This group gives all abilities of cyclist a chance to ride in a friendly, non-competitive environment. There are five rides in total across Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Minimum equipment: a well-maintained bike, cycle helmet, spare inner tube & pump.
Additional equipment suggested: hi-vis jacket/tabard (u3a tabards available free to members), water bottle, money for coffee and cake.
Cyclists with e-bikes are very welcome to join the rides.
A fortnightly chance for a bit of exercise after the weekend, a circular ride starting at 10.00 am from The Bourne Green (parking available). Distance will be between 20 and 25 miles at about 10-12 miles an hour, inevitably with undulations! We will generally keep to roads with a chance for refreshments during or at the end of the ride. Places will be limited to 15 plus a leader so group members will need to sign up for each ride via our group email.
Meets at 10.00 am at The Bourne Green (parking available)
Wednesday Riders: There are three rides:
easiest EASY RIDERS – about 5-10 miles depending on those attending, at a gentle pace but in this area hills are inevitable. We hope to give you the confidence to get back on your bike and enjoy the exercise, fitness and camaraderie that comes with cycling.
easy EASY ROCKERS – about 15 – 20 miles at an average speed of about 12 mph, with some tracks;
moderate MODS – about 25 – 35 miles, at an average speed of about 13 mph, all on roads.
Rockers and Mods will stop for refreshments in a local café. Each group is limited to 15 riders so please advise the contacts below if you wish to attend.
EASY RIDERS
EASY ROCKERS
MODS
Meets at 10.00 am at varied venues
moderate MODS – about 25 – 35 miles, at an average speed of about 13 mph, all on roads.
The Mod group will stop for refreshments in a local café. Each group is limited to 15 riders so please advise the contact above if you wish to attend. We have created a Whatsapp group for the MODS cycling group to keep in touch. To be added please email Bob Mercer.
MODS: The plan is for rides to be weekly on Wednesdays 10.00 – 13.30, throughout the year, meeting at Farnham Maltings, unless otherwise advised.
easy EASY ROCKERS – about 15 – 20 miles at an average speed of about 12 mph, with some tracks. Easy Rockers will stop for refreshments in a local café. Each group is limited to 15 riders so please advise the contact above if you wish to attend.
EASY ROCKERS The plan is for rides to be weekly on Wednesdays 10.00 – 13.30, throughout the year, meeting at Farnham Maltings, unless otherwise advised.
Circular cycle rides of around 15 to 18 miles at an average speed of 8 to 9 mph, organised and led by group members, from various locations in the wonderful Surrey-Hampshire countryside, mostly on-road (quiet country lanes) and some tracks.
Meets Thursdays, 10.00 – 13.30, weekly, throughout the year at locations to be advised. You must let us know if you are planning on coming on a ride – please use the group email above.
Some even more recent activities:
4 legs good, 2 wheels better? Near Liphook, Hants:
Off-road, coming over the hill @ Bourne Woods:
Hambledon (Hants not Surrey): not dressed in whites:
Puncture repair course: from in-bits to back-on-the-road:
Some recent activities:
Navigational challenge to find “somewhere else” and Coffee&cake recovery at “Somewhere Else” (Dabbling Duck @ Shere):
Overcoming water hazards near Hartley Wintney:
Overcoming mechanical issues: broken chain and a puncture (the takeaway “doggy bag of cakes” saved for later…)
And earlier in the year …..
The odd barrier to progress courtesy of the February storms, plus overcoming water obstacles:
Thursday Riders on tour, with a cultural diversion, on way to Chocolate Frog pit-stop:
Cycling group: Thursday Riders: 2024 website update
It is now 3 years since the u3a cycling club was officially restarted as Thursday Riders in Dec 2020. In our 3rd year (to Xmas 2023) there have been:
51 Thursdays
45 rides (all of which have ended up being different)
No-rides lost between Xmas & New Year last year
6 no-ride Thursdays (4 stormy, wet &/or windy weather forecasts; 1 icy forecast and 1 non-u3a ride “away day” to the New Forest)
0 no-ride Thursdays, when there were no leaders available: once again a great collective group team effort
16: average number of riders per ride, with numbers at or close to the maximum safe on-the-road riding limit of 21 on numerous occasions.
The group is currently at capacity, therefore membership is closed unfortunately
~791 total miles covered, averaging ~17.5 miles per ride, on the pot-holed country lanes in the glorious countryside of Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Berkshire
24 different start/finish locations (but not once the Maltings!)
30 different café pit-stop venues.
Number of bacon butties &/or cakes consumed: n, where n is a large number
Number of hills ascended: ditto, but what goes up does come down…
A very big thank you to all the volunteer ride leaders, our on-the-road subgroup leaders and our mechanical problem fixers.
We look forward to more happy pedalling in 2024.
Please also note the following requirements:
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