Thursday’s

 

Being part of a new bike club comes with lots of new decisions to make. There’s easy ones like which colours to get printed on new kit?* And medium difficulty ones like choosing which cafe to drink coffee in? And finally at the junction of designing a more accessible ride there’s harder ones like when, where, and at what pace to ride at?

Happy with a roster of smashy rides into Epping every Tuesday and Friday, all complemented with trademark 500km weekends / epic rides every six or eight weeks, it was time to add something weekly that was more accessible.

By the time six of us sat down, for pizza and beers, those more creative than me had already figured out that with winter closing in and light at a premium, a place like Regents Park would work well. OK, great. Now for the detail. For those who are comfortable spinning up and down hills in Epping at an average of 40 kmph, or ‘clicks’, for those of a military bent, spinning around the relatively flat Regents Park at 30 clicks average is quite nice and relaxing. So the ride is chilled for some, but for others it is a fast and hard session.

Good. Agreed. 30 clicks average.

So far we have turned up every Thursday for two months. Meeting at Surgeon’s corner at 06.30 and spinning around the park (which is lovely in the morning light) until 07.30 we then head into town to a coffee shop to chat shit, drink coffee or tea, and mainly laugh quite a lot.

We are not alone. Lots of other riders enjoy turning their legs before work. I guess we differ in being as happy in the rain as the sun. We also make a point of going anti-clockwise which for some reason is not the norm. We all try to wear the same kit (‘which looks cool’, I keep telling Tom). We think it’s cool when there are ten riders, and equally as rewarding when only two riders make the effort. Nobody gets dropped. And everyone is welcome.

Today was a great example. Riders from Pretorius and Vicious, Rapha and Hackney cycle clubs, joining 6AMCycling regulars. As a special treat Chris from fixed crits specialists, DEFI, had invited David Morgan from breakaway_photography to capture what we are putting together. Admittedly, it is a work in progress… David joined a group of six, while another six were spinning around the park about half a minute ahead, and crucially for a lens slut like me, just out of sight. Doh!

Don’t say, ‘chilled and chatty laps on Thursday, y’all?’

Do say, ‘30 clicks av. on a Thursday followed by great coffee and some good chat**.

 

*All thanks to Lesley for designing all our awesome kit.

** ‘Good chat’ is relative, of course.

words by the E man . Pic by breakawayphotography