Our Rides

The Auster ride library has hundreds of routes, and more importantly, detailed knowledge of the best cafés! We organise rides for most ability groups pretty much every weekend (see details of different ability groups below). We also have rides during the week and club holidays, so there’s something for everyone!

Auster club members in Coll de Rates in Calpe

A taste of what you can expect is:

Weekend rides: These typically start in Richmond Park, Clapham Common or Crystal Palace. They are organised across all ability levels. Routes vary from 40km pootles to 200km feats of endurance, across flat and hilly courses. Surrey, Kent and Windsor are popular destinations, but we also go much further afield. Look at the map below for a taste of what’s on offer!
Weekday rides: We have regular Friday morning and Wednesday evening Richmond Park laps, as well as a group of morning Regents Park enthusiasts. During the summer, people often post weekday evening rides too.
All club events: Every so often we find ways to get the whole club together across all abilities. Our annual time trial near Windsor is a highlight, pairing riders from different abilities to compete for the combined best time! We have all club Brighton rides, with staggered starts so that we all meet on the beach. Ride leaders are always thinking up new ideas.
Club trips and holidays: We have regular holidays for groups of around 30 to destinations like Mallorca or Calpe, as well as occasional mini-breaks to European cycling hotspots. Members also often self-organise trips and accommodation for sportives, like the Fred Whitton, The Dragon Ride or the Étape.

We also have a thriving social scene. Our riders will often end rides with a drink or a pizza, and our summer and winter parties are highlights of the year.

The map below shows just a small selection of some of our most popular routes in London, Kent and Surrey, as well as our favourite café stops! We’re constantly finding new places to ride!

● A selection of our favourite spots to stop at mid-ride, for an post-ride treat or for club socials.
● Our most common ride start/end locations.
● The home locations of some of our club partners.

Rider Ability Groups

Our rides are organised across six different speeds, from socially-paced “S” rides through to for “HC” (Hors Catégorie!) rides for our fastest members.

The expected speeds across our different groups are in the table below. These vary depending on whether it’s a hilly or a flat route.

Don’t worry if you aren’t sure, as ride leaders will help you pick the right level during your intro ride.

Group	Average Speed Hilly Ride	Average Speed Flat Ride	Rolling Speed in Group on Flat
S	Social/Chatty	Social/Chatty	Social/Chatty
D	< 20 kph	< 22 kph	20-25 kph
C	20-23 kph	22-26 kph	25-29 kph
B	23-25 kph	26-28 kph	29-32 kph
A	25-27 kph	28-31 kph	32-36 kph
HC	> 27 kph	> 31 kph	> 36 kph

When we post rides, we give a bit more information on what to expect. Some rides might be “Spicy”, for people who want to push their limits and get faster. We love it when people move up a group! Other rides are “Easy”, for when you want a gentler day out.

Ride Leading

Our ride leaders all volunteers, and we are always on the look-out for new ones.

If you’re an experienced cyclist or have led rides with another club, please let us know if you’d like to be an Auster ride leader.

This involves organising and looking after any ride that you like. Ride leaders select the course, the speed… and the café stop!

On the day, you’ll set the pace and keep an eye out for any problems. Our riders are responsible for their own safety and their bikes, so you aren’t expected to be first aid trained or to be a mechanic.

We just ask that you are confident in your group riding ability, able to give clear hand-signals and able to safely navigate a group along the route.

If you are interested in ride leading, let us know when you apply.