Q&A

How can I contact you?

On our e-mail address: TimsburyCG@yahoo.co.uk , we also have a Twitter group @TimsburyCG that is well worth following, as many of the rides we are planning, and photos of each ride also get posted on there. Alternatively, read the rest of this Q&A to double check its definitely for you, and show up at the Conygre hall, at 7:30am on a Sunday. You should aim to get there at about 7:20am if its your first time out, and make sure you introduce yourself.

We're a very friendly bunch so don't be shy. The riders in the TCG red/black jerseys are usually very experienced, so talk to one of them first.

If you don't know how to ride in a group, make sure you tell somebody before we set off, so they can quickly show you what is expected regarding hand signals, pointing out, and shouting out for potholes, cars, road obstacles, etc.

Where do you meet up?

The Conygre Hall car park, off of North Road, Timsbury. Usually on a Sunday morning, at 7:30am, but rides are sometimes arranged for other times, once you get an invite you will see the event times.

During spring and summer, there are also evening rides, which run during the week. It is not unusual for there to be three or four different rides during the week now.

How long do you ride for?

Usually about 3 hours riding time at the weekend, 2 and a half hours if its during the week.

Do women ride with the TCG?

Yes they do, but unfortunately it is not many. We wish we could change this! It does vary from week to week. Since 2019, we have seen an increase our percentage of female riders, which goes to show that road cycling is getting more popular with women. We would love to see the numbers get to 50% women on each ride, or perhaps somebody could set up some women-only rides, if they want to, and run them under the TCG name, and we would really help promote them.

We honestly thought when the TCG started up, that because of the lack of sports groups that accepted women in Timsbury, we would get a greater percentage out cycling than the football and cricket teams in the village, but disappointingly this hasn't happened, and the group remains largely male. If you can reverse this trend, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you will be the one to change it.

We feature on the Bike5050 "Good list" of cycling organisations that actively promote and encourage women to cycle - see the link https://bike5050.wordpress.com/ and check it out.

Do you encourage diversity in the TCG?

We welcome anybody who wants to come riding with us, regardless of colour, gender, race, or sexual orientation. You can be from outer space if you want, as long as you ride bikes!

How far do you go?

On the Sundays, normally about 38ish miles from 7:30am to 10:45am for the faster group, and 28-ish miles for the Zone 2 group, depending on how much time we have, how fast the group is travelling, what the weather is like, and how hilly the route is.

How fast do you go?

The Faster Group will usually about 15-16 mph average speed over a route of about 38 miles depending on the hills on that weeks route. 36 to 38 mile rides get us back in Timsbury for about 10:45am-11.00am, including a 20 minute coffee stop. The Zone 2 group do about 12-13 mph average speed over a route of about 28 miles. The perfect ride has been when both groups have managed to meet up for a coffee and a good chat/laugh!

Will I be able to keep up?

If you have a road bike/cyclocross bike/gravel bike, and a decent level of fitness, then yes! We are not uber-cyclists, we are pretty good though I suppose, and have gotten significantly fitter, faster and technically better over the last few years. Many of the group are well into Strava (a much recommended cycling app for iphone/Android/GarminWahoo GPS's).

You can always cut back early if you don't feel up to the full distance. This is not uncommon, and sometimes riders can only come out for an hour or so, so will join us for a bit and then cut back early. We all lead busy lives, many of us have children and families to get back to, or want to get back for other appointments, so trying to snatch an hour or so out with the group and turning back early is perfectly fine.

If you are worried about keeping up, its worth looking at other TCG'ers rides to check out the pace, and amount of ascent that they did over the three hours. You'll easily spot local TCG riders on Strava on many of the local hills, many of them have "TCG" in their Strava name. Or, if you'd like to go a little faster, or a little slower, absolutely feel free to post a ride, and set your own event up, for a time and pace that suits you instead!

If you wish to do a Zone 2 ride - make sure that before you come out - you are able to ride approx 32 miles, covering 2500 feet of climbing, at approx 14 mph average speed.

If you wish to do a Fast Group ride, make sure that before you come out, you are able to ride approx 38 miles, covering 3000 feet of climbing at approx 16mph+ average speed, including a few decent climbs and sprints.

It doesn't seem much faster than Zone 2, but feedback from people that graduated to the fast group, was that a significant improvement step up in fitness and endurance was required. This is because of the additional hills and sprints that feature in a fast group ride. The fast group will often tackle 15%+ gradients and try some fast sprints for a few miles, one of the TCG favourites is Torhole Bottom, from the Mendips to Chewton Mendip. It is great fun and turns into a race for about 4 miles that will have you blowing out of your arse!

Pretty much all the fast group riders, also ride at least 35 miles during the week on top of their Sunday ride. They do a mixture of hilly, and/or flat out riding during the week, to ensure they have the fitness needed to keep up. The fast group riders also continue to cycle all the way through winter. This makes a massive difference to their base level of fitness and endurance. Riding with the TCG fast group, will certainly make you a better rider. We have people come out with us, because they want to train for races. Apparently the TCG Sunday rides have a bit of a race feel to them sometimes, especially when the sprint sections kick off!

Unfortunately, we are not able to coach you from scratch in learning how to ride a road bike. Remember this is a totally free group with no resources, we are not professional coaches, So if you are completely new to the sport of road biking, it will be worth going out on your own first to build your pace up beforehand. Quite a few people have done this before coming along and then starting off on the Zone 2 rides.

I have a Hybrid bike or Mountain bike, can I come out on that with the road bikes? What about ebikes?

Not if the ride organised is for road bikes, unfortunately. If its a road bike ride, you need to bring a road bike. Unless you are an absolutely amazing mountain bike or hybrid bike rider, it will be difficult to keep up.

Now, ff you have a decent ebike, you probably will be able to keep up the average speed of the group, but might get left behind a bit on the sprinty sections because your motor will cut out over 15.5mph. Overall your average speed will probably be similar to ours, and you will probably turn up at the cafe at a very similar time. If you don't mind that, then feel free to bring your ebike along.

Do you have a Strava Group?

Yes, we do - once you are in the TCG, you can join it.

http://www.strava.com/clubs/timsbury-cycle-group-14349

How would you sum up the group ethos of the Timsbury Cycle Group?

There is a mix of standards, we ALWAYS encourage each other to get better, fitter, and faster. We do like to push ourselves, and each other on the hills, and on fast sprint sections, but we will always wait to regroup at the top, for a quick drink and to discuss what an awesome hill we have just been up! Owning a Garmin, or Wahoo GPS, is pretty much essential as we go somewhere different every week, so as many people as possible have the route. It helps with not getting lost. Think of a TCG ride as a mini-audax, at a faster pace. Everybody is trying to follow the route, even the person on the ride rota who thought of it.

Where do you go?

Absolutely all over the place! If you look at a map of Timsbury, and a radius of 20 miles around it, that's where we might be going. Past rides have been to Bath, Bristol, Mells, Wells, Wellow, Bradford-on-Avon, Trudoxhill, Holcombe, Cranmore, Stourhead, Chew Valley Lake, Priddy, the Mendip Hills, Shepton Mallett, Frome, etc etc. As we've been going every Sunday now for seven years, we've learnt so much about the local area. If you want to explore the surroundings, and see some stunning scenery, this is the group for you. Because we change the route every week, the routes rarely repeat, and there seem to be thousands of combinations of rides.

How come the TCG is a "Cycle Group" and not a "Cycle Club"?

We had a good think about this, and decided it wasn't necessary to become a full-on affiliated club. The main benefit to being a "Club" is the ability to enter criterium circuit or road races. You can only enter these type of races if you are in a club which is affiliated to British Cycling. We don't really want to enter any races, we just like going out for social, but challenging rides together. There are also lots of downsides to being a club. You have to do a LOT of admin work, publish meeting minutes, hold annual General meetings, hold committee meetings, create and administer a bank account to hold "club" funds, and elect "officials" such as a chairman, secretary, finance officer, etc. We would rather spend that time riding our bikes, or designing new routes to ride!

Also an interesting thing we found out is that the insurance that any club members would contribute towards by paying an annual club membership fee, would not cover them at all, it would only cover the "elected officials" of a club!

Have a look at clause iii) of "insurance exclusions" on the terms of affiliating to British Cycling as a "club"

iii) Individual club members: Individual club members (as opposed to club officials) are not covered unless they themselves are Ride, Silver or Gold members of British Cycling with personal liability insurance cover.

By the way, the way to get insured for riding your bike (if that is what you want, but it is not necessary at all), is to get British Cycling "ride" or "commute" membership, or CTC membership, or London Cycling Campaign insurance. so we thought, there wasn't much point in becoming a club, as we didn't want to get bogged down in admin, which would mean less time for riding!

Also, there is nothing to "club" towards, the TCG has zero costs. There is therefore nothing to "club together" to pay for! The TCG operates spending literally 3 minutes a week setting up an event, and maybe another 3 minutes creating a route for us to download to our Garmins and follow on Strava.

Zero admin is absolutely awesome.

Does it cost anything to join you?

Nope, nothing, not a penny. We are just an informal bunch of cyclists, who like to ride our bikes at the weekend, therefore, there is no charge! We are most definitely a "group" and not a "club". By definition, a "club" has to "club together" for the upkeep of the group. The TCG costs nothing to run, there are therefore no charges.

Do I need to bring anything?

Well, obviously, having a basic knowledge of road cycling, and a roadworthy road bike with properly inflated tyres would be a good start. On top of that, definitely a spare inner tube or two, tyre levers, and pump. A drink in a bottle cage. A few cereal bars, Malt loaf or bananas to munch on the way round. You will be burning about 500-700 calories every 15 miles, so DEFINITELY bring some food or you WILL run out of energy and suffer the dreaded "bonk". Good Lights are a MUST if its dark. A Mobile phone in case you get stranded or lost. A bike helmet. CO2 cartridges and adaptor are brilliant (makes punctures a lot quicker to change), spare chain links in case you break a chain. Definitely bring money for coffee/bacon sandwich for when we have our break (usually at about 20 miles).

You don't need to bring a lock, as we never let the bikes out of our sight. A Garmin or Wahoo would be a really, really good accessory to have, as we follow that weeks route. The more people who have a copy of the route, the better.

It's all a magical mystery tour for everybody, and we all chip in, to help find our way around the weeks route, wherever it might be headed.

Do I need a winter bike as well?

Not really, however quite a few of the TCGers just ride summer road bikes all year round. They often fit slightly wider tyres, such as 28mm Continental Four Seasons, to give a softer ride. However, many of the TCG'ers also have dedicated winter bikes, such as Gravel bikes or Cyclocross bikes, with mudguards, brake discs and wider tyres. Some of the lanes we go up, can get very mucky and wet in winter, so mudguards will help keep your backside, and the person riding behind you, much cleaner!

Can I come along if i'm under 18?

Unfortunately not, remember this is a free group, and we don't have the resources to do special background checks, so you need to be over 18.

Do I need any special clothes?

If you've bought a road bike, you need lycra! Many of the Timsbury Cycle Group seem to sport red lycra in particular! Good value, and quality brands are DHB, Lusso, Polaris, Nalini, Giordana, Funkier, Merlin Wear, Santini, Vermarc, Planet X, and Endura. Super-expensive brands are ones like Assos and Rapha. Although Rapha clothing can be found cheaper at the outlet store at Shepton Mallett. Incidentally, the Manager of the Shepton Rapha shop rides with the TCG!

If you don't have special cycling shoes, you should really get some decent SPD, or SPD-SL shoes, (such as those with the Shimano or Look cleats and pedals- it makes pedalling that much easier.

I've heard people up set up various rides and events, can I set up a few of my own, for dates and times and a pace that suits me?

Yes! absolutely. And this is absolutely encouraged. If you can't make one of the weekend rides, but are free at a different time, please go ahead and set an event up, and encourage others to come along.

It takes about 30 seconds using the "events" feature, we have 80+ cycling-mad members so it is very likely someone will want to come out with you.

A top tip - is the further in advance you set up a ride, the more people will come along on it. To quote Waynes World 2: "Book them, and they WILL come!".

How did the Timsbury Cycle Group start up and how is it developing?

The TCG was started back in 2011 by a small group of parents who did a bike ride for charity: See http://www.timsbury.net/2011/07/18/dads-raise-3500/ when it started it was all on mountain bikes, with cotton clothing and trainers. Then one of the members bought a road bike, and everyone else realised how much faster they could go. Then everybody else bought one. We started in 2012, after a few of the parents observed some of the big Bath and Bristol cycling clubs coming through Timsbury in their pelotons and wished for something similar. Now when the Timsbury Cycle Group goes out for a ride, our peloton is a similar size to theirs!

The group is developing in the sense that the people who regularly attend the Sunday rides have massively improved fitness from when they started out. We have some stories of huge weight loss we could tell you!

Many of the group attend Sportives and Audaxes throughout the year (60 to 100+ mile organised bike rides). We cycle all through winter even if its below zero degrees (even if we have to do shorter rides, stick to main roads, or take mountain bikes because of the road conditions), and therefore we emerge into Spring with an excellent level of cycle fitness.

Many of the group have changed their commuting lifestyles due to cycling, and now use the bike to travel to work several days per week.

The Sunday rides usually have two speeds of group - the Faster Group with the 16 mph-ish pace, and the Zone 2 Group, who want to travel a little bit slower, perhaps 11-13mph. Both rides will be quite hilly, because its impossible to do a ride around Timsbury without hills, so you need to learn to love them, and get used to a bit of suffering!

The good thing is that, with careful planning, both groups meet up for Coffee at the same location (basically by cutting out the middle 5 or 6 miles of the faster group route).

Also as of winter 2014/2015, we tried a "off-road" ride in the local area, following various tracks, bridleways and trails in the area, and joining them all together. It was so much fun, we would like to do it, on a semi-regular basis, perhaps once a month or so. To come on these type of rides, you would need something with knobbly tyres, such as a cyclocross or mountain bike/tough hybrid. They are called the "bring something with knobbly tyres" rides! They are BRILLIANT fun.

A lot of the TCG members have learnt bike maintenance, if you start to ride regularly, you will start to pick this up from the others. Things like how to adjust and maintain gears and brakes, right through to how to build a bike from scratch. Being a TCG regular will definitely save you money on bike maintenance.

This sounds great! But I don't have a bike! Recommend me one to buy!

Now you're talking! That could take hours though! Best thing to do, is visit the local bike shops, such as Bike-it (Radstock), Cadence (Bath), Avon Valley Cyclery (Bath), Johns Bikes (Bath), 73 degrees (Keynsham), and Cyclology (Frome). Try out as many bikes as you can. Tell them you want to ride with the Timsbury Cycle Group. I would recommend a Sportive geometry bike, rather than an all out-racer for the type of lanes we ride up. Newer road-bikes are starting to come a lot more with brake discs and 28mm+ tyres, and these can help a lot with riding in bad weather. Note that bike shops usually can only sell certain brands as they have agreements with them, so can only stock certain ones in that locality. They will always try to convince you that the brand they stock is "the best", so be sure to shop around and try out different makes. Post in the Facebook page if you would like some advice on different models as we have probably ridden them.

Also have a look on the web for guides such as "Best road bike under £1000", or "Best road bike under £700" that kind of thing. (depending on your budget). Road.cc or bikeradar.com are great For example: http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/160217-15-best-road-bikes-under-1000 or http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/cheap-road-bikes-our-pick-of-the-best-35756/