Southgate Cycling Club

What are they?

"Club Runs" are cycle rides that are geared to the slowest rider. We are always pleased to see anyone new who might care to join us. You don't have to book - just turn up with your road-worthy bike and lots of energy.

Where and When?

We meet every Sunday at the Market Square in Enfield Town (see map opposite or click on the link)

The link opens a new window showing a location map using www.streetmap.co.uk
The market square is located adjacent to Barclays Bank, opposite Pearsons Department Store.

for a prompt-ish departure at
09:00 in summer and
09:30 in winter

The Club's seasons are in sync with the changing of the clocks for summer and winter.

Exceptions to the norm!

Occasionally some rides start at earier or later times, or even at a different location, it all depends on the event* held that week.

* special events include: car assisted rides, time trial and hill climb, Audax Randonees, Sportives and weekend cycling trips.

So please check the start time and location each week on our Club Runs list.

The Club Runs schedule is updated every quarter - and is published at the VERY LAST MINUTE - usually the Saturday night before the start of the new schedule, so don't be alarmed if the Runs Schedules appears to be empty - we will still be riding every sunday!

Where do we Ride? How far? And more importantly... is there food?

The rides take us through the breathtaking countryside and picturesque towns and villages of Hertfordshire and Essex.
Regular stops are made along the route, so bring money for food and drinks:

• a café for elevenses (morning stop) is about 15 miles or about 1 to 1.5 hours cycling from the start.
  (You can, if you wish, head back home after morning stop, a lot of club members do this so there will always be someone to accompany you back to the start - so this ends up being a round trip of about 30 miles)
• lunch is often in a pub or a tea room - about 15 miles or about 1 to 1.5 hours cycling from morning stop.
  (So a round trip back home of 40 to 60 miles - it all depends on where morning stop and lunch is... so the three points could be in a straight line or form a triangle)
• and on longer rides, usually during the summer, an additional stop for afternoon refreshment is often made, invariably at the café of a garden centre.
  (So sometimes the round trip home for these extended summer rides can be 70-80 miles)

Distances covered vary with the time of year. We typically ride 30 - 70 miles in summer, whereas in winter we ride a shorter route of 30 - 50 miles, as it gets dark earlier.

Don't worry if the distances seem daunting, there is usually someone returning to Enfield after morning stop (round trip of 30 miles or about 2 to 3 hours of cycling); they will be pleased to accompany you back to Enfield.

In summertime we take advantage of the longer daylight hours and venture a little further into Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Car-Assisted Rides

Once a year we have a "car-assisted" ride, where we load our bikes onto the back of our cars and drive to a town deep in the countryside. This way we get to cycle further into the country that a normal club run could reach. After completing a circular route, we load the bikes back on the car and head home.

Start of every Month Specials

On the first Sunday of every month we organise two indendent rides - you can choose on the day which ride you want to take part in.

• a fast, non-stop ride --- no food stops, no breathers, no excuses, just pure fast hard cycling --- for the racers amongst us!
• a reverse-regular ride. Sounds strange - but we ride backwards - out to a "lunch stop" (so 20-30 miles) for morning stop (e.t.a. 11:00 to 12:00) and then cycle homewards via a "morning stop" for a late lunch (e.t.a. 14:00-15:00)