4. Find a training partner or club
4. Find a training partner or club
Joining a club is a great way to give impetus to your training and provide motivation to ride when you might otherwise be tempted to stay on the sofa.
It’s an easy way to meet like-minded people, increase your mileage, explore new routes and unknown roads, and get more out of your cycling. What better motivation on a cold, wet Sunday than knowing you’ve got a group of friends to share the ride with, rather than toiling on your own?
There are more than 1,500 clubs affiliated to British Cycling (use their club finder tool to find one near you) and the vast majority will have a weekend club run, often with a number of groups according to speed and ability.
Riding with a club also gives you the chance to learn and practice key skills (like how to follow a wheel, how to ride smoothly in a group and how to descend with other riders around you) which will serve you well on any group ride, let along on a sportive as big as the RideLondon-Surrey 100, when inevitably large bunches can form on the wide roads in and out of the capital.
Riding in a group can save up to 40 per cent energy compared to riding into the wind on your own, so regardless of whether you’re just looking to get round the RideLondon-Surrey 100 sportive, or you’re aiming for a fast time, it pays to be able to ride safely and confidently with other riders.
It’s all part of the RideLondon experience, zipping along the normally traffic-congested roads of the capital and Surrey with countless other cyclists for company.
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