Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club

Weekly Club rides

You don’t have to join the club in order to take part in most of the events. In fact, the majority of our new members have come along to try it out for weeks or even months before finally joining up once bitten by the cycling bug. Or maybe they just wanted the discount at the various sports shops!

These are our regular sessions:

Weekend rides usually meet at Hemel Station for a 9AM start. For full details see the events calendar.

There are often extra rides on bank holidays so give Hector a call and find out what else is happening.

• Contact Hector Selth on 01442 392646, mobile 07913 426046 for more information.
• Email: hector.selth@ntlworld.com
• For more information on mountain bike rides contact Tim Hart on 01442 402323.

Special Rides

Look out for the special rides listed in the calendar or forums. We have a series of day trips to other areas, including the Isle of Wight and France, either just as a club activity or to take part in an organised event. More details are usually posted on the website a month or so before the event.

• Contact Hector for more information.

Sport for women

The number of women riding, running and swimming with HHCC has grown steadily in recent years and there are active participants in virtually all of the disciplines and at all levels of ability. We welcome everyone interested in cycling and multisports, whether for fun, fitness or competition.

• Contact Helen Bojarski on 07974 726887 for more infomation.
• Email: helen@bojarski.uk.net

Hints for your club riding

Everyone is welcome to join the club rides. Just turn up at the meeting point and make yourself known if you are new at the allotted time.

There are a few simple points that can help make sure that you can enjoy your time on the bike:

• Equipment - Your bike needs to be serviceable - It should go without saying that if you are riding on a public highway your bike needs to be in good working order and comply with the law, but it does not need to be the latest and greatest featherweight machine. So long as it is mechanically sound, it fits you and the tyres are in good condition and fully inflated, then you should be able to enjoy your cycling.
• Punctures - Bring a couple of spare inner-tubes (to fit your bike!), tyre levers and a pump so that you can quickly sort out a puncture and keep riding. Mending a puncture at the side of the road is no fun and takes a lot longer than just swapping an inner-tube. Save the glue and patches for when you get home. We will wait for you to replace the tube and help if needed.
• Sensible clothing - It has to be said that cycling-specific gear can make a huge difference to comfort and reducing fatigue. Dress in suitable sports gear according to the weather conditions and remember that the wind chill factor on a bike is considerably greater than if you are running, so it is particularly important to think about this in the colder months.
• Drink - Maintaining the body's hydration is vitally important in any endurance sport and so it is essential that you carry appropriate amounts of fluids. Even a small drop in hydration can cause a significant drop in performance and speed up fatigue. Allow around 750-1000ml of a water-base drink for every 2 hours you will be out, more on hot days or if you are riding very hard. Specialist sports drinks are good but not essential.
• Food - It is always a good idea to brink a bite to eat, even on short rides: hunger or a drop in blood sugar levels soon accelerates the feelings of fatigue. Bring a couple of energy bars, cereal bars or bananas for a 2hr ride and more for longer rides. Better to have too much and bring it home that not enough.

There are a lot of very experienced riders in the Club who are more than willing to offer advice on any of the above, so please don't hesitate to ask.

Groups Riding Basics

Cyclists ride as groups for social reasons, training benefits and race strategy. Regardless of the kind of group you ride with, some universal etiquette applies. Knowing and applying a few simple rules can help you be an effective, considerate and safer group rider, whether you are an infrequent participant on the HHCC club runs or a regular who has been group riding for several years:

• Remain constantly aware of those around you and that your movements in a group affect everyone in that group. For example, if you get out of the saddle on a climb, be conscious that your back wheel is likely to drop back six inches unless you control your bike correctly. Pedal continuously at a cadence and speed that is consistent with the riders in front of you. If the pace slows ahead of you, try to soak up the distance between you and the rider is front by pedaling softer rather than braking hard.
• Keep you eyes on the road ahead in front of you rather than the riders themselves, and anticipate. Be alert, but stay loose. Point out and call turns coming up, pot holes, traffic, parked cars, horses and anything else that you would want to know about. Riders towards the rear of the group should also be attentive to what is going on behind them, such as approaching traffic, making others in the group aware when appropriate.
• Most of the HHCC club runs are social rides and no one, especially junior or lady riders, should be dropped from the group and left unaccounted for. However, if you chose to ride with the Saturday Hard Riders group or a fast training group and the pace is too fast for you, then do not always expect the group to wait for you. If in doubt ask them before you set off.
• Keep the group leader informed - If you decide to leave a group and ride on your own, inform the leader of your intentions or, at the very least, inform one of the other group riders. It is group leader's responsibility to ensure that everyone in the group is accounted for at regular intervals throughout the ride. This is made far easier if it is known who has left the group.
• Show courtesy to other road users - We share the roads with other users and should always be courteous to others. In order to allow vehicles to pass, the group should ride as a single unit with riders keeping to two abreast to be more compact. It is a good idea for one of the forward riders to act as a traffic marshal and wave a car through when it is safe to do so. Sprinting around the group whilst a car is trying to pass is inconsiderate and dangerous. The group should also slow down and announce their presence when passing horses on either side of the road.
• Maintain an even pace - If you're riding next to someone and can easily maintaining the same pace, be aware of your relationship to his or her front wheel. Constantly upping the pace whenever the rider draws equal to you (half-wheeling) is rude and controllable