Winter sets in - perfect time to plan routes and clues!

It is -4 out there as I blog this.  Cold.  Very cold.  Thoughts of summer cycling in shorts and T-shirts just makes me shudder!!
So - perfect time to think about the whats hows whos wheres etc of the family-rides-to-be.

I have had a phone call off Gavin from Sheffield (Bike Club) - we chatted about the Sheffield family rides.  They appear to have started in 2009 (see blog link) and seem to include car assisted rides out into Derbyshire.  There is a nice write up of a ride last summer (in bike week) that swelled in numbers as they rode.  A sort of family-bike-ride-relay.  I like that idea.  Maybe we could do that one month next summer?

I also came across CTC family rides in Staffordshire - Chase Cycling Club - or "Wheel we make it?" (a not dissimilar idea for a name has been suggested up here!).  I must say the photos show a very wide age range - which is certainly welcome here - everybody is part of a family, whichever generation you now occupy!

The 'competition' ride set for September is now fully planned - well, I have planned the route, and my esteemed chum, Dave, has set all the other details up, including the start and end stop at Old Ma's coffee shop near Tattenhall.  For the adventurous there will also be a ride in October around Bala.  More details will be unveiled as the year progresses!




Horses get everywhere in the New Forest!

 I have a feeling we will be heading to the New Forest Rides in July in - er - The New Forest.  Very much a family affair, with people returning year after year.  Not to be missed is the trip to the Isle of Wight, with a few hundred bikes stacked up on deck, it is a sight to behold.  Imagine, biking to the beach!  (No, not in this weather!).  Camping.  But that is all part of the fun!!!  Maybe if the Chester Family Rides take off, we could arrange our own camping weekend in 2012 - Anglesey springs to mind - not too far and some lovely cycling (including our own beaches!).



Bikes Below deck on Isle of Wight Ferry



You can read a report about the 2010 Rally here. (scroll down to New Forest Rally report)

I have also added some other family friendly cycling events we are holding through the year.  Check out the Chester and North Wales website for more information as it becomes availble.

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Have a very Happy Christmas, and I will post again in 2011!