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Cycling
lf you’re up and about early(ish) on a Saturday or Sunday morning you may have noticed a gathering of cyclists in their most colourful Lycra kit at the ‘French café’ at the top of the Parade.
Crystal Palace has long been a hub of cycling activity - the gateway to the rolling hills of Kent where many of South London’s racing cyclists do their regular training rides. Within an hour you can be riding through country lanes. tackling the testing slopes of Ide Hill and Toys Hill, or racing through the sleepy villages of Hever and Chiddingstone.
A number of cycling clubs are located in the area, the main one being Dulwich Paragon, who describe themselves as “an easy-going South- London-based club with no hang- ups."
The Paragon (as they are known to local bikies) organise the sociable Saturday ride that gathers at 9am every week at Café St Germain, leaving 15 minutes later for “a 2-2 ½” hour ride at a steady pace aimed at road cyclists just getting into group riding. those looking for something fairly gentle and racing cyclists looking for an easy spin before their Sunday race". Non- members are invited to come along and have a few taster rides. but if you are going on a regular basis you will be expected to join the club.
This ride aims at a 15 mph average speed and the route is fixed at a 30- mile round trip out through West Wickham and into the country lanes around Downe.
There is also an earlier Saturday ride aimed at the racing or ‘sportive' (semi» competitive long distance events that are becoming hugely popular in the UK) cyclist, leaving Café St Germain at 8.15am and covering 50 to 60 miles at a fairly brisk pace. Other rides, which bring together a broad range of local cyclists, set off from the same venue on a Sunday morning, around 9-9.30am.
lf you arrive around 9ish with bike and kit you should be able to discuss the options over a coffee and croissant. Other local clubs include Sydenham Wheelers.VC Londres (VCL), Anerley BC. Catford CC, Brixton Cycles and the massively popular Addiscombe CC who boast the "UK`s biggest weekly bike ride", regularly attracting over 100 cyclists on their Saturday morning training ride that starts further afield at Coulsdon South railway station. lf you want to race (either road. track, time-trialling or cyclo-cross) any of these clubs will be able to point you in the right direction.
The local race takes place in Crystal Palace Park on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. While catering for different levels of racing experience, you will need a racing licence from the British Cycling Federation (BCP) to compete. Down the other side of the hill is another gem for South London cyclists - the famous Herne Hill Velodrome. home to track cycling events at the 1948 Olympics and now a frenzy of cycling activity on most evenings and Saturday mornings between March and October.
The stadium. in Burbage Road. is managed by the VCL club who provide highly experienced coaches to run all training.
The Saturday morning sessions are the highlight of the week and are open to all, starting with induction at 9am for those new to track cycling and continuing with a novice and youth training and then a more serious session for the headbangers from 10.30am to 1pm. Special track bikes can be hired at the venue and there's a great little café doing bacon sarnies, tea and cake for resting riders and spectators. These sessions will start again on 7 March.There are also special sessions for road bikes (Tuesdays) and women and kids (Fridays) throughout the summer.
Many of our top cyclists started out here, including Olympic Gold Medal hero Bradley Wiggins and some of them can be seen racing in earnest at the annual Good Friday meeting (look out for a special report in The Transmitter soon). The velodrorne is also home to the Herne Hill Youth Cycling Club, for boys and girls from 6- 16yrs. who use the area around the track for mountain bike racing and training on a Saturday morning (from 10am. starting again on 17 January) and who also organise rides and events further afield for kids and their families.
© Bob Townley, The Transmitter, Issue 4
Crystal Palace has long been a hub of cycling activity - the gateway to the rolling hills of Kent where many of South London’s racing cyclists do their regular training rides. Within an hour you can be riding through country lanes. tackling the testing slopes of Ide Hill and Toys Hill, or racing through the sleepy villages of Hever and Chiddingstone.
A number of cycling clubs are located in the area, the main one being Dulwich Paragon, who describe themselves as “an easy-going South- London-based club with no hang- ups." The Paragon (as they are known to local bikies) organise the sociable Saturday ride that gathers at 9am every week at Café St Germain, leaving 15 minutes later for “a 2-2 ½” hour ride at a steady pace aimed at road cyclists just getting into group riding. those looking for something fairly gentle and racing cyclists looking for an easy spin before their Sunday race". Non- members are invited to come along and have a few taster rides. but if you are going on a regular basis you will be expected to join the club.
This ride aims at a 15 mph average speed and the route is fixed at a 30- mile round trip out through West Wickham and into the country lanes around Downe.
There is also an earlier Saturday ride aimed at the racing or ‘sportive' (semi» competitive long distance events that are becoming hugely popular in the UK) cyclist, leaving Café St Germain at 8.15am and covering 50 to 60 miles at a fairly brisk pace. Other rides, which bring together a broad range of local cyclists, set off from the same venue on a Sunday morning, around 9-9.30am.
lf you arrive around 9ish with bike and kit you should be able to discuss the options over a coffee and croissant. Other local clubs include Sydenham Wheelers.VC Londres (VCL), Anerley BC. Catford CC, Brixton Cycles and the massively popular Addiscombe CC who boast the "UK`s biggest weekly bike ride", regularly attracting over 100 cyclists on their Saturday morning training ride that starts further afield at Coulsdon South railway station. lf you want to race (either road. track, time-trialling or cyclo-cross) any of these clubs will be able to point you in the right direction.
The local race takes place in Crystal Palace Park on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. While catering for different levels of racing experience, you will need a racing licence from the British Cycling Federation (BCP) to compete. Down the other side of the hill is another gem for South London cyclists - the famous Herne Hill Velodrome. home to track cycling events at the 1948 Olympics and now a frenzy of cycling activity on most evenings and Saturday mornings between March and October.
The stadium. in Burbage Road. is managed by the VCL club who provide highly experienced coaches to run all training.
The Saturday morning sessions are the highlight of the week and are open to all, starting with induction at 9am for those new to track cycling and continuing with a novice and youth training and then a more serious session for the headbangers from 10.30am to 1pm. Special track bikes can be hired at the venue and there's a great little café doing bacon sarnies, tea and cake for resting riders and spectators. These sessions will start again on 7 March.There are also special sessions for road bikes (Tuesdays) and women and kids (Fridays) throughout the summer.
Many of our top cyclists started out here, including Olympic Gold Medal hero Bradley Wiggins and some of them can be seen racing in earnest at the annual Good Friday meeting (look out for a special report in The Transmitter soon). The velodrorne is also home to the Herne Hill Youth Cycling Club, for boys and girls from 6- 16yrs. who use the area around the track for mountain bike racing and training on a Saturday morning (from 10am. starting again on 17 January) and who also organise rides and events further afield for kids and their families.
© Bob Townley, The Transmitter, Issue 4