For me, the jury is still out about group riding.

I get the positives. Meeting like minded people. Going faster on the wheels of stronger riders. Encouraging others to ride. Arranging to meet for a ride so there is no excuse for missing it. Spurring each other on in training. Learning from more experienced cyclists. Using different routes. Back up if an unrecoverable mechanical occurs. Company during cafe stops. Potentially being more visible to other road users. Competition during efforts. The exhilaration of a chaingang. Making friends!

So why don’t I ride as part of a group more often?

The bulk of my miles come from cycle commuting and I am reluctant to change this. My bike commute sets me up for the day, it saves money, it is time that would be otherwise sat in a car, it is better for the environment, it gets me out of getting the kids to school...the list goes on. However, my other miles are squeezed in around family. Getting up early in the morning to get a couple of hours in before 9am on weekends; heading out after dark in the evenings when the (brilliant) husband has offered to the do bath/bed routine or sticking a change of clothes/shoes in the car and biking to/from kid commitments. I’m not really prepared to let my cycling impact on family any more than it already has and riding at more sociable times, when groups head out, just doesn’t work for me at the moment.

I don’t like being part of a bunch. I haven’t really enjoyed crit races...as yet! (Although maybe that is just because I’ve not really done that well in them?! That said, I’ve not really done that well in time trials either, and I DO enjoy them!) I don’t want to fall off. I don’t want to get injured. Maybe I’m scared of getting dropped? That certainly puts me off road racing: I might as well just do time trials, as that’s how a road race is likely to end up!

A massive part of what I like about cycling is the peace and quiet, the sheer mindfulness of a ride out on your own, especially during term time when I’ve had hundreds of interactions every hour. Although a chatty, social ride with a cafe stop is brilliant (and still feels really quite decadent) there are many times when it is actually solitude that I need.

My older son is what you would describe as a “choppy” rider. He would definitely get disqualified in a road race! So riding as a part of a group is becoming a lot less daunting now, relative to riding with him...

There are lots of things I want to do in cycling that will need me to be more comfortable riding in a bunch. I’m trying really hard to make myself get out with others. KVRC have some brilliant group rides (Sunday 9am and Thursday 9.30am, both from Kendal Leisure Centre) with interesting, ambitious and varied routes (and great company!) that I look on with envy, but I’m rarely able to get to them.

However, there’s no longer an excuse. The KVRC Wednesday evening rides during the winter (Wednesday 7pm from Gilpin Bridge Inn) fit in with the family/work schedule. The idea is that we can chaingang up and down the Lyth valley and out towards Witherslack if there are enough of us, or have a 60-90 minute ride out if not.

I'm going to try to learn to like riding as part of a group.

Claire Rushton