We’ve organised rides every month since restrictions were lifted in March. Initially, we rode subject to the ‘rule of six’ which meant running the same ride twice to include as many people as possible who wanted to join in. Some even rode both times!
In June we started riding as a group again although observing relevant guidelines.
Typically we start from HIADS at 10am on the first Tuesday and ride for 2-3 hours with a break in the middle for tea, coffee and cake (or what you fancy).
We’ve gone to a variety of places this year, such as: Staunton, Portsea, Compton and West Stoke and we’ve done a couple of train-assisted rides to Petersfield and Chichester (coming back over the Itchenor Ferry). The very keen ones managed without the train and rode both ways.
We organise our rides in a forum on the HIU3A web site where you can see what we get up to.
We’re not especially fit as a group and we certainly don’t ride fast. We go at the speed of the slowest and exploit greater stamina as an advantage we have over younger riders. Road-legal e-bikes are welcome. Our only requirement is that your bike is safe (let me know if you’d like me to check it) and you are sufficiently confident on your bike to travel on roads (although that’s much easier in a group). If you want, you can shortcut a ride by joining us at The Ship or the Spring Centre. In any case, we keep rides short during the colder months.
Andy Henderson