West Dean Spin

My typical short morning ride out to West Dean post office for coffee.

Heading out from Rowlands Castle (other pick up points considered - I’m starting at Cowplain for instance), heading north to Compton, then East Marden and Chilgrove on a fairly lumpy route.

Return, depending on who attends and how everyone is feeling - either via the cycleway down to Lavant or the short hilly climb up to the Trundle and back round to Lavant, Hunters Race and the South Coast cycle way.

Bookings for this ride/event

Booking is required for this ride. Please let the ride leader know if you want to join. Please do not turn up for the ride unless you've had your booking confirmed or your name appears below.

There are 6 spaces available for the leader and riders. Of these, 3 are left.

Bookings recorded for this ride (Log in to see rider names):

• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member

To ask to join this ride, please use the 'Contact us about this ride' link above to send an email to the ride leader.

Ride leader notes

Riding a lightweight road bike (during better months) the faster day rides I lead are typically 100-130km (60-80m) and occasionally 160km (100m).

Routes are at best undulating, usually “lumpy” (hilly), sometimes with severe hills!

- Average GOOD speed on “Faster” rides: 23kph (14mph)
- Average TYPICAL speed on “Faster” rides: 21.5kph (13mph)

Morning only rides are scaled back versions of day rides, usually at the same pace.

I also lead moderate rides as well, where the terrain difficulty is reduced (not so lumpy!) and the speed is adjusted to those attending the ride.

When I lead Waterlooville Community Cycle Club (WCCC) rides, which are generally easy relaxed rides, the pace is that of the slowest attending rider in the group.

* Please check the ride descriptions and classifications on the ride you are considering joining.

About faster rides

Our other rides go at the pace of the slowest rider or we will split the ride to accommodate a slower rider. 'Faster rides' go faster than other rides and people joining are expected to keep up.

We're not talking about professional or even 'club' riding speeds, but trying to ride at any speed faster than you can manage is an unpleasant experience.

If you want to join a faster ride, but uncertain whether you can keep up:

• Consider trying one or two of our other rides classed as A (Demanding) or B (Hilly) first. If you're able to keep up without difficulty that's a good indication you're ready for a faster ride. The chances are you'll be riding with other members familiar with faster rides that can help you with your assessment.
• In any case, contact the ride leader and discuss your experience to date with them. Bear in mind, however, that subjective assessments of average speed and cruising speed are notoriously unreliable even for those that routinely use cycle computers.

Before you join a faster ride, please review the route and prepare to make your own way back if you're struggling to keep up - and we all have bad days. We will not, however, intentionally drop slower riders; nor will we leave riders without first checking they are confident with getting back.