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Come and join in!

If you are interested in joining, please come along on a Saturday to one of our Club mornings. You can join in Go-Ride activities straight away, or watch the session and have a chat with coaches and riders afterwards.

The exact address of our venue is Sutton Grammar School's Walch Memorial Sports Ground, 86 Northey Avenue, Cheam, SM2 7HJ - from the road it is just a driveway between two houses.

Go-Ride, British Cycling's programme for young people, is all about having fun on a bike, learning to ride with skill and confidence and trying mini versions of the sport, all delivered in a safe, off-road environment by trained coaches. The activities can be adapted to all levels, so those new to the sport and more experienced riders are all welcome.

We assess your riding to see which ability group is the most suitable. More difficult to assess is stamina. Some younger riders, although they might have good bike control, find a full two-hour session too much. Newcomers under 12 will therefore start with £1. one-hour sessions, until we are satisfied that they can cope with the normal two hours, as well as control their bike.

We vary the activities from week to week sometimes there is a focus on a particular skill, such as cornering, or use of gears; sometimes there are team races, or we go for rides. The grounds are surprisingly extensive and, once we are sure bike-handling skills are up to it, groups might be taken for longer rides outside the grounds - but always provided there are sufficient accompanying adults.

Parents/carers are always welcome to stay and watch the sessions, or come out on the rides.

For regular Saturday sessions a basic mountainbike is best, as the venue is a grassy and wooded area, although we do sometimes run special road bike sessions in the playground of another school, or road rides for those who already have their Bikeability Level 2.

Come along any Saturday in termtime that suits you, but please be there ten or fifteen minutes before the 10:00am start, as we will need a Parental Consent form to be signed, and to carry out a simple bike and helmet check. (All youngsters, and any parents who ride with the group, must wear a well-fitting cycle helmet.) It is also a good idea to bring a drink and a snack such as a cereal bar.

We still operate even if it rains, so if it does, you will need a waterproof. In winter, please check the Calendar on our website for possible cancellations because of severe weather warnings, and the general advice on cycling in cold weather if activities do go ahead.

We charge an Activity Fee of £2 per session, and, if you enjoy yourself and want to join, the subscription for 2012 is £10 a year for children under 16, and £15 a year for ages 16-17.

As well as Club mornings at Northey Avenue, there is also floodlit cyclo-cross training on Wednesday evenings at Sutton Arena for those who wish to compete, plus extra sessions on Monday evenings for older riders, and winter Turbo training on Thursday evenings at a local Scout Hall. Training trips for beginners and improvers are organised to Calshot indoor velodrome, and members have also visited a BMX club to try BMX racing.

If you are already interested in racing, check out the Racing Page on our website. Our riders regularly race in the London Cyclo-cross League, the Herne Hill Track League, the Crystal Palace Summer League (road circuit) and the Southern XC Mountainbike Series - there's always lots going on!

So get your bike checked, bring your helmet and come along to Northey Avenue to meet us and see for yourself the kind of things we do!

NB:

Unfortunately, there is no parking for cyclists' parents at the venue - the carpark is reserved for the School and visiting sports teams, and it can be very busy. If coming by car, you will need to park nearby and walk through to the area that we use.