as low as 12 to 15 miles and you can be really tired after the ride.
That said if you join us every week until the weather breaks in about mid October, you will be flying by then.
The first few rides can be a bit rough on newer riders but stick with it and you will get to enjoy the characters as much as the ride.

Pat