After the great success* of our first ‘Commute to Club’ programme, we’d like to welcome another group of women into club riding with Dulwich Paragon. We’re recruiting now for Cohort 2, a group of 10-12 riders to start in March.
Commute to Club is a programme of rides designed to provide a route into club cycling for women who are regular commuters by bike or who currently do weekend rides of about 30-40km (18-25 miles).
To find out more and book your place please email commutetoclub@dulwichparagon.com.
*Don’t just take our word for it – here’s what some of Cohort 1 had to say:
“Thanks so much for all the encouragement to cycle harder, better, and faster. I’m so glad I did it and am really pleased to have met cycle friends to keep pedalling with.”
“What a lovely route! Just finished an enormous pizza to recover.”
“Huffed and puffed up the hills for several minutes but the pleasure lasted for hours. Lovely ride.”
Jen, one of the 2021 group (seen in the photo in the orange top) shared her personal experience of the programme for our club newsletter. Here’s what she wrote:
At the end of September, a small group of us signed up for the new ‘Commute to Club’ programme, aimed at encouraging more women to join their club, and build their confidence and stamina whilst doing so. Most of us were commuters, used to solo riding, and normally shorter distances. Regardless, we were eager to get started and go out for our first ride!
We set off for our first ride (30km) on a sunny day in early October, and at the end of it were looking forward to the rides to come (perhaps rather naively – we’ve sometimes climbed more hills in one ride than we have all month!). As the rides got longer and tougher, we began to realise what we had let ourselves in for, and suddenly that final 80km ride didn’t seem so exciting after all – had we made a big mistake? Would Kathryn forgive us if we all sacked off the ride and went for a pizza instead? Tempting, tempting…
The C2C group took each and every ride in their stride, smashing both Strava and personal bests, and forming strong relationships with one another as well as DPCC members. We’ve bonded over cycling (obviously), an appreciation for WFH, and good places to eat locally. We’ve developed one another’s confidence, and shared knowledge about the best bike shops and clothing brands. The views and little villages we’ve seen whilst cycling round Surrey and Kent have been stunning, and are completely worth the effort required to get to them. Cycling to and then around (x2) Richmond Park was another highlight, and we even saw a deer (quite a change from the rats in Crystal Palace Park!). All of us have either joined DPCC now, or will be doing so in the New Year, and are looking forward to the rides to come.
The rides too have been successful, with only one last minute route change (potential ice risk), once cancellation (bad weather), and one serious mechanical issue (on the last leg of the Mince Pie finale ride)!
The ladies of DPCC who have supported us on the rides have been absolutely incredible – they stuck by and supported us down sharp declines, along narrow roads, and up the steepest of hills. We could not have done this without them, and a special thanks has to go to Kathryn and Libby for organising the C2C – it has been a fantastic experience!