Say hello to John

Say hello to John - who is one of the Ride Captains on our Gravel Rides - and helps the Committee with Route Planning and Events.

John says:

“I joined the Rouleurs in January 2022 - call it a new year's resolution. Arguably not the ideal time to join a club, given the mucky roads and temperatures, but enduring miserable conditions with like-minded idiots feels like a good way to make friends.

I started cycling at university in Edinburgh, as a way to save money on a bus pass getting out to the Heriot Watt campus. I played a lot of hockey in my first couple of years but after stopping doing that I needed some way to get my energy out, and cycling was the answer. I did extra loops and bonus hills on my commutes, and eventually joined in with some uni and city club rides up in Edinburgh. That was my first taste of group riding and still some of the highest average heart rates for rides I've ever had!

For the past 10 years I've been a bit of a lone wolf, riding around the Wolds and various other places I've lived, chasing PBs and finding silly hills to ride up. My partner Hannah was my catalyst to come back to club riding, and I'm very glad she brought me along.

We chose the Rouleurs for a taster ride because we'd seen the jerseys around town, and we were both long-time Cycle Heaven customers (and briefly employees). It all felt very familiar from the start. My first club ride I couldn't resist joining the fast folks, as I'd been riding a fair bit over the winter (for Deliveroo, so I was briefly a 'Delive-Rouleur'). Problem was I took my heavy bike with big tires on, and by the time a few hills came around in the second part of the route I was struggling! I definitely had a slow puncture and rubbing brakes too... Everyone was fab and waited for me at the top of the climbs, and dragged me home to the cafe.

Hannah and I have both got gravel bikes in the past couple of years, and almost as soon as we joined the club she was determined to get some group gravel rides up and running. Route-planning and maps are my bread and butter so between us we organised a few bridleway-bashes, which were super popular from the start. Those rides have been so much fun, chasing each other through the woods and lanes of rural York, getting stuck in mud and stung by nettles and who knows what else.

One of my favourite club rides was an 'away ride' in summer 2023 which 4 of us decided to ride from home. With the official start over 50km away and a hilly loop around the Moors on the cards, it ended up being a 225km epic. I actually felt pretty rubbish for the first few hours, but had a massive fry-up at the Yorkshire Cycle Hub in Fryup and the rest of the day I was flying.

The Rouleurs has something for absolutely everyone, from all-day slogs to short cafe rides where the cafe takes up as much time as the riding. My top tip for someone considering starting club riding is come and try it! It's a very different experience from riding on your own, requiring a tad more concentration but a bit less effort thanks to all the generous wind-breaks sitting in front of you. You'll be completely baffled for the first few minutes, getting used to all the signals and calls, and getting a feel for how the group moves, but after a little while it becomes instinctive, and it really is the best way to spend a Sunday morning.”