Happy New Year to all our Followers!
The new year is the perfect time to plan your cycling season ...
Time off work to spend with the family?
Too cold to go out on your bike?
Why not get involved in browsing through our list of cycling events to find one that suits?
Take your time, search and compare the best of what you find so you get the best out of your precious time and money!
So what kind of event suits you?
Gran Fondo's
Typically Gran Fondo events have additional features like electronic start and finish timing or timed hill climbs and a handful even have partial or fully closed roads with escorts. This enables more competitive riders to race against the clock and try achieve the best time or improve on it. In North America, Gran Fondo's aren't official races although riders typically have to wear a helmet and obey the rules of the road. Larger events like the Gran Fondo New York allow cyclists to experience a more European Style of event with fully closed roads and prizes for age categories and overall winners.
Each year more and more Gran Fondo's are set up and Gran Fondo Guide has the most comprehensive list of events and 2015 see's more new events.
Century Rides
Traditional century rides are the lifeblood of cycling and come in all shapes and sizes, run by local clubs or charities. There are literally thousands of events across North America. Some of the events are so well organized that they could be considered Gran Fondo's in terms of the features they provide for the cyclist - including prizes!
Century rides usually have standard distances available that are around 30, 60 and 100 miles to suit the capabilities of all cyclists. Some can be very tough indeed, so always research the events courses prior to registering! Gran Fondo Guide does it's best to rate the difficulty of events from A to F. A being the easist for the novice, moving through to F for the experienced endurance cyclist only.
Hill Climbs and Mountain Top Finishes
2014 saw some new Gran Fondo's that specifically finished on top of a mountain or are turning into Gran Fondo's with full electronic timing - so keep an eye out for our list later on this year and confirmation of the North East Bike Up the Mountains Competition Series (BUMPS).
Charity Rides
Charity rides are usually one day or multi-day events that are also well organized and allow the cyclist to have a great experience but also raise money for the organisers charity. This usually comes in the form of sponsorship. Cyclists don't usually have any problems raising sponsorhsip from businesses, work collegues or family and friends.
Women Only Rides
More and more women specific rides are being organised and 2015 is no exception as event organisers realise that there is a market and need for events for womenof all ages. These events are typically slightly shorter in distance and allow for a whole age range of women. Thay also cater for women who haven't ridden much and are looking to get involved and get fit!
Gravel Grinders
In 2015 we'll be providing a much better list of events and coverage of events that take place over rough terrain. Not standard road cycling events, nor Mountain Bike events - these typically require much wider tyres and/or cyclo-cross bikes in order to complete them.
Bike Expo's
We've had a lot of interest in trying to list more and more Bike Expo's, especially in the months leading up to spring.
Ultra Distance
Not for the faint hearted, double century and ultra distance events are very popular and 2015 is no exception with very tough endurance series like the Colorado Triple Crown or California Triple Crown confirming their 2015 line up of events.
Bike Tours
Typically multi-day events, these are geared around groups of cyclists and allow them to have a great holiday and explore new areas by bike.
Our 2015 Events Calendar
So far we have confirmed the dates and details of around 500 events for 2015.
So were busy confirming the dates and details for several thousand events in North America, Europe and further afield!
Please visit back regularly or sign up to our newsletter (on the footer of our website) or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
We have have some exciting new developments for 2015 planned.
So book that event and get out there and start training!
We thoroughly recommend Strava for those who are able to get out on the road, they have just released details of their 2015 challenges to get you motivated.
Happy cycling and the very best to you all for 2015!
Stage 3 to Oron ITT
