Sustainability Centre & Petersfield

QECP is an alternative lunch destination

Ride leader notes

I've had a bike of one description or another, probably since the age of five. I've cycled lots of different routes all around Britain and some parts of France. For many years I cycled to work using the Hayling Ferry.

Since retiring, I try to get on the bike at least twice a week; usually Wednesdays and Saturdays. Most of the rides I lead are in the region of 20 to 40 miles, somewhere between 3-5hours.

I have three bikes I tend to use: most of the year I'll ride a Spa Elan, which is a general purpose touring bike; in the summer I'll often switch to a Cube Attain, which is more of a light weight sports bike, and if I'm going off-road I'll tend to use my Dawes mountain bike.

It's always difficult to assess cycling speed. I'm certainly no Bradley Wiggins and cycling to me is not about doing a route in the minimum possible time. However, neither am I someone who likes to amble along. So I tend to class my rides as medium-fast. On a scale 1-10 (1 being very slow, 10 being very fast), I would say 6or7, a notch above medium (5).

I'm not a great fan of cycling in and around Havant/Leigh Park when we have the beautiful South Downs on our doorstep, so I tend to start rides in places such as Rowlands Castle, Denmead, Westbourne or occaisionaly the Isle of Wight. Also, I'm not very good at leading large groups of cyclists, so I tend to keep numbers relatively low.

So if you like riding in small groups, somewhere in the South Downs or IoW, at a moderate speed, then you might like to try one of my rides.
M

About Saturday and Wednesday rides

Rides from Havant with stops for elevenses, lunch and sometimes tea. If you're unable to keep up or have a mechanical problem, someone will be available to help you - although we obviously cannot guarantee to solve all problems.

Riders are free to join and leave the ride at various points. Some ride directly to the elevenses stop.

Click either heading below to find out more about Wednesday and Saturday rides:

Wednesday rides

Wednesday rides are the largest of our rides and can provide a range of options to riders. We often split into multiple groups at the start, for example:

• A fast group that takes a longer and/or hillier route to the elevenses stop
• A ride which takes a more direct route to the elevenses stop at a moderate pace
• An elevenses ride comprised of riders going only to elevenses; the elevenses ride will have its own ride leader and might go to a different destination if the route to the main elevenses destination is long and/or hilly

On Wednesdays it is highly likely that there will be several riders coming back to the Havant area from the elevenses stop - although they might not include a PCTC ride leader. If that is what you'd like to do, please consult the ride leader at the start to ensure someone knows and is able to bring you back.

In addition, some rides split after elevenses to go at different paces or to alternate destinations. These are usually announced during the ride briefing. Please ask if you are unsure about the options available.

Saturday rides

Saturday rides are (usually) much smaller than Wednesday rides. As a result they offer fewer options for rides but more flexibility for routes and destinations.

The rides are often shown as 'informal' meaning there is no prescribed ride leader. Unless weather is particularly adverse, however, they always go ahead at the stated time and start point. We try to keep to the suggested elevenses destination to allow for people who want to ride directly there.

The lunch destination does change occasionally but we will always take views of riders into account. In particular, if you join a ride because you think you can manage the distance/hilliness, we would not substitute an alternative if it meant you couldn't join the ride.

If you want to ride with us but only to elevenses and need someone to help you with the route back, please use our general enquiry form to let us know in advance of the ride so we can try to arrange something for you.

This article describes what you should consider bringing with you on one of these rides.