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Kent Velo Girls (KVG) was the idea of Bee Gregorie, who set about to find some girls to ride with, after finding it difficult to keep up on mixed club rides, Bee was looking for some girls who were interested in getting fitter and faster but also in chatting, drinking the occasional cup of coffee or glass of wine, having some fun – all without testosterone!
One of the philosophies of KVG is that everyone is welcome and no-one will be dropped on rides (being dropped means being left behind). Obviously riders need to select rides that are appropriate for their skill level and the type of bike that they have, as the club has developed we have begun to run rides on most days of the week, during the school day, weekends and in the evenings in the summer.
We run an "easy" ride on a Monday afternoon, this is perfect for beginners. Several times a year we run introductory courses, to help teach girls the new skills needed for group riding, and in some cases, help them to get re-aquainted with their bikes. ANY bike is permitted on the Monday afternoon ride, whilst you get used to cycling. All the other club rides are ROAD BIKES ONLY. If you dont know what bike you have it is most likely to be a mountain bike or a hybrid, come along to a Monday afternoon and we can tell you! We have 2 road bikes (sponsored by Bikes Bikes Bikes in Sevenoaks) that we lend to members only, for up to 2 weeks , so that you can feel what riding on a road bike feels like - generally much less scary than it looks! Although the rides are not "coached" as such, there are plenty of experienced people around, who have all come through the same experiences and are happy to help and advise you, encourage and support you, and will wait for you at the top of every hill! See website for next intro course (generally in spring and summer when it is warmer). we also run intermediate skills courses, and puncture repair courses, (to prepare for the inevitable!) a few times a year to help girls continue to develop new cycling skills.
We run 3 intermediate rides on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. See the calendar page for all details. The Saturday ride is a second access ride (for those who are unable to join a weekday ride) It is Road bikes only, but flat-barred Road bikes are permitted. Sorry no mountain bikes or hybrids.
The Sunday morning Advanced Ride is more serious, we meet at 8.30am at Hilden Park (Driving Range) in Hildenborough, there is ample parking if you want to drive, the ride is 30 miles/ 2 hours long with climbs. There is also a Sunday intermediate endurance ride, for those that want to ride longer but not necessarily faster. The two groups may combine during the winter months when numbers are low, however so far 2 rides have run most weeks. We try to avoid riding groups of more than 12 for safety reasons, so if more than 11 riders turn up to ride we will split in to 2 groups. During the winter months we may make 8 the largest group number, as faster riders can get very cold if there is lots of waiting around at the tops of hills. These bike rides are only suitable for road bikes….ie the ones with skinny tyres and drop handlebars. The speed for the advanced ride is around 15 mph (about 2 hours) and the Intermediate endurance goes at around 13mph.
Newbies on road bikes always welcome! If you are worried about your fitness levels we suggest you come on a Wednesday or Friday ride first.
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