1) I'm very happy for more people to add their routes to the thread I started last summer to build up a bank of possible rides (in fact, I've been a bit surprised that nobody has added to it already)
2) I don't know how feasible it is to organise a rota with routes and ride leaders decided a whole month in advance, not least because of the vagaries of the English weather, but it would be good to get things settled by Thursday or Friday each week so that this can be publicised via the main Facebook page. At the moment, Steve M posts the default message each week with the same reference to 'a chaingang', but there's no guarantee that it's happening or indication of the route / distance / pace - it would be much better if we could put this info out there.
3) There may well be a case for two fast groups. A moderately brisk one (say 17-18mph) and brutal training one (say 19-20mph). Obviously this depends on numbers. It also depends on time of year - are people getting ready for the racing season or winding down for Christmas? All kinds of other factors kick in as well - some people might have race on the Saturday and just want a recovery ride on the Sunday, some people might be preparing for a lengthy sportive / Ride London and want to do a longer ride than just 55 miles, some people might specifically want to do lots of climbing or lots of sprints or through and off.... If this can be discussed and sorted out midweek, it would definitely be an improvement.
Anyway, let's move the discussion here so that more people can take part...
@JamieF
My thoughts on these points:
1) I'm very happy for more people to add their routes to the thread I started last summer to build up a bank of possible rides (in fact, I've been a bit surprised that nobody has added to it already)
2) I don't know how feasible it is to organise a rota with routes and ride leaders decided a whole month in advance, not least because of the vagaries of the English weather, but it would be good to get things settled by Thursday or Friday each week so that this can be publicised via the main Facebook page. At the moment, Steve M posts the default message each week with the same reference to 'a chaingang', but there's no guarantee that it's happening or indication of the route / distance / pace - it would be much better if we could put this info out there.
3) There may well be a case for two fast groups. A moderately brisk one (say 17-18mph) and brutal training one (say 19-20mph). Obviously this depends on numbers. It also depends on time of year - are people getting ready for the racing season or winding down for Christmas? All kinds of other factors kick in as well - some people might have race on the Saturday and just want a recovery ride on the Sunday, some people might be preparing for a lengthy sportive / Ride London and want to do a longer ride than just 55 miles, some people might specifically want to do lots of climbing or lots of sprints or through and off.... If this can be discussed and sorted out midweek, it would definitely be an improvement.
Anyway, let's move the discussion here so that more people can take part...