Joining a club

tunney

I'm looking at joining a cycling club. I live about 700m from where Dublin Wheelers meet so that would seem the logical conclusion. However on their website they say :
"The racing and touring spins will have a tea stop at about 50 kilometres. The Beginners Group will also have a tea stop at approximately half-distance. No tea stop on Sunday race training spin. Bring adequate food/drink and €5 bonk money."

The racing group stops for tea???? Anyone know if this actually the case?

Morgan

You could probably have coffee if you prefer.

tunney

Morgan wrote: »

You could probably have coffee if you prefer.

Sweet I'm in then.

Raam

Just make sure to turn up with compression socks and tri-bars and you'll be grand.

ANXIOUS

What's bonk money?

manwithaplan

ANXIOUS wrote: »

What's bonk money?

Have you seen the state of some of those Wheelers?

victorcarrera

I'm not in that club but this is normal for most clubs between now and Christmas. That all changes in January. Mostly I don't do the coffee stops and just keep going and save a half hour. There will most likely be others who will do similar.

Lusk Doyle

ANXIOUS wrote: »

What's bonk money?

It's cash you get from a south side bank.

Lusk Doyle

victorcarrera wrote: »

I'm not in that club but this is normal for most clubs between now and Christmas. That all changes in January. Mostly I don't do the coffee stops and just keep going and save a half hour.

If you are in a "racing group" that stops for tea / coffee then don't expect much from your season :rolleyes:

manwithaplan

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

It's cash you get from a south side bank.

Also known as Heino vouchers.

Lumen

Every decent sized club contains antisocial coffee-stop naysayers.

You just have to recruit them out quietly without rousing the gourmands from their post-cake slumber.

Lusk Doyle

manwithaplan wrote: »

Also known as Heino vouchers.

Yawh!

tunney

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

If you are in a "racing group" that stops for tea / coffee then don't expect much from your season :rolleyes:

That was sorta my point. I went out with Wheelers once a few years back, found the pace slow and was surprised at a coffee stop. I *had* assumed this was the non-racing group but am not sure and just looking to clarify.

killalanerr

i just joined Swords http://www.swordscc.com/
There racing group doesnt stop for anyone

Lumen

killalanerr wrote: »

Their racing group doesnt stop for anyone

Harsh. :pac:

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

Harsh. :pac:

Subtle, very subtle.

thebouldwhacker

ANXIOUS wrote: »

What's bonk money?

To bonk means to run out of fuel and basically not be able to move anymore. It has only happened me twice and it ain't nice. It's like being woken up with a hangover while you have a flu at 5 in the morning and being told to cycle, except worse. Cramming sugar will resolve the issue pretty fast. Turkish Delight has saved me more than once......
Therefore bonk money is food/taxi money.

morana

Tunney I think the group is good well controlled. Sure a stop for coffee is allowed at this time of year. i was with the great Peter Morton on sunday and he said he went with them 2 weeks ago and they did 100km and it was perfect. What did you think the racing group should/would be doing in Oct?

elduggo

manwithaplan wrote: »

Have you seen the state of some of those Wheelers?

there was a thread on the wheelers on here a couple of months ago. Very indepth, mature discussion was had.

ANXIOUS

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

To bonk means to run out of fuel and basically not be able to move anymore. It has only happened me twice and it ain't nice. It's like being woken up with a hangover while you have a flu at 5 in the morning and being told to cycle, except worse. Cramming sugar will resolve the issue pretty fast. Turkish Delight has saved me more than once......
Therefore bonk money is food/taxi money.

Thanks for that, I thought it was like a subscription or something.

bcmf

killalanerr wrote: »

There racing group doesnt stop for anyone

...and he aint messing.
You get dropped 'see ya'.
You get a puncture 'see ya'
You end up in a ditch 'see ya'

ROK ON

bcmf wrote: »

...and he aint messing.
You get dropped 'see ya'.
You get a puncture 'see ya'
You end up in a ditch 'see ya'

I was out for anspin with a new club at the w/e. Some guy had a mechanical so 15 of us stopped. Does anyone else find this bizarre. Surely 1-2 guys are sufficient to stop with the victim in order to get some interval training to try and pace back onto the group. It's nuts for the entire group to stop.
When it is I who puncture I feel embarrassed if everyone stops.

Swords seem to almost have the right idea - almost.

buffalo

ROK ON wrote: »

I was out for anspin with a new club at the w/e. Some guy had a mechanical so 15 of us stopped. Does anyone else find this bizarre. Surely 1-2 guys are sufficient to stop with the victim in order to get some interval training to try and pace back onto the group. It's nuts for the entire group to stop.
When it is I who puncture I feel embarrassed if everyone stops.

Swords seem to almost have the right idea - almost.

That's my Orwellian experience - 1-2 guys stop and help out, and the rest of the group roll along until everyone's back together again.

killalanerr

bcmf wrote: »

...and he aint messing.
You get dropped 'see ya'.
You get a puncture 'see ya'
You end up in a ditch 'see ya'

AH to be fair we do wait,only last week we all stopped till a guy got sorted and the pace was spot on for the time of year its a supper group to train with if your thinking of given the racing a go

bcmf

killalanerr wrote: »

AH to be fair we do wait,only last week we all stopped till a guy got sorted and the pace was spot on for the time of year its a supper group to train with if your thinking of given the racing a go

Typical...the week I wasnt out.

billyhead

killalanerr wrote: »

AH to be fair we do wait,only last week we all stopped till a guy got sorted and the pace was spot on for the time of year its a supper group to train with if your thinking of given the racing a go

I am joining Swords cc too but I have heard good reviews about the Stamullen club further north. There supposed to have a good calibre/standard of road racing members where as Swords CC is a more welcoming homely club for all standards.

killalanerr

billyhead wrote: »

I am joining Swords cc too but I have heard good reviews about the Stamullen club further north. There supposed to have a good calibre/standard of road racing members where as Swords CC is a more welcoming homely club for all standards.

The saturday group have split since last week the 8.30 group continue as normal the 2nd group meet in skerries and is to run for the next few weeks the details are on the website

billyhead

killalanerr wrote: »

The saturday group have split since last week the 8.30 group continue as normal the 2nd group meet in skerries and is to run for the next few weeks the details are on the website

Cheers. I average about 28km an hour atm on my spins as i have only started getting back into cycling since July after a lengthy lay off. Would the Skerries group be a little slower then the normal 8.30am stampede?

killalanerr

billyhead wrote: »

Cheers. I average about 28km an hour atm on my spins as i have only started getting back into cycling since July after a lengthy lay off. Would the Skerries group be a little slower then the normal 8.30am stampede?

If you can manage 28kph on your todd you would have no bother with the 8,30, yes the Skerries group is to be i tad slower,it ran for the first time last week i havent heard how they went

buffalo

killalanerr wrote: »

AH to be fair we do wait,only last week we all stopped till a guy got sorted and the pace was spot on for the time of year its a supper group to train with if your thinking of given the racing a go

You have a supper group? Is that a late evening spin with food stop? Sounds good to me!

petethedrummer

I'm in Dublin Wheelers but I've only been on two training spins. The first time they stopped for tea, the second time they didn't. Hope this helps.

But here is the correct answer:
http://www.dublinwheelers.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=531

You should get in touch if you have any questions. They have always been encouraging and helpful to me but I'm not much of a team player and prefer to go to Wicklow at the time of my chosing to train. They'll let you out for a taster before you have to join up.

Lusk Doyle

buffalo wrote: »

killalanerr wrote: »

AH to be fair we do wait,only last week we all stopped till a guy got sorted and the pace was spot on for the time of year its a supper group to train with if your thinking of given the racing a go

You have a supper group? Is that a late evening spin with food stop? Sounds good to me!

Hah! We actually do have a Tuesday and Thursday training spin that a select few of us do. If your names not down you're not getting in!

tunney

morana wrote: »

Tunney I think the group is good well controlled. Sure a stop for coffee is allowed at this time of year. i was with the great Peter Morton on sunday and he said he went with them 2 weeks ago and they did 100km and it was perfect. What did you think the racing group should/would be doing in Oct?

I just didn't expect faffing. Why bother? 100km in a group is what 3:15-3:20 long? You're only warmed up and you are stopping no?

thebouldwhacker

It depends why you are going on the spin, if its to advance training through hard group cycling because it will complement your individual training then yes stopping is prob not what your looking for.
However if its to complement your individual training by meeting others and pick up tips, check out equipment etc etc then the social side and therefore coffee stops would be important. Always a hard one call.

Lumen

tunney wrote: »

I just didn't expect faffing. Why bother? 100km in a group is what 3:15-3:20 long? You're only warmed up and you are stopping no?

I think you're missing the point. The objective is to get out for as long as possible and eat some cake.

Honestly, there are plenty of groups doing mental non-stop winter spins. Just find a club that's looking to field a Ras team next year and go out with them.

tunney

Lumen wrote: »

I think you're missing the point. The objective is to get out for as long as possible and eat some cake.

Honestly, there are plenty of groups doing mental non-stop winter spins. Just find a club that's looking to field a Ras team next year and go out with them.

I just want people to cycle with people who want to cycle their bikes, have fun riding their bikes, then get home as early as possible and drink coffee with their families.

DirkVoodoo

Any UCD members on boards? Bit of a cold so haven't made it to the two training spins so far, there is a lack of information on facebook and the outdated website (pfft....students!)

Is Niamh Stevens still the club captain?

Raam

tunney wrote: »

I just want people to cycle with people who want to cycle their bikes, have fun riding their bikes, then get home as early as possible and drink coffee with their families.

Sounds like the Swords Saturday 8.30 spin is the one for you.

DirkVoodoo

tunney wrote: »

I just want people to cycle with people who want to cycle their bikes, have fun riding their bikes, then get home as early as possible and drink coffee with their families.

I don't think a club is the way to go then, maybe find a friend who is on a similar wavelength?

Most clubs will pander to the masses. This means coffee stops and mid-morning starts. Personally I find even a 9am start takes a chunk out of the weekend, 7am is the way to go.

bogmanfan

Our spins always include a coffee stop, but this is about 8km from home so usually a good 70km plus done beforehand. Once or twice I've skipped it, but it's always good to sit around and have a bit of banter with clubmates

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I don't think a club is the way to go then, maybe find a friend who is on a similar wavelength?

Most clubs will pander to the masses. This means coffee stops and mid-morning starts. Personally I find even a 9am start takes a chunk out of the weekend, 7am is the way to go.

Ah, the tyranny of the majority!

There are a fair few people who like to get out and back by a reasonable time to be with their families.

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

There are a fair few people who like to get out and back by a reasonable time to be with their families.

Really? Seems a lot of them use it as an excuse to get away from their families.

People like a lie-in on a saturday, but they want to go cycling, but not cycle too much so that they get grief for being away all weekend, but they need to chat about how much grief they will likely get this weekend, over a cup of coffee with similarly minded people, all the while hoping none of them puncture on the way back home or they will receive grief from their clubmates on top of the grief from their families.

Is this really what you want tunney????

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Really? Seems a lot of them use it as an excuse to get away from their families.

That's just selection bias. You don't see the people who leave their houses at 6.30 because you're too busy sleeping off your twenty-something hangover.

chakattack

I'd love a moderately hard chain gang style ride (seems commonplace in the UK/US but not here) with a few decent climbs starting at the crack of noon.

BTH

Raam wrote: »

Sounds like the Swords Saturday 8.30 spin is the one for you.

I'd have to agree with this for you Tunney. Meet just past Swords, decent pace without being mental and no hanging about.

Must actually join Swords before I join this spin again

tunney

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I don't think a club is the way to go then, maybe find a friend who is on a similar wavelength?

Most clubs will pander to the masses. This means coffee stops and mid-morning starts. Personally I find even a 9am start takes a chunk out of the weekend, 7am is the way to go.

Yeah - at the moment I roll out around 0530 and am home for 1030 at the latest. 9am is a *little* late, but if it was beneficial I could justify it perhaps. It appears to not be beneficial.

Best get some more good music then.

tunney

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Really? Seems a lot of them use it as an excuse to get away from their families.

People like a lie-in on a saturday, but they want to go cycling, but not cycle too much so that they get grief for being away all weekend, but they need to chat about how much grief they will likely get this weekend, over a cup of coffee with similarly minded people, all the while hoping none of them puncture on the way back home or they will receive grief from their clubmates on top of the grief from their families.

Is this really what you want tunney????

No. I have now abandoned the idea of joining a club.

morana

tunney wrote: »

Yeah - at the moment I roll out around 0530 and am home for 1030 at the latest. 9am is a *little* late, but if it was beneficial I could justify it perhaps. It appears to not be beneficial.

Best get some more good music then.

5hours...are you doing the tour?

bcmf

There is a coffee stop on the Swords 8.30 spin. Its at the very end of the spin and is restricted to those who live in or close to Balrothery. Some Skerries people also come along too.

Lumen

morana wrote: »

5hours...are you doing the tour?

Ironman was created for people who crave schedule conflict.

tunney

morana wrote: »

5hours...are you doing the tour?

Lumen wrote: »

Ironman was created for people who crave schedule conflict.

Nothing to do with Ironman. By the time I get from my house to Wicklow, around a few decent climbs and back that's the guts of five hours.

I don't know North County Dublin that well to know interesting routes and that was part of my motivation for joining a club.