New destinations

Details of and discussion about club runs

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Andy_Craddock
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New destinations

Post by Andy_Craddock » 18 Apr 2014 22:19

Hi All

I am just wondering if anyone has any ideas for cafes / places we could use for new club destinations. I am happy to start leading more, but Im aware that a lot of the runs tend to go the same places. Im not the best at navigating but will try and come up with some routes.

I am aware there is a substantial list of club run routes, however a lot of them aren't really used.

If anyone has some nice routes of around 60-70 miles that they ride but not too keen on leading then maybe they could be shared so others can give them a go.

I notice that most of the runs head south, is there any main reason for this or would a few north bound rides be welcomed?

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Ed Moss
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Post by Ed Moss » 19 Apr 2014 08:36

The Mad March ride was a good, if you can find a cafe along the route.

Pedlo Mudguardo
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Post by Pedlo Mudguardo » 19 Apr 2014 09:52

There's a nice run out to Tenbury Wells which is a change. It's 80 plus miles so longer than normal so perhaps good for the summer. Unfortunately, there's a significant hill involved....

Andy_Craddock
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Post by Andy_Craddock » 19 Apr 2014 11:15

Cheers Ed, I might give it a test ride soon.

Nic, Ill have a look at that and see if I can cut a bit out or just ride longer :)

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Andy Terry
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Post by Andy Terry » 19 Apr 2014 12:09

Andy

There's a list of cafes on the Beacon web site here:
http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/resources/cafes/index.html

I've been putting together my own list based on the last 2 or 3 years club runs:
http://andyterry.com/maps/cafe.locations.html

As you can see - they are not all in the South.

What I usually do is choose the date and destination (your choice!) then get on a route planning web site e.g. RideWithGPS to plan the route along these lines.

- distance according to club run guidelines
http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/club_runs/sunday/index.html
look at the distance as the crow flies - that will tell you if you need a roundabout route or a fairly direct one
- avoid 'A' roads
- minimise 'B' roads
- longer out than back (but not by too much)
- avoid out and back on the same bit of road
- put in one or two hills
- download to your Garmin
- job done

You can get ideas from other people's routes and the more club runs you go on, the more you learn. So pay attention to where you are going, even when you're not leading. Or look on Strava afterwards to see where you went.

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Post by laurence_cooley » 19 Apr 2014 12:34

I don't think Andy (C) meant that club runs always go south, so much as they never go directly north, which is presumably because of the difficulty and annoyance of getting through Birmingham. This is quite a good route to Cannock Chase Visitors Centre: http://www.strava.com/activities/103483030. The first and last parts of the ride from Northfield wouldn't be very nice though.

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Andy Terry
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Post by Andy Terry » 19 Apr 2014 12:47

... and there's always Halfpenny Green Airport

Andy_Craddock
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Post by Andy_Craddock » 19 Apr 2014 17:46

laurence_cooley wrote:I don't think Andy (C) meant that club runs always go south, so much as they never go directly north, which is presumably because of the difficulty and annoyance of getting through Birmingham. This is quite a good route to Cannock Chase Visitors Centre: http://www.strava.com/activities/103483030. The first and last parts of the ride from Northfield wouldn't be very nice though.
Cheers Laurence, Cannock chase was exactly where I was thinking as been going there a bit lately with work, agree getting out of Birmingham isn't great but doable. I might give it a go over the coming weeks.

Thanks Andy, only issue regarding me doing more club runs is I'm limited on when I can ride Sundays due to other commitments so I'd rather just lead when I can to help out.

bobg
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Destination

Post by bobg » 19 Apr 2014 20:08

Hi. Andy.
Revills farm shop at Defford (nr. Upton) is a cycling friendly café, it was our first stop on my 100m ride last year, and I clocked just 32miles from the Black Horse. Don't know if it has ever been a Beacon destination.

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