onionbagblog

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

After all the excitement of rolling out with the lovely VC Revolution last weekend, it is encouraging to see that cycling clubs exist around Colchester that can cater for all different levels of ability.

The VC Revolution ride was social, but it still left us aching over the weekend after almost fifty miles in the saddle at a steady pace of 20mph. The perfect comedown might be the more leisurely rides now being planned by our nearby friends from Witham Cycling.

This is a very informal group of North Essex riders, existing in what reads like the more traditional role of the post-war cycling clubs that were so popular:

“These rides are aimed at new or infrequent cyclists who would like to cycle more. Families are most welcome too. The distances will be between ten to twenty miles, one to two hours of riding at a gentle pace.”

Witham Cycling started these rides last summer, and is now set to build upon the success, with a schedule of informal rides now available for the months ahead:

Sunday 8th May

Sunday 5th June

Wednesday 15th June (evening ride)

Sunday 10th July

Wednesday 24th August (evening ride)

Sunday 11th September

The success story from the group is that over one hundred riders rolled out with the group last summer. Many of these were first time cyclists who have now been converted to cycling everyday around Colchester.

Steven Rowley, a qualified cycling instructor, leads the rides:

“The pace is leisurely and the routes are carefully chosen to be family and child friendly. We do go up some hills but generally the routes are flat and no-one minds if you get off and push.”

It may be all about the bike, but sometimes it’s not all about the lycra. You can join the Witham Cycling Facebook page over here.