Dirty Weekend Blog - London Cycling Club And Social Group Rides – Page 5

Hell Of The Ashdown Route Breakdown

February 02, 2022

The Hell Of The Ashdown is the best early season sportive in the South East of England and it's back for 2022!

Taking on 10 tough Kent climbs, with a new start and end point at Westerham Brewery, Sunday the 27th Feb is set to be a great day!

The event is currently sold out, but should 100% be on your list for next year if you missed out. If you're riding then check out our route breakdown below.

I have ridden the HOTA route many times, so the below musings are made up of my memories and some general Strava segment searching. You can scroll to the bottom to see my ride data from the 2019 HOTA challenge, for reference.

And if you need some help to train for the event then we have some HOTA training rides, hill rep sessions and other events on our members app. Join the community (28 days free in Feb) and get stuck in!

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Dirty Wknd Membership Partner - 20% Off Attacus

February 02, 2022

Our club kit partner Attacus make some of the finest cycling garms around, and we're proud to call them friends and allies!

As such, they're giving our members a great 20% off their kit site wide!

This 20% cycling kit discount is for members only and a great way to get yourself some much coveted Attacus kit.

Members can log into the 'Members App' to access the discount code.

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London To Bruges For Christmas: A Ride Report

January 24, 2022

Anyone who has ridden with me before will have heard me talk at length about the beauty of bike touring (sorry about that). I could talk about it for hours because it's probably my favourite type of cycling. Riding from point A to point B with everything you need to survive on your back brings a very real sense of freedom. Not only are powering yourself - you're carrying your home (tent) clothes (spare bib shorts) and supplies (Clif Bars). You can go anywhere and do anything and that's a pretty special prospect.

When my family decided to have Christmas in Bruges this year it took me about 0.1 nanoseconds to decide I was going to cycle there. The thought of setting off from home with all your kit and riding across countries has always appealed to me, and before looking at the logistics I'd made up my mind. Luckily when I did eventually look up the logistics (roughly 4 days before setting off), it turned out to be a pretty simple ride. 230km give or take a few from Dirty Wknd Towers in Hackney to the Grote Markt in Bruges. On December 23rd. Easy peasy.

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Beginner's Guide To Winter Cycling Kit

January 11, 2022

As long as you have the right kit there aren't many weathers you can't cycle in (of course, please be careful/stay indoors during really heavy rain/snow/ice). And yes, we know; more kit to buy! This burgeoning cycling addiction is really crippling your bank account.

But think of it as an investment - winter kit is hard wearing so should last you a few seasons, and if it means you can keep doing the thing that you love all winter, then that's pretty great!

Over the many years I've been cycling I've bought some truly terrible bits of kit. This guide will hopefully help you to avoid those mistakes, and buy the 'right' bits of kit that you will actually use over and over again.

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A Beginner's Journey - How Health Problems Got Me Into Cycling

November 03, 2021

Two years ago today I was diagnosed with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. That’s why I started cycling – and it saved me, physically and mentally. It also gave me a community and freedom that I truly cherish and want to bring to others.

I was four months into a graduate job as a trainee solicitor and life was good. I spent most weekends like your average yuppie: drunk on Clapham Common with no real regard for my health. Exercise? I don’t know her.

On 9 July, the evening after an annual health check-up, I got a call from a private number. “Amol, I told you I’d call you if there was anything unusual on your blood tests. I’m sorry to tell you there may be something wrong with your liver.” I had early stage Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. It was manageable, but if I didn’t make significant, healthy changes to my lifestyle I would die early.

I was determined to beat it, including by starting to exercise. But how could I carve out an hour each day when work already left me with no time? I decided to try commuting to work on a Boris bike. Google Maps told me the 6 km each way would take half an hour – the same as my Central line commute and about as sweaty (lucky my office has showers).

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Haute Route Ventoux 2021 Ride Report

October 22, 2021

Haute Route cycling events exist to offer the amateur club cyclist a high level, professional cycling experience. Multi day stage races, from 3 to 7 days, with all the trimmings you would expect from watching (too much) Tour de France on TV.

From aggregate General Classification timings and motorcycle outriders to post stage massage, it's not your average Sunday sportive.

Two weeks ago I took part in the Haute Route Ventoux 3 day weekend. Reflecting on the event now that my legs have recovered, I have to admit that it was one of the best cycling experiences of my life.

I wasn’t expecting that, for a few reasons. I think I was expecting the event to be a bit on the serious side, with lots of serious riders all taking themselves very seriously.

And it was a serious event. 285km and 8000 metres of climbing in a weekend is serious.

We'd all trained hard for the ride and wanted to do our best. Unlike some other events I've ridden in the past, I didn't see anyone downing rosé the night before stage one!

However the fact that riders were focused didn't stop everyone socialising, helping each other out and mixing well. The balance was good, which I was very thankful for.

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