Rides Survey

Firstly big thanks to all those who provided feedback on the 2023 rides. We had 27 responses and that’s up by 250%.

In general, Saturday remains the most preferred day for a ride. The ride length we have of around 30miles is definitely the preferred distance, with some preferring shorter rides and a few longer. (Note: We do have one extra-long ride in June, and we are looking at a plan for people riding shorter distances. More on that in a later article.)

Over one third were not able to ride last year due to various circumstances, and that probably explains why numbers were down in 2023.

Finally, some people are not interested in group rides (so obviously they didn’t attend), and a few didn’t attend last year as not sure what to expect.

For those who are not sure what to expect, please check out the description of the 2024 rides below, please reach out to me at events@westberkshirespokes.org if you want to know more or join in on a ride.

2024 Rides

Spokes 2024 Social rides have not been uploaded to www.letsride.co.uk . They run from March to October, and are on the first and third Saturdays of each month. Each ride is around 30 miles, although the first is 24 miles, and the longest is 32 miles. They are graded from green to black (green being the easiest). A longer ride doesn’t always mean harder as the shorter route might have more ascending (in other words hillier). We ride at a pace of 10-12 mph. There is a café stop about halfway round (although the Saddleback Farm café closing may cause some adjustment). It’s a social ride, and people are able to converse as we wind ourselves round some lovely lanes and views.

Whilst we do try to make good use of quieter roads, sometimes we do need to go along short sections of more major roads, but it’s a small percentage of any ride. And, we occasionally go across Greenham common on the first part (rarely the last part) of a ride.

Our rides are probably not suitable if you haven’t ridden for a long while, only cycle short distances or are completely new to cycling. If you are in this group, then we may have a different option for you, or if you are not sure please email events@westberkshirespokes.org, as we would like to hear from you.

We set off at 09.30 promptly, and start gathering about 10-15 minutes before. Happy to meet up early if you want to go through more details, or would like us to give your bicycle a check over, particularly if you are experiencing any annoying little issues.

We hope to see you on a ride soon, and hope for good weather and pot-hole free roads