It may have been said every year so far, but 2018 really has been an exceptional year. The club has grown from strength to strength, with truly brilliant people and partners joining the existing (and also brilliant) partners and members to create a supportive, welcoming and genuine community. Without trying to sound like a broken record (just read the previous 2 years reports for the same gushy intro) but the people are what make this club the lovely thing that it is. That's you. Well done you!

So sit back, stick your feet up and remind yourself of all the awesome things the club did in the first half of 2018. Feels like ages ago now, but it's well worth saying that this round up doesn't even come close to covering all the amazing achievements from Jan to June 2018. There just isn't space. If we've missed your highlights, please comment below (or troll us on Twitter ;)

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The accepted wisdom is that winter can be a tough time to ride a bike. It's darker, colder and that little bit harder to get out of bed in the mornings. However winter can also be a wonderful time to ride a bike - think lower winter sun, piling into warm hot chocolates, crisp winter mornings and warming pizza post ride. Do you know what was voted the number one winter riding motivator in 2018 (probably)?

Friends. That's right - pals. A group of people to ride with is the single biggest motivator to get you out on the road. Knowing other people will be meeting at the start, knowing you'll have someone to chat with and learn from on the ride, and most importantly knowing you'll have someone to have a smug celebratory pizza with after the ride, will certainly motivate you to keep cycling through January.

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Red Bull Timelaps is a very unique event. 'The longest one day race in the world' at 25 hours, Windsor Great Park becomes a veritable cycling festival for the end of daylight savings time. The mad, bad and dangerous to know of the London cycling scene gather to punish themselves on the one day that everyone else in the country is 'enjoying the extra hour in bed'. Anyone who says cyclists aren't crazy need only head to Windsor when the clocks go back!

One Dirty Wknd team took part in the inaugural Red Bull Timelaps last year, and they actually did pretty well. Our team of 4 - Patrick, David, Fraser and Jake - finished in around 12th and had an absolute blast. Fast forward 12 months, and we were again pulling up to Liz's backyard at 7am. This time with fives teams instead of one! That's 20 members who had answered the call, apparently not put off by tales of last year's sleep deprivation. We had 5 gazebos, at least 8 tents (one got used) 15 track pumps, 3 turbos, 2 camp stoves, 32 tubs of pasta, 407 Clif Bars and about 3.5 kilos of chamois cream. We also had a videographer (Adam) and a photographer (Patrick). Pro conti teams probably have less kit for a week long stage race!

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A closed road sportive is a rare thing in the UK, and something that should be celebrated. The West Sussex downs are a beautiful place to ride a bike, and on Sunday 23rd September 15,000 amateur cyclists will be taking on the 100 mile route. But what is the route actually like? Well, last Sunday, a small group of Dirty Wknd cyclists got the train down to Sussex to find out. Hopefully the below tips will help you to prepare for Velo South:

It's A Bit Bumpy!

With 'just' 1300 metres (4500 ft) of climbing on the route, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's not that hilly. And it's not, at least most of us will have done hillier rides in the past, and over 100 miles 1.3k isn't too bad a profile. However, the kicker is where the hills fall on the Velo South route. Like most of the Downs, the terrain is rolling, so the climbing isn't confined to a set number of peaks that you can mentally prepare for. 

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