A big group of members took part in the 2017 Lincoln GP Sportive at the weekend.  A gruelling 98 miles and 4500ft of climbing completed with all riders getting round.

Latest summary list of weekly club runs.  Evening rides are a fixed route – lights now required!.  Keep an eye on the Facebook group for ride updates.

Start Time | Info | Average Speed | Distance | Ride Type | Meeting Point

Spring beckons but the grass isn’t yet ris and we’re still wondering where the birdies is, so we have a while to go before we can get rid of lights on evening rides.  Better late than never, here are a few pointers for night time group riding.

A key thing to be aware of is that group riding at night has different needs from riding on your own, so what works for you when pootling about after dark probably won’t be what’s needed for a group ride.  When you ride in a group you have to consider the needs and safety of the whole group, not just yourself.  With that in mind…

Lights: 

You should have a minimum of two front and two rear lights (better still 3/4/5…there’s no such thing as too many).  Why two?  At some point, on one of your many rides, one of your lights will exit stage left – the battery will unexpectedly die; you will hit a pot hole and smash it to bits; the light will fail for any one of a thousand reasons etc.  If you only have one light you now have no lights.  If you want to take that risk on your own that’s fine; in a group, no.

There’s no excuse for this – if you only have one light, go and buy another.

How bright: 

Rear lights don’t need to light up the moon.  If they are too bright they will blind the rider behind.    In a group, if your lights have a low-power mode, use it; otherwise angle them down so as not to blind.

Front lights do have to light up the moon.  You will be traveling at pace on dark roads so you need to be able to clearly see what’s ahead, and with enough time to react to danger.  When you are at the front you are the eyes of the group.  Commuter lights, even decent ones, are unlikely to be up to the job – as an example rule of thumb: if it’s by Cateye or Knog or attaches via a silicon strap or you got it at Aldi, it probably won’t be bright enough.  Expect to spend a few quid on these, but eBay can throw up some bargains.  Ask about for advice.  Good lights will last for years and you will be glad you spent the money.

A good article to get you started: http://road.cc/content/news/97193-big-roadcc-lights-test-2013

Reflectives:

Reflective vests are good when on your own but not good in a group.  They reflect the light from the rider behind and blind them.  Take them off when you are in the group and put them back on when you are on your own.

Reflective wrist bands are good – the traffic can see when you are indicating to turn.  A dark arm doesn’t really show up.

The law:

It is legal to have a flashing light on a pedal cycle, provided it flashes between 60 and 240 times per minute.

Check out: http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations for a more in-depth write-up on cycle lighting and the law – you might be surprised at what is required to be legal.

Other thoughts:

Consider mixing different makes of lights.  Whatever causes one light to fail might do the same to both if they are the same make.

Night time riding can be fun and safe.  A group of riders is very visible.  Try sitting behind or in front of one and you will see what I mean.

Give it a go.  Night riding is very different and can give you a whole new perspective on familiar routes.  On the right night it can even be quite magical

This is to announce that the Club Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 8th November at Hatton Park Village Hall. The Meeting will begin at 7.00pm and is expected to finish by 9.00pm.  Refreshments (tea and biscuits etc.) will be available.

If you wish to make any changes to the way your Club is managed you must put forward a written proposal to the Chairman (me) no later than two weeks before the meeting. The agenda will be circulated to all members one week before the meeting.

Details have been circulated to members by email – if any member has not received the Chairman’s email to that effect please get in touch as your email address may be incorrect on our database.

Thanks

ChairmanSteve

So where are we riding you may ask, especially if you didn’t ride it last year.

Well, the two routes are the same as last year and you can download a file to your  Garmin at the following addresses (gpsies.com tracking software):

Long route:  http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=htybrkpjooiowxlm&referrer=trackList

Short route:  http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xye … =trackList

If you are not into Garmins don’t worry, organiser Tom Holland will be providing printed maps at the start in Barford village hall.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on Tom’s notes on the Forum for any last minute info.

Otherwise, weather permitting we expect to see you all there – the more the merrier and all proceeds go to Myton Hospice.