onionbagblog

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

Early Saturday morning and I couldn’t resist the urge to roll out with VC Revolution. The Colchester based cycling club has been on my radar for a number of months now. Foul winter estuary weather, and new home household chores could no longer be put up as a feeble excuse.

The club offers a number of different rides to suit all cycling abilities. As well as the Saturday social spin, time trials, sportives and even trips to velos for track racing all appear on the club calendar.

But riding a bike is the most social of activities. You have strength in the collective chain gang mentality; fixing a roadside puncture in solitary isolation is no fun - the Saturday social ride was for me.

It has been some time since my last serious road ride. I use to be a regular with the Dulwich Paragon back in my South London days. The Giant road bike has been stored away in the bike shed at the bottom of the garden since the Great Escape.

A brief sprint to Brightlingsea and back a few weekends back tested out the mechanics. A slipped chain and a bruised backside - both could be fixed.

I rolled out of Wivenhoe, and then freewheeled all the way down Boundary Road. It is this pure escapism and fanciful feeling that you get from cycling that keeps me pushing the pedals. I may have looked a loon, lycra clad and arched back as I descended down a North Essex semi-private road. But for one small moment, I was King of the Mountains, descending one of the great climbs and bound for glory.

Actually I was bound for the Harwich Road and the regular 9am meeting point for the lovely folk of @VC_Revolution. There is something quite exciting about riding with a new club for the first time. You know nothing of the route, let alone the pace and racing abilities of your fellow riders.

I have experienced great friendships from many cycling clubs over the years, but the warm welcome and acceptance from VC_Revolution was perhaps the most pleasing. A pelaton of twenty cyclists cleated up, and then with a flick of the elbow from the lead rider, the pack rolled out somewhere toward, um…

I still get lost trying to get from one end of Colchester High Street to the other, and so trying to plot a forty plus mile round route is asking the impossible for me. All that I can recall is that we headed out towards Clacton, went through Wix (ACE name) and then approached the Oldest Recorded once again via Mistley.

It wasn’t too much of a demanding route, and would certainly be suitable for inexperienced club riders. There are a couple of climbs, and a couple of bunch sprints. It’s all very social, as one would expect from a Saturday club ride.

Riding blind and not knowing what lay ahead, I experienced complete body and mechanical harmony. There were no worries about which gear to be in, or what level of climb lay around the bend. I was simply cycling in the purest form - pedaling and panting.

The road riding hand signals, gestures and etiquette soon came back to me. I was shouting out “CAR UP!,” “CAR BACK!” and “HOLE!” with the best of them. Plus no club ride would be complete without the silly cycling hand signals - I’m not talking about the five finger shuffle, either.

The second bunch sprint took us towards the delightful Mistley Place Park, where the pelaton stopped for a coffee. The view of the estuary as we approached was stunning for a blue sky spring day. There was something remarkably civilised about sipping cappuccino as the hens and ducks waddled around our cycling shoes.

Riders departed one by one en route back into Sunny Colchester, with home destinations and family afternoon commitments calling. This is the beauty of these club rides - you roll out rather early on a weekend, and are then back at base for midday, with the enormous sense of achievement and satisfaction.

I was back in Wivenhoe just as most of the town was slowly, slowly coming to life. It may have taken me six months to get back into the club saddle once again, but in @VC_Revolution, I’ve certainly found a local Colchester Club that is social in every sense.

@VC_Revoultion club rides take place every Saturday, rolling out at 9am at the junction of St Johns Road and Parsons Heath (A137) opposite the former Lindhill Car dealership. The ride covers around forty miles, usually between 17-18mph, though nobody gets left behind. New riders are welcome to turn up at the start just before 9am.

Chapeau!