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After doubling our female membership in 2015, we are pleased to announce that the trend has continued and we have now trebled that number to an impressive 66!

Already boasting a place in the Bike5050’s women friendly list, women make up around 40% of the Condors membership base, and the racing hasn’t stopped just because the sunshine has. Swapping slicks for nobblies, our esteemed Prezza Chezza and Becci Curtis and have been braving the rain and mud to try out cyclocross – read Becci’s report of her first race in the Wessex Cyclocross League here.

Women’s road racing starts again this weekend at the Abingdon Airfield Winter Crit Series, and we’re proud to have three Condor ladies signed up for the first race. Check out the women’s section of the website, and get in touch if you’re interested in racing!

The summer sessions were a massive success and helped us reach out to lots of female riders around Oxfordshire. Another course is planned for the spring to get more women on their bikes in time for the summer! Keep an eye on the website for details…

We’d like to say a big thank you to all club members, both male and female, for creating such a welcoming environment for new riders – we really are the friendliest club in Oxford!

Shocking news revealed at AGM

Mike D has revealed that far from being a bronzed adonis passed through time like a topless version of Doctor Who, he is actually just like the rest of us!

Women currently make up over one third of the membership base, an excellent achievement for a mixed road cycling club. In fact we’re currently listed as one of the top 3 mixed clubs on Bike5050’s women friendly list!

This is due to the success of the summer sessions and the welcoming environment created by existing club members, both male and female. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone involved – we really are the friendliest club in Oxford 🙂

We’re not finished yet though! With two more summer sessions left to go and another newbies ride scheduled, we’d love to continue growing this side of the club. The more the merrier!

Check out the newbies ride on Saturday 22 August – we’ll be stopping off for coffee and cake! 🙂 

For those ladies out there interested in racing, you’ll be pleased to hear that we are keen to grow and build on this year’s fantastic race and time trial achievements. Keep an eye out for a news update explaining what we’ve been up to and our plans for winter training!

Hope to see you out for a ride soon 🙂

Cheryl

Update 15th July – Fully Booked!

The course has been an overwhelming success and is now fully booked.  Fear not though, we plan to run another one early next year, and we’re also investigating adding a new slower paced ride to the regular rides, so keep an eye on the facebook group for details of all of that.

Introduction

Are you thinking about joining a road cycling club, but not sure if you are fit enough? Have you enjoyed coming out for a Condor social or newbies ride but found it quite a challenge? Then this course is for you!

Here at the Condors we recognise that there can be a big jump up when joining a cycling club, and that some riders would enjoy a more gradual introduction. So we’ve come up with a programme designed to help.

What the course involves

Over the course of 8 weeks, we’ll take you out into the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside on rides designed to build fitness and stamina. Starting with 25 flattish miles, we’ll build up distance and climbing elevation, culminating in a sneak preview of a large section of the Bike Oxford 50 route. Each session will have a designated topic, where more experienced members of the club will share general tips and advice with you on the different skill areas.

All rides will start at Beeline Bicycles and finish at Rick’s cafe for post ride refreshments and debrief.

With the brighter evenings and warmer weather, this is a great time of year to work on taking your cycling to the next level in a supportive environment.

Come and join us!

Cheryl and Jo

PS: We’ve set up this facebook event for the sessions too, feel free to post any questions there too 🙂

FAQ

What level of fitness do I need to be at?

These sessions are not designed for complete beginners, or those just getting back on their bikes after many years. Ideally you should be riding around town or to work regularly and have a reasonable level of fitness, e.g. be able to ride comfortably for 20-25 miles. A good benchmark would be if you have gone out with the Isis ladies on a ride and felt they were too slow for you. Alternatively, you might have fitness from doing other regular sport, e.g. running. If you are not sure, please contact us at [email protected] and we will chat this through with you.

Are hybrids okay?

For these sessions, yes we welcome riders with hybrids. Ultimately the Condors is a road cycling club and you will find that all members have a road bike. If you are thinking about upgrading and joining a club but not sure if it’s for you, this course is a fantastic opportunity to try it out! Our members have lots of experience with buying bikes and are happy to give advice and guidance during or following the course.

What do I need to bring with me?

Definitely your bike and helmet! The usual things you would normally take out (phone, money, keys), plus a bottle of water/energy drink and a small snack. Something that can be stuffed in a pocket and doesn’t melt is ideal (think flapjack or cereal bar, rather than chocolate). Please try to bring some bike maintenance essentials: inner tube, tyre lever, a pump, and a spanner if you need one to take your wheel off. We will do our best to help with mechanical problems that crop up during the ride.

What should I wear?

Keep an eye on the weather forecast, but generally we would expect it to be very warm in the July and August evenings. So leave the big commuter coat and fleecy tights at home! If you have a lightweight rain jacket you can stuff in a pocket or padded shorts then that’s an added bonus.

What if I can’t make every session?

Don’t worry, we know that people have holidays booked or life sometimes just gets in the way! We hope you can make as many sessions as you are able to, and to do some ‘homework’ by going out yourself on other evenings and/or at the weekend. That way you will get the most out of this experience. We are happy to share the routes we’re doing so you can try them solo or with your new found chums!

What if I’m too slow?

Firstly, no one will be dropped on these rides, so please don’t worry about getting left behind.

Over the course we aim to gradually increase the pace as fitness levels improve. To start with, we will aim to pitch this at approx 13/14 mph on the flat, and obviously less on the hills.

If you are really struggling then we will discuss this with you. It might make sense for you to you take some time out to work on your fitness before joining the next course. Hopefully though this won’t happen as the routes are designed to ease you in gently.

What if I’m too fast?

Then you are ready to join the club and should check out the next social ride!

Will there be men there?

These sessions for designed for women and will be run by women. However you might find a Condor fella or two present during some of the rides – they have lots of experience and can offer great advice on the different skill topics.  The condors is a mixed cycling club, and while we do run some women’s only rides, the majority would be mixed.

Is this free?!

YES!

Do I need to book?

No, please just turn up on the day. Please be sure to arrive 15 minutes before the designated start time for a pre-ride briefing.

For us to get an idea of numbers, we would appreciate if you would please join the facebook event group here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1081995318496596/

Is this covered by insurance?

As with any bike ride on a public road you need to ensure that you have a level of insurance you are happy with. We’d recommend any cyclist riding on a public highway to have 3rd party liability insurance (to cover you in case of an accident involving a pedestrian, motorist or another cyclist). You may also want insurance to cover your bike in case of damage or theft. This type of cover may well be part of your existing household insurance policy, or can normally be added reasonably inexpensively to your policy if not.

What happens at the end?

There is no obligation to do so, but we hope that you’ve enjoyed cycling with us so much, that you sign up to join the Condor family 🙂

What if I have a question not answered here?

Please contact us at [email protected]

This five lady team, led by our two Women’s Officers Laura Cee and Cheryl Reid, are dedicated to further developing our already booming women’s presence.

One of the Condors’ main aims for the 2015 season is to become the number one club for women road-cyclists in Oxford and the Women’s Committee will be working hard to help us achieve this.

The main goals of the committee are to expand the female membership of the club, welcome new women members, support both new and experienced women riders and to manage the women specific areas of the club such as the Condors’ Women’s Race Team.

We’ve also launched a brand new Women’s section of the website. We’ve created those pages to act as a hub of information for our women members, and for those ladies who are thinking of riding with us, so we can provide a bit more detail about some of the awesome things the club is currently involved in.

We hope that these exciting new developments will allow us welcome ever more women riders to the Condors and help the us continue to lead the charge in transforming road-cycling from its traditional male-dominated status into a sport enjoyed equally by all.

The Condor ladies are not shy of a challenge and this year we have a team of at least 10 women who are happy to have a go at competition. Ranging from seasoned racers to first time newbies it seemed fitting that a local 3^rd / 4^th category women’s race supporting a local club would be a good race to try. So the 53 mile Bicester Millennium Woodstock Classic Women’s Road Race was entered by 8 willing ladies. None of the first timers seemed discouraged by the distance and signed up anyway. Although we found out later that one of our members actually thought she was signing up for a Sportive! When informed that it was actually a road race, she was nonplussed and was still up for it, awesome!  A week before the race it was announced that the distance would be reduced to 38 miles, so 5 laps instead of 7 which depending on your viewpoint could be good or bad!

Pre-race reconnaissance missions complete, race day arrived and we were the biggest team in the event all looking brilliant in our pink and black kit. After a bit of a warmup we had the usual race briefing about what to do and what not to do, and after a little pep talk from the guest of honour Nicole Cooke it was time to get racing.

And were off! With a field of around 50 riders, the race was neutralised for the first mile or 2 until we actually hit the course, and as ever with road racing you never know how the pace is going to be. Probably due to the reduced distance many of the girls were chomping at the bit to get going, leading to speeds of over 20mph behind the lead car before the race had even started. Once the flag was pulled into the lead car and the racing started proper the speed instantly went up to around 25mph as we continued down the wide main road.

As we had pre-ridden the course we knew that half the course was on A/B roads and the other half was on technical single track roads with sharp bends and short but sharp climbs thrown in too so it was a good idea to try and be close to the front of the peloton when the race hit the single track. Unfortunately everyone else had this idea too. As we hit the first junction onto the single track trying to avoid the treacherous gravel on the bend the stronger girls who had been driving the pace at the front pushed hard and the field was split in half as they sprinted away. Aimee, Laura & Ruth were best positioned and after a bit of a hairy moment at the junction with some not keeping their line they managed to stay with the leading group. Aimee was obviously the strongest of the Condor ladies today holding her position near the front of the group and never seeming to falter. Laura was struggling a bit but was managing to keep in the lead group, sometimes going off the back a little but using her experience to jump on the wheel of someone else for a tow or using her down hilling prowess to get back on. Ruth struggled a bit on the 2^nd lap and went off the back on the hilly section and we thought that was the last we’d seen of her but by lap 3 she was back, what an amazing recovery!

In the lead group the pace was kept high for the rest of the race, lulling now and again to allow just a little rest then it would be off again. 25-28mph on the flat and 35mph+ downhill were not uncommon speeds. This continued for the rest of the race, the pace was kept high, coupled with a strong headwind in places meant that no breaks were getting away. When a break looked like it was about to go on the single track section it was thwarted by oncoming traffic and that was the end of that. On the final climb of the last lap the pace in the front group increased and Laura lost contact with the leading group but worked with a couple of other riders to limit her losses. Meanwhile Aimee was lining herself up for the final sprint and got herself into a good position and came in 4^th overall. Result!  Laura came in not long after for a top 20 finish but not before being challenged to the line by one of the girls she’d been riding with, but she managed to hold her off and came across the line a few feet in front! Ruth was next over the line shortly after followed by Tyra a few minutes later.

Further back down the field the rest of the Condor ladies were doing the club proud, it didn’t matter that they were no longer in the lead group they all worked as hard as possible to complete the race as a race and there was no let up. Many of the ladies recorded their fastest rides to date and worked together and with other teams to finish the race. When you’re new to racing just getting round the course can be an achievement in itself, and the club is proud that none of our team dropped out or even let up the effort which would have been the easy option.

The whole team were also thrilled by the support and cheering from a large gathering of Condor members who had taken the time especially to come out to the race to support them. Stood for the bulk of the race on the most difficult part of the course, and then the finish line shouting encouragement just when negative thoughts might be creeping in definitely gave some magic watts to find that extra spurt of energy and carry on. It was very much appreciated by all.

Rumours were abound that there was cake back at the HQ and this appeared to be enough to launch some of the team at least into a second wind and get back there as quickly as possible! Next time maybe we should have the cake at the finish line as an extra incentive!

Well done to Aimee on her 4^th place, but equally praise should be given to all our ladies that took part and showed great determination and commitment to get the race finished. Finally a big thank you to Bicester Millennium for such a great and well organised event. We’ll be back next year, hopefully in bigger numbers than this year!

Laura – Women’s Officer.

PS:  There are some awesome photos of the race here, you’ll probably need to be a member of our facebook group to see them.

And… if you’re interested in some racing yourself, why not make contact with the Condors ladies via the Condors Ladies Facebook Group?