Bike Week 2015

A list compiled by the St Albans Cycle Campaign of events we know about!  For a full list of Bike Week rides and events visit www.bikeweek.org.ukSt Albans City and District – Bike Week 2015

Saturday 13 June – STACC information stall at St Albans market.  In spite of rain, plenty of interested visitors.  Thanks to STACC volunteers for their time and expertise and enthusiasm.

Saturday 13 June 0930h – Five Miles to Fabulous
Seven ladies went on a women-only easy pace morning ride with coffee stop using traffic free routes and quieter roads.  It rained, they got as far as Old Hatfield and they mended a puncture.    South Herts CTC.

Sunday 14th June 1000h – SKY Ride Local - Wildlife and wilderness - 7 miler
Starting Point: L'olivo Restaurant, 135 Marford Road Wheatampstead AL4 8HN.  Two hour ride, Ayots and Ayot Greenway at Steady pace.  SKY ride

Tuesday 16 June 1000h - Lunch ride with the Forty Plus
Meet for coffee at the Inn on The Park, Verulamium Park, St Albans.  The ‘A’ ride leaves at 10.30 and rides to The Red Lion, Great Offley.  The ‘B’ ride departs at 10.45 and rides to the Green Dragon, Flaunden. Forty Plus.

Wednesday 17 June 1930h – CTC ride to the pub
A fast ride starting from St Albans War Memorial, 20 miles or so to the Waggon and Horses in Elstree, eta 2100h.  It is essential that you have front and rear lights (preferably 2 sets), puncture outfit, tyre levers, pump and spare tube.  South Herts CTC.

Thursday 18 June 0930h – Breeze to Welwyn Garden City for coffee

Women only steady pace longer morning ride taking in the Ayot Greenway, the Great North Way and the Alban Way.  Starts from Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre – gather by the cycle stands.  Breeze.

Thursday 18 June 1100h – Coffee and lunch with the Forty Plus

Meet from 11.00am at The Green Man in Sandridge and after coffee cycle no more than 10 miles to a local hostelry for lunch. FortyPlus.

Saturday 20 June 1000h - Saturday Saunter to Cyclists’ Cafe in Redbourn
Meet from 09:30 in Morrisons Cafe for this easy ride leaving from outside Morrisons Supermarket (Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4SU) at 10:00. We lead you along quiet lanes to a break at a cyclists’ cafe in Redbourn then return to St Albans in time for lunch. Total distance will be up to 20 miles at an easy pace to suit everyone.  South Herts CTC.

Sunday 21 June 0900h - CTC Sunday ride
An all day ride starting from the War Memorial, St Albans.  Elevenses at Poppins, Chesham; lunch at Red Lion, Whiteleaf; afternoonses at St Michael's Church, Chenies.  Brisk pace of 12 – 15mph, expect to cover around 60 miles.  South Herts CTC.

Sunday 21 June, 1000h - SKY Ride Local - Eat, drink, ride - 29 miler
Meet in Sports Centre Car Park Rothamsted Park, Amenbury Lane Harpenden,AL2 5HU.  A challenging 4 hour ride on a hilly route – but with two café stops to keep you going.  SKY Ride
 

More information:

South Herts CTC http://www.southhertsctc.org.uk
SKY rides  www.goskyride.com
Forty Plus      http://www.fortypluscc.co.uk/
Breeze rides    www.goskyride.com/breeze/index or, from main skyride page, tick the guided ride and women only boxes.

Guided rides for women

South Herts CTC has now published the spring programme of Five Miles to Fabulous Rides. These are very gentle Saturday morning cycle rides using tracks and quiet roads aimed at women who can cycle but are nervous of traffic. The rides use quiet routes and also build confidence on the road. More experienced and confident riders are welcome, the rides are very enjoyable. Meet at Morrisons, Hatfield Road - by the cycle racks below the canopy. The ride will include a coffee stop. Start time 0930h, back by lunchtime. The dates are 16 April, 18 June and 9 July. www.southhertsctc.org.uk

STACC Calendar of Events & Meetings

This is a constantly updated calendar of STACC Events & other local cycling events of interest.
Included are Rides, Meetings (restricted or public) & Social events.
Tell us (via a comment) of any other stuff which might be included.
You can use it in Week, Month or Agenda view, by clicking on the tab.
Agenda View is best - so it's the default setting.
Non-STACC events are included, but they are beyond our control. If you know of changes to any of them please advise - by comment.

To get direct access to the calendar without visiting this Blog, browse to  tinyurl.com/stacc-calendar - easy to remember.

Existing Calendar Users
If you are a user of your own on-line calendar or MS Outlook or any other organizer which supports ical, you should be able to display STACC calendar alongside your other calendars.

Please use the following address to access your calendar from other applications. You can copy and paste this into any calendar product that supports the ical format.

http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/lacv78bl27fdf1tulltm1babdo%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

(As advised in comment below - Thanks to Peter.)

Short trip within St Albans Sun 8th Nov 2009

A short afternoon social trip from Marshalswick Quadrant to the Organ Museum, mostly off road, via Jersey Lane, Oaklands, Highfield and the Camp Cycleway - returning before lighting up time via Fleetville quiet roads (for those needing to return there - or go straight home).

Date: Sun 8th Nov 2009

Meet: Marshalswick Quadrant, St Albans.

Time : 13:30

No charge for the ride, no need to book.

There is an admission charge for the Organ Museum.

(The Museum opens at 14:00.)

Leader: Doug Nevell - phone 01582 762120 in case of queries.

More about the Organ Museum [HERE]

And a little taster of its quaint sounds & sights [HERE]

Five Miles to fabulous - Saturday 10 October

This is a led ride for women only, organised by the Cyclists Touring Club, with the aim of encouraging less experienced or 'I've not been on my bike in ages' women riders to venture out. We will ride out from central St Albans along the Alban Way to Sleapshyde. There will be some on-road riding to get to and from the Alban Way and to give road-craft experience.
Meet on Saturday 10 October at 0930h at the Faber Maunsell office on Upper Marlborough Road, coffee stop at Sleapshyde Methodist Church. Experienced riders are very welcome, but they need to be able to maintain a gentle pace!

Rona Wightman, ride leader

5MTF gets going again

The Five Miles to Fabulous bike ride for women is an easy first step towards getting healthy, having fun and meeting new friends. If it’s been a while since you last used a bike, don’t worry, that is the reason for this ride! All you need to bring is a bike that works and yourself. (Well, and a drink and snack too perhaps, and some money for our coffee stop). The leader will outline basic skills and road craft and then lead you on a gentle five mile ride. Organised by the CTC – the national cyclists’ organisation.
That's the CTC blurb above. The 'official' five miles to fabulous season is early June - but rides can happen at any time. The local CTC group ran several rides last year. The target audience is women who have not cycled much recently, perhaps feel a bit unfit or nervous about the road. However, all female cyclists are welcome. The pace will be gentle, it is a social ride not a burn-up.
So, the first St Albans CTC 5MTF for 2009 is to one of our regular elevenses venues, the Sleapshyde Methodist Chapel coffee morning. Meet at 0930h at Faber Maunsell office in Upper Marlborough Road. Your leader is Rona Wightman, CTC and STACC member.

Five Miles to Fabulous - Ladies Ride on 11.10.08

For male readers - make your own way to tea and scones at Sleapshyde Methodist Church, 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday 11 October. Just off the Alban Way, opposite the Plough pub. This is not the only opportunity to scoff a scone that day, as Shenley Methodist Church is also having a coffee morning on the 11 October, also 10 am to 12 noon. So one or other or both, and did I mention that Methodist home baking is very good indeed?

For female readers - the St Albans Hatfield section of the Cyclist Touring Club (CTC) is organising another 5 miles to fabulous ride, led by Rona Wightman. These rides, promoted nationally in early June, but happening locally from time to time throughout the year, are aimed at encouraging less-confident women riders, by showing good routes and demonstrating roadcraft. Pace is gentle. Meet at Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, AL1 3UT at 0930h, ride to Sleapshyde for coffee break, then back. Ride will make use of Alban Way, but will also include some on-road sections. Experienced riders are very welcome on these rides, your encouragement and guidance is appreciated! If you are a fast rider, please wrap up warm, you will be going at gentle pace on this ride.

Bike Week: Increased turnout on rides organised by other groups

Possibly as a result of the publicity we gave to the three rides organised by the Forty-Plus Cycle Club (Tue & Thur) and the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC) (Wed), they both report that the number of riders was augmented beyond the normal turnout. 40+ reported 6 extras on both days and CTC 6 extra.
So thanks to both groups for welcoming the newcomers.
Remember that the three rides are held regularly every week (CTC two-weekly in winter) and you will be made equally welcome at other times - but the CTC always arranges for their Bike Week ride to end in St Albans, for the benefit of newcomers, on other dates it often ends at different pubs requiring you to make your own way home.
For further details refer to the runs programmes on the two clubs' web sites:
CTC [HERE]
40+ Tuesday [HERE] Thursday [HERE] (In case you've not twigged - you need to be over forty years of age.)
Be sure to verify the starting point/time for all rides before you venture out!

(CTC programme of Sunday longer rides can be found [HERE] should you wish to try them).

Both the clubs are the local sections of nation-wide clubs - regular group cycling is happening everywhere.

Verulam Cycle Club's Ride for a Reason today will, no doubt, have been well supported mainly because of the weather and perhaps a little by our supportive publicity. They too have regular rides and other events - see their web site [HERE]

I've recently heard of an off-road group which goes out every Wednesday at 7pm, ask at Rock & Road bike shop, Victoria St. I don't know the standard - might be quite genteel or on the other hand gloriously muddy - but they sound like a welcoming bunch either way.

On Friday evenings through the summer, you can take the short ride to Gosling Stadium Track, Welwyn Garden City and watch the racing - really good free entertainment, all ages taking part. The Welwyn Wheelers club runs the event and also takes on children from age seven offering racing training (on another evening) - so take your children - they (and you) might get hooked. Details [HERE]

STACC aims to support all cycling in the area.

St Albans residents read more about cycling than cars..

A SURVEY into the reading habits of more than two million magazine subscribers has revealed a passion for pedal power in St Albans. The research, carried out by Periodical Publishers Association, showed people in the area are more than twice as likely to have a subscription to a cycling magazine than a car or motor magazine.

Offroad improvements..

Improved, originally uploaded by mike1727.

Good news for people riding off-road to the North of the city: the bridleway (actually a restiricted byway) along the farm track linking Woodcock Hill to Symondshyde Wood at Fairfold's Farm has been resurfaced, removing the ruts and hopefully preventing it turning into a mudbath during the winter. This improvement doesn't affect the more interesting bits but it should make the bridleways through Symondshyde wood more usable all year round, which is a boon since this is a useful link to other routes to the North of the city.

Thank you, trail pixies.

25 mile Ride - Saturday 18th August 2007

"CITY CIRCUMVENTURE"

This longer ride (25 mile/ 40km) offers a chance to beat the bounds of St Albans City.

The route will be on quiet country lanes and off-road, but is not recommended for younger children.
Pub Lunch is proposed en route, so please remember to bring money for your meal.


Meet at Roman Museum Car Park (£1 for car parking if needed)
Verulamium Park, off St Michael's Street, St Albans. (Grid Ref: TL 136 072)

Start at 10:00 am, expected to return at about 5:00 pm.

No need to book: there is no charge for the ride.


Contact Doug Nevell (STACC) on 01582 762120 if you need any more info.

This is one of a series of STACC rides which appears in the booklet 'Walks & More" available in Libraries & Tourist Information.

The information would also normally appear on CMS What's On web page but this particular ride has been missed off.

New routes mapped

If you are braving the weather for a ride this weekend why not try one of the routes recently mapped by Peter Milne?

This 8 mile route makes a largely off-road circuit towards Colney Street, and would link well the Alban Way.

For more of a challenge, try the 27 mile Ring Aound St Albans route for a largely off-road circuit around the edge of the city.

Take a tour round part of the Ver Valley, with minimal or some traffic.

Here's a link to bikely.com's list of routes around St Albans.

Five more miles to fabulous - Saturday 14 July

5MTF is a national campaign addressed to women, highlighting the health benefits and convenience of cycling. Read more about it at www.fivemilestofabulous.com
The promotion is aimed at non-cyclists (soon to be cyclists), but experienced female riders are of course welcome too. The inaugural St Albans 5MTF ride on 2 June went very well. We had a lovely morning, sunshine and good company. As it was the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer Edward Elgar, we began with raising four cheers to the female cyclists depicted in his Enigma Variations:

Today we are celebrating the birth of the composer Edward Elgar, 150 years
ago. This is timely for our ride, not only did Elgar go cycling as an
inspirational aid to composition, but many of his female friends and family also
cycled – at a time when cycling was quite novel even for men. Several cyclists
can be found in the Enigma variations:
§ Isabel Fitton, a viola player in
Malvern
§ Winifred Norbury, regularly used her bicycle to deliver parish
magazines and to get to choir rehearsals in Worcester, but once cycled to
Hereford for the opening of the Three Choirs Festival.
§ Dora Penny,
daughter of the Rector of Wolverhampton, who several times cycled the forty
miles to Malvern to visit the Elgars.
§ Rosa Burley, headmistress of the
Mount School in Malvern, where the Elgar’s daughter Carice was a pupil.
§
May I recommend an excellent book Elgar the Cyclist a Creative Odyssey by
Keith Allen, available from the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Crown East Lane, Lower
Broadheath, Worcester WR2 6RH., Tel: 01905 333224. Fax: 01905 333426. www.elgarfoundation.org

We progressed at a very relaxed pace, paused for Fairtrade shopping at Homewood Road URC, continued by way of Jersey Lane and Oaklands to our coffee stop at Trestle Arts Base. We returned to our starting point by was of Highfield Park and the Camp Road cycle route.



By popular request, a repeat event will take place on Saturday 14 July.


Date of event: Saturday 14 July2007
Start time: 0930h
Start place: Faber Maunsell, Upper Marlborough Road, St Albans, AL1 3UT
Brief route description including refreshment break:
Easy ride to coffee stop. I have several nearby venues in mind and will select one on the day, depending on weather, group numbers and preferences. Using cycle routes and bridleways, some road riding mostly on quieter roads and lanes.
5. Leader Rona Wightman, tel 01727 836470

If you go down to the woods today

Spring in the woods, originally uploaded by mike1727.

..you'll find some good off-road riding. The bridleways are running well despite the last couple of days' rain, the bluebells are out and the longer days make evening rides easy without lights.

Here's an easy 11 mile route mixing bridleways and roads round the North of St Albans to get you started. Keep your eyes open for interesting side routes as you make your way round, but remember bikes have no right of way on footpaths...

For something longer and more adventurous try the evening rides run from two of St Albans' bike shops, sited within a few turns of the pedals of each other on Victoria Street. Rock and Road (01727 832020) set off from their shop at 7pm on Wednesdays, Addiktion (01727 858841) set off at 7pm on Thursdays from their shop. Call first to check the rides are running and bring a spare tube, pump and a drink.

If our local bridleways are too tame for you, head off to Aston Hill Mountain Bike Area near Tring. One of the South East's first dedicated mountainbike areas, the 100 acres of Aston Hill are home to purpose-built cross country, downhill and 4X courses suitable for differing abilities. Award-winning CTC approved tuition is available, and there's a race season.

Bike route- St Albans to Park street circuit

Thanks to pmilne, who posted a new route on bikely: Bicycle Path - St Albans to Park St - 8 mile on/off road at Bikely.com

Click here for a list of all St Albans routes on bikely

Bike rides around St Albans

St Albans 30 miles via Kimpton

http://www.bikely.com/

We're seeking out good bike routes in the area and linking to them from the blog. If you have any favourites please let us know- you can draw them yourself using a number of online route-sharing sites. We like Bikely since it's bike-specific, but we'll link to anywhere in our quest to bring you the best local routes!

Here's the first batch, some of which are based on the routes for the Rotary St Albans Charity cycle ride running on 13 May.

St Albans North- 10 miles. 10ish miles (well, 7.5 actually) mainly on quiet lanes through Symondshyde and Sandridge. All road, bar a short section of fairly smooth farm track. Drop in for lunch at the Wicked lady, perhaps?

The Ayotts. 18 miles, via Ayot St Lawrence, Gustard Wood and Wheathampstead . More pubstop choices (try the Brocket Arms in Ayot St Lawrence), plus Shaw's Corner, George Bernard Shaw's house. You could use this route to visit the Veteran Cycle Rally at Shaw's Corner on Sunday 10 June or browse the pictures on show at the Ayot St Lawrence Art Festival on 9-11 June.

Codicote and Kimpton: 20 miles through the country lanes North of the city, on the Rotary route.

St Paul's Waldren: Further North, folling the Rotary route up to St Paul's Waldren, returning via Whitwell and Kimpton.

Hatfield lunchtime loop: Shake away the lunchtime office torpor with a 10 mile loop on country lanes around Wheathampstead and Symondshyde, starting and finishing on Hatfield Business Park.

Coming soon- off road routes for knobbly tyres..