First of all a massive thanks from me for the sea of Blaydon CC tops on display, those who made a special effort to ‘divert’ their rides via the Quayside to come and show the world what we do. A second huge thanks to the lads who helped man the information stall today, we spoke to some great local business and people, if you’re not with us yet, we look forward to welcoming you.

We all enjoyed our day in the sun speaking to people (They seen us coming, the planners put us opposite Greggs!).

To me I think the way riding has become pretty much a second/third job for me it’s so hard to forget why you got on two wheels to start with. Today when I did my lap of the course It was at a very steady (I would almost go as far as saying slow) pace for me, when I ride to work I want to get there as soon as possible, when I ride with others I sometimes want to go faster, further and higher… A little pleasurable weave over the 7km course seeing hundreds if not thousands of others taking part reminded me why I like cycling, everyone was happy, smiles all around, young and old, all shapes, all sizes on all manners of bikes. It was simply people out in the sun enjoying being outside.

If you’re new to us check our rides option at the top of the page for a run down of what we offer, as we expand (pushing 100 members now!) we’re hoping to be able to branch out, one such option is a personal interest of ‘Audax’ riding which I’m trying to introduce to a few who want a challenge! We’ve so much in the pipeline and so many ideas and we do it simply because we love cycling. We all have full time jobs as well as the club, and it keeps us busy but, seeing people out like they were today, is it worth all the emails, texts, keeping this website up to date, explaining for the 100th time what time we meet on a Sunday, in short, yes. It’s fantastic to be a part of something that’s constantly growing, constantly developing and it gives me a sense of pride when someone turns round to me and says ‘XX months ago I was this, jumped on the bike, now I am…’

If you have any further thoughts on your day at the sky ride please leave a comment below: