Are cycling clubs worth the bother?

[matbarbour]

I'm writing a piece for Cycling Plus mag on the benefits of cycling clubs and would love to get some feedback on how any other riders chose the club the did, what they think is good or bad about their club and any advise for others on how to choose a club. I'm also trying to get hold of any club coaches for their single best (training) tip to hightlight the wealth of knowledge and expertise in cycling clubs. Of course, I want this to be balanced, so happy to tell it how it is if some clubs aren't as friendly or beneficial as they might seem. Obviously happy to plug anyone/thing as way of thanks. If you want to email me direct, I'm at matbarbour@gmail.com. Thanks, Matt (Contributing Editor)

 

[MadoneRider1991]

in my experience, its better to make some cycling friends and and arrange to go out cycling with them, rather than joining a club.

the club im with goes out on a Sunday and does 40 miles averaging 22mph which in my opinion is not the sort of thing i want to do at 8am on a Sunday

 

[Kirstie]

I'm not in a club although I started on once to meet other cyclists.

At the moment I cycle to get away from it all so the last thing I want is to share my cycling with a load of other people!

Bah, humbug!

 

[TheDoctor]

What!!!! C+ are plundering our collective know-how????

Well, here's some know how for them - Future fecked up big-style with the whole Bikeradar forum, and that's why this one exists!!!

*and relax*

To answer the question, I go out with my local CTC because they're a friendly bunch, they meet at the end of my road and I really like the Wednesday evening pub rides.

 

[palinurus]

I like to get out on my own sometimes, so I rarely join club runs (although I like the pace of them). However I also like time-trialling and cyclocross so I'm a member of two clubs. I'd like to join the Saturday chaingain but I'm always too shagged out from working all week to get up early enough.

 

[John Ponting]

I have been a club member (on and off) since I was 16 (now 63).

Club meets and rides were the original attraction. The chance to enjoy club runs with a couple of guys who went on to Olympic sprinting was a bonus. Probably wouldn't happen today. Currently don't ride with the club but continue to support them as we run a weekly Track League and need hands on.

Used to be where we learned to ride properly, ride in groups, were introduced to Reliability Rides and Time Trialling.

Wonder if modern road traffic volumes acts against organised large group rides?

 

[punkypossum]

I joined a club last year - unfortunately the ones where I live were to racy, but at least it means I get another 24 mile round trip to the start point and back. The club I'm in is very welcoming to anyone - even if you haven't got the "right bike". In fact, a lot of people in the slower group haven't got road bikes at all. I love it - get to go on routes that I wouldn't know about, not having to bother with a map, to try out new cafes and just generally going out with like-minded people. Our group is not competitive at all, if a sheep needs rescuing along the way that gets done, if people want to stop to take a picture etc, that's fine as well and they always wait. Overall, including the ride there and back, it usually works out about 50-55 miles which is a nice saturday run.

 

[speccy1]

I joined one about 6 months ago - not my cup of tea, the rides are too formal and hardcore for my liking Also I found the people a bit clicky. I have friends to cycle with if I want to have a get-together, but do enjoy being my own boss so I can take it easy if I want to, or I can thrash it out if I want to. I also like to look at the places where I`m going rather than just being "head down" and going at it like a bull at a gate.

My opinion for what it`s worth

 

[peanut]

depends on so many factors really not least of which is the riders expectations.
A good club with a predominantly young healthy membership should embrace prospective new members and nowadays most probably do. Even today there are a great many clubs that positively do not welcome new novice riders . The forums are full of such experiences.

Here in South Somerset we are spoilt for choice . Near me there is Yeovil CC, Chard first wheelers, Wellington wheelers CC Somer valley, Somerset road club, Bridgewater CC and probably others I am unaware of.

Most if not all have large enough memberships to offer a range of different club runs not just on weekends but during the week too. Some have a successful racing and time trialing membership base even Triathlete training so there is something for everyone from slow family social runs to 70+ mile fast training runs .

My first experience of club membership was with Wellington Wheelers. I had initially been taken under the wing of a local Chard cc roady who took me out over the Somerset levels and gradually I built up some fitness. The first time we joined in a Chard first wheelers training run was a shock .

We rode along the A358 waiting for the club to pass and tagged on the back. I then spent an agonising 20 minutes with my eyeballs out hanging off the back as my friend and mentor 'sat up' at the front casually chatting to other riders as we hurtled along the A358 at what I thought to be a ridiculous speed of 25mph !

Later the same year I joined the Wellington Wheelers club and spent several happy years going out on the Sunday club runs. They were a very friendly bunch and I was made to feel welcome from the start. No one was ever left behind and even if the group split there was always someone that would hang back for you and give you a welcome shove in the back up the hilly bits .

As most of the routes were out over Exmoor and included one of the national hill climbs , porlock hill and Cheddar gorge I soon built up some serious leg strength and stamina.

Later many of us organised our own rides including the Somerset Century (100 miles) and numerous Audax 100 & 200 k

I know I've rambled a bit here but i hope that I may have given a little insight into some of the benefits of being a member of a local CC and in conclusion would recommend joining one. Most clubs will allow guests to ride with them for a month or so to see if it suits them before needing to pay membership fees. I made lots of new friends and enjoyed many years of great cycling .

 

[HeartAttack]

I joined my club 18 months ago, as it seemed to offer something to everyone, mid week evening rides and also chain gangs, 60 mile or so training rides on Sat and formal club rides on Sunday with different groups/speed all meeting at a cafe, road racing and time trialling. On the social side as with any club its what you put in allows you to take out. The club members on the whole are great, of course there are some that you/I wouldn't pick to spend time with but thats the same in life.

For me a club such as VC Norwich offers what I want and more so like the old saying 'I liked it so much I bought it' well I have become a club sponsor for 3 years starting 2010.

 

[gavintc]

I think it is interesting that the request for information has been posted in this section as Touring and Expedition will bring a different set of responses to the same posts in say racing or even road rides, audax and sportives. Perhaps this was intended - elicit comment from the CTC crew rather than the BC riders. I also contend that the touring and expedition cyclist are more likely to prefer cycling on their own. Is the witness being led here?

So turning to my views on clubs. I started with a CTC club and rode with them for about 6-9 months. But it became apparent that their average speed was just too low, their desire to eat sandwiches in a bus shelter rather than the cafe we had passed 1-2 miles earlier led me to reconsider the CTC option. On moving to East Yorkshire, I joined a small road club, an excellent decision. Not only were the rides well considered, the typical cyclist were friendly and I gained some good friends from my time with them. Another move to Edinburgh and this time to the large ERC. It was less easy to make friends in a large club when the Sat ride would have over 100 riders and you were riding with new people each run. However, with perseverance, I can now claim to have some good friends at ERC.

So in conclusion, I was not impressed with my one experience of CTC - a bit strange. Road clubs for me are more successful, but there is a latent problem with a large club - more people, better range of rides and activity but harder to make friends.

 

[Kirstie]

Maybe club members on here could comment on the level of female membership. It's something that has always put me off - they seem to be for blokes more than they are women.

 

[gavintc]

Well ERC has lots of women. A typical club run has 4 -5 women in every group of 15 -20 riders. The women are very leading members of the club. Our recent National level race was organised and managed by a woman. Personally, I like it. The women are much better ride leaders than the men. There is less testosterone flying around when the pace starts to pick up. The women control a group with a more measured manner.

 

[Plax]

I joined the CTC and go out with that lot a couple of times a month. The other clubs are racing clubs which I'm not interested in. I like the CTC (a work colleague that is in a racing club calls the CTC "cafe to cafe") as you can go on a nice day out at a leisurely pace and take in the scenery whilst having a nice chat and a few tea stops.

I am of the feminine persuation though, which may explain my choice of "club". I think one of the racing clubs has a couple of women.

 

[punkypossum]

Hmmm....funny, most of the people in our slow "C group" are female as well, but hey, as long as we keep 1 or 2 technically minded males for roadside repairs, who cares?