Sunday southern loop at gruppetto pace (63 km at 20 kph)

Details

• When -- 9h Sunday, Feb. 22
• Where -- Place de la Porte de Chatillon
• Length -- 63 km
• Average speed -- 20 km/h
• Strava route -- PCB Gif-sur-Yvette loop Porte de Chatillon/la Cité - 63km

This ride is with the "gruppetto," the Italian name for the group of professional cyclists that often forms on mountain stages of the grand tours behind the peloton and is typically occupied by sprinters and domestiques who lack the climbing skills of the contenders.

We will head south toward Gif-sur-Yvette before turning right and coming through Versailles on the return to Paris. By the end we will have averfffaged about 20 kph, with higher speeds on flat stretches of the route and slower on the climbs, of course.

As always, please check the following before you arrive Sunday:

• do you have the cycling fitness and experience for this ride? no half-wheeling, try to stay around 30cm away from the wheel in front of you.
• safety comes first: no helmet, no PCB ride.
• this ride is for road bikes/velos de route, not for mountain or city bikes etc.
• bring spare tube, bidons, energy bars, gels, etc.
• bike computers are strongly recommended
• bring money or a credit card in case we stop at a cafe

REMINDER*: PCB rides are no-drop with a focus on staying together. Our rides fill a niche and are designed for people who want to ride in a group together, at a medium pace with others who are more interested in the experience than in riding as fast as possible. We regroup at the tops of significant climbs and key turns, so no one gets left behind.

If you are looking for something different, perhaps a weekend training ride with a faster group of cyclists who compete in races and triathlons, then this is not the group for you. I recommend checking out Paris Cycling Group, which typically feature rides at an average speed of 25-30 kph. There are other groups, as well, which are organized by several bike shops in Paris.

For more information about Paris Cycling B-group, please check out our What We Are About section on our MeetUp landing page.