Ride Categories

Group Rides

This chart shows the speed categories for our club rides in mph and km/h. The speed band refers to average moving speed for the ride. Long or hilly rides will typically have a lower overall average speed.  Remember that group ride speeds are typically higher than you might be able to achieve on your own.  Rides will indicate a target elapsed time for the route and the route distance and indication of the elevation gain. We have a no-drop policy on all group rides  so the group will always ride at the slowest pace, unless agreed otherwise.

Pacelines

Speed for Paceline rides will be higher than those shown because of the short time, fast flat route and the style of riding.  They will typically average between 18 and 22mph.  They are colour coded as being suitable for riders who would normally ride that colour in a group ride.  So if you are a normal Green rider then on a Green Paceline will average 18mph.

MTB and Gravel

Off road MTB and Gravel rides may be colour coded like Pacelines but the average speeds will be much lower due to the terrain.  Again if you are a normal Blue Group rider then a Blue Off road ride should be suitable.

Downloading Routes

Ride leaders will always post a link to a route in the description of the ride. This may be in Garmin Connect, Strava, Kamoot, or RidewithGPS (but could be anything!). It's nice if you can download the route to a navigation device so you can follow the route on the ride, act as a backup for the leader and also know how to get to the cafe if you get lost! The instructions below show how to download the route as a GPX file or sync it to your device. If you download a GPX file you'll need to upload it to your software to send the route to your device.

Garmin

If the route is stored on Garmin click the ... menu to download the GPX file.  You don't need a Garmin device or account, but if you do, you can Send to Device directly from this screen.

Strava

If the route is stored on Strava, click the v button next to Duplicate to export the GPX.  Alternatively if your Strava account is linked to Garmin, Wahoo or other device, simply click Save and you can then sync to your device.

RidewithGPS

If the route is stored on RidewithGPS, click the More button to Export as File and select the format you need - GPX is usually fine for all devices.  You'll then need to load the GPX file to your device yourself.

Komoot

If the route is stored on Komoot, you will need an account before you can download the GPX file.  When that is set up you can click the Download GPX option or Send to Device if you want to navigate using the Komoot app on your phone or a Garmin device.

Loading GPX Routes to your Device

Garmin Desktop

In your Garmin Account, go to the Courses screen and click the blue Import button (not the similar icon in the top right corner!).  Drop or locate the GPX file, pick the type of route and finish saving the course.  Send the course to your device and then from the device sync using using the WIFI or phone connection.

Mobile (Garmin, Wahoo etc)

On your mobile, locate the downloaded GPX file using your preferred Files app and open it with the devices companion app.   Pick the type of route and finish saving the course and then Sync the device.

Strava

If you use Strava on your phone to navigate a route, you will need to upload the GPX file to your Strava account on the Desktop site, since the app doesn't support opening GPX files.  Create a New Route and click the up arrow button and save as usual.  You need a Premium account to be able to do this.