Forge London CC

WHO/WHAT:

Forge London CC (Forge) is the friendliest cycling club in southwest London. We’re passionate about enjoying the ride and open to all adult cyclists.

We are: inclusive, fun, social, up for a challenge, curious about finding new roads and new places, we want to broaden our horizons, ride safely and be fit while becoming healthier, happier and maybe even faster. If some of that sounds interesting, then come and join us.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcome riders of wide abilities and experience. 

Whatever your personal goal, if you want to, you can share it with the club. We want to help you get there and celebrate with you when you achieve it. Every three months, all riders are invited to share their goal and the whole club rallies around to help you achieve it.

RESTRICTIONS:
We have members aged from 16 to over 70. We accept membership for over 18s, if you are under 18 you can ride for free but you need to be accompanied with a parent or guardian while riding with Forge.

WHEN/WHERE:

The club organises rides a minimum of three times a week, with varying routes, target speeds and distances. You simply choose the ride you want to commit to and put your name forward. You can commit to all of the rides or just come along on the occasional spin.

• Every Sunday: the bedrock of every cycling club, the Sunday ride is a great chance to head into the countryside, try new routes and roads, stop at a designated coffee stop and be back by lunchtime. We meet at 9am by the Shrubsole maiden and child statue in Kingston Market Place. Rides vary from 60km-80km for the FL1 groups up to 90-120km for the FL3 and FL4 groups. 

• Every Thursday Evening: in summer this is usually a shorter, flatter and faster ride to sharpen your fitness and speed, meeting at 6:30 by the Shrubsole statue in Kingston Market Place. We are also lucky enough to be right next to the beautiful Richmond Park and during the winter we ride group laps of the Park every Thursday evening, before retreating to the warmth of a local pub, meeting at 6:30 by Kingston Gate.

• Every Saturday: there will almost always be an informal Saturday ride. Stay tuned to the club’s Slack ‘RIDE_SATURDAY’ channel where individuals plan and bring a group and route together 

• Throughout the week: keep an eye on our Forge Slack app where individuals or smaller groups organise other week-day informal rides.

Everyone’s ride is important, and we split our rides into four categories, based on an expected average speed. Remember, you travel further and faster in a group ride and you can move between groups each week. Typically, a New Joiner joins a FL1 or FL2 ride.

On a flat ride the expected average speeds are
FL1 - Forge 1 is a social ride - expected average speed of 24kmph (15mph)
FL2 – an expected average speed of 27kmph (17mph)
FL3 – an expected average speed of 30kmph (19mph)
FL4 – Our fastest group, 34kmph+ (21mph+)
 

HOW MUCH:

Annual membership is renewed every April and is £24 per annum. This covers our British Cycling Affiliation and all running costs (website, email, our AGM). You need to be a paid and signed up member of Forge each year to be able to vote for the Committee team and to be involved in our annual AGM. If you have any financial difficulties with the membership fees, you can apply via our Club Secretary for a dispensation consideration.

BOOKING/CONTACT DETAILS:

Simply email info@forgelondon.cc. Tell us a little about yourself, your riding experience and your level of fitness. It would be great to understand why you want to join Forge. We will email you right back, answer any of your questions and suggest a Sunday ride and group that seems to best suit your requirements. Don’t worry, if it’s too fast or too slow, you can easily move between groups each week. There’s no commitment and no obligation. If you like your New Joiner ride, sign up and become a member.
For more information: www.forgelondon.cc