Join In Stafford
Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July mark a celebration of local sport as Stafford Borough Council and Sport Across Staffordshire launch Join In – a national campaign to provide a programme of sporting events across the UK to coincide with the 12 month anniversary of the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Last summer, the UK’s first Join In was hailed as the country’s biggest celebration of local sport. The goal this year is to encourage people across the UK to come together and celebrate where it all began for all our Olympians – their local sports clubs. Over 300,000 people took part in a Join In event with over 30,000 clubs, creating over 30,000 new volunteers.
There are a number of opportunities for everyone to ‘join in’ a number of different sports in Stafford Borough on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July and Stafford Road Club are proud to linking our weekend club rides with this initiative.
Saturday features two rides that are suitable for newcomers to group riding. The first is for anyone aged 13 and over and covers 25-30 miles at an average of 13-14 mph. Every Stafford Road Club group ride has a designated Ride Leader who will ensure that guest riders are firstly made welcome, and secondly, looked after on the ride. The ride starts every Saturday morning at 9.30am from the bus shelter on the Cannock Road outside of the old Police HQ, just a few yards from the top of Radford Bank.
If a steadier ride at an average 11 mph with a café stop at half the 20-25 mile distance sounds more to your liking, then the Saturday afternoon ride could be the one for you. This ride leaves from the Kingsway pavement at the back of Stafford Rugby Club at 2 p.m. and returns to town before 5.30 p.m. This ride is more suitable if you would be happier at a more leisurely pace and can also accommodate riders under 13 if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
All guests on these rides will need to complete a Guest Rider Form to ensure they are covered on the club’s insurance policy. This can be downloaded from the SRC website, or obtained from the Ride Leader and completed at the start of the ride. Riders also need to ensure that their bikes are roadworthy, bring a drink and something to eat (and money if on a ride with a cafe stop) and wear suitable clothing for the weather.
For budding Tour de France riders and others with a competitive streak, Stafford Road Club will be running two “Come and Give It A Go” road time trial races in August this year. These events, on Sunday 4th and Sunday 11th August, are especially for novice time trial racers, or bike riders who would like to experience the thrill of racing in a time trial. Youngsters, 12 years and above, and women are especially welcome. The time trial is an event where riders are set off at one minute intervals and have to ride on their own, against the clock; and this course is especially well suited to newcomers to the event – it is mostly downhill and short, at just under 5 miles in length.
Signing-on for these events is from 12.30pm at Great Bridgeford Village Hall, with the course start at Woodseaves and running back along the Woodseaves Road towards Great Bridgeford.
So, if you enjoy riding your bike and would like to try riding in the company of a group of like-minded individuals, why not come and try one of our group rides or novice races? We have active members of all ages and an expanding group of women riders to welcome you!
More information can be found at Join In Stafford; Introductory Ride; Family Ride
