Go Ride at Stocks Green Saturday 25th February

 Another simple Go Ride session to get everyone back in the saddle. Short & sweet with minimal equipment but very enthusiastic coaches all fully equipped with whistles 😆.

We kicked off with some more Whistle Stop drills but incorporated the leaning technique that we tried out last week.  Then it was into two groups to continue work on group riding. Chris, Hannah & Jez worked with the older riders;two loose groups rolling round and sprinting from one to the other, then some Peel The Banana and Thread The Needle. Good controlled riding from everyone. Andrew & Gavin worked with the younger riders, focussing a bit more on the basics of good cornering, pedalling and speed control, before working on group riding too.

We all took a quick break and re-fuelled on Custard Creams before moving onto our Endurance Block.  Using the team time trial grouping that we introduced last week, riders had to complete the loop, keeping their group to together and regularly switching position within the group.  To make it a little harder, we added a baton (a water bottle or teddy) that had to travel within the group too; ideally from the back rider to the front rider but some of the groups interpreted this a little differently!

To finish the session, each group ditched their baton and completed a lap of the course flat out.

A great session and all packed up and put away before the rain set in!

Next Week: Off Site Ride to Col de Coldharbour, booking as usual via RiderHQ

Go Ride at Stocks Green 19/02/22

The sun shone down on us for our first Go Ride session of 2022. After storm Eunice the first thing to do was clear the worst of the branches and sticks that were scattered across the playground. This proved to be an excellent warm up activity :-).

Once all the riders had arrived we kicked off with a quick game of Whistle Stop, ending in a head to head elimination stand off between Tom & Oliver. Oliver maintained his crown, although Tom gave him a good run for his money.

Moving swiftly on we headed back the main playground and got to work on some group riding drills. With riders ranging in age from seven to thirteen, I was impressed that we managed to get everyone riding close and in contact in a variety of pairs and groups.  We progressed onto two groups of six riders peeling off the front of each group and dropping to the back.  We finished off with the older riders riding hand on shoulder six abreast down the playground. Excellent work by all.

For our endurance block we formed groups of three riders and practised riding in team time trial formation. With riders of different speeds and abilities it's a hard ask to keep your group riding smoothly together but everyone managed it really well. With one lap to go we rang the bell and gave everyone a chance to push themselves hard before the end of the block.

A great start to this year's Go Ride.