Cycling clubs
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Frannybobs
Posts: 741 Member
Are people in here members of cycling clubs? I'm looking to vary my riding a bit and I think I could pick up loads of hints and tips at a cycling club, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough for a club. I cycle 2-3 times a week to work (but only in the daylight, I don't like cycling in the dark but may give it another try this winter). I like to go out on a longer ride at weekend (as my weekday evenings are all busy with musical hobbies) and I enter the odd event .... not sportives but Manchester to Blackpool last year (60 miles), Great Manchester Cycle this year (26 miles) and in September I'm doing the Manchester 100 - but have opted for 100K this time and not 100 miles!!
I found a local club to me in the UK which looks ok - North Cheshire Carrions. Seems they do a Saturday morning ride which isn't as tough as their Sunday ones and is for people to learn and improve group cycling skills. And you can go on a couple of rides to see how you fair before deciding whether or not to join.
I don't have a road bike (yet - that's my hope for next summer if the Cyclescheme is still running) - but have a pretty good hybrid which is closer to a road bike as has rigid forks and slimmer tyres (it's the Specialized Vita Elite 2012). Would that be good enough or do you need to be a serious roadie?
Just interested to hear other peoples' views on cycling clubs?
Cheers,
Fran
I found a local club to me in the UK which looks ok - North Cheshire Carrions. Seems they do a Saturday morning ride which isn't as tough as their Sunday ones and is for people to learn and improve group cycling skills. And you can go on a couple of rides to see how you fair before deciding whether or not to join.
I don't have a road bike (yet - that's my hope for next summer if the Cyclescheme is still running) - but have a pretty good hybrid which is closer to a road bike as has rigid forks and slimmer tyres (it's the Specialized Vita Elite 2012). Would that be good enough or do you need to be a serious roadie?
Just interested to hear other peoples' views on cycling clubs?
Cheers,
Fran
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Replies
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I'm going to assume you mean North Cheshire Clarion, rather than Carrion... I'm sure I'd sooner be identified with a Trumpet Call, than Roadkill :laugh:
The National Clarion Cycling Club ( http://www.clarioncc.org/about.html ) has a bunch of regional Clubs - I used to be a member of the Wakefield one... Calder Clarion
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Haha, yes, oops, North Cheshire Clarions - don't know where I got carrion from - isn't it a type of crow?!!!0
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it's a generic word for "dead animals" iirc - hence my "roadkill" comment. :laugh:
If the North Cheshire is anything like the Calder used to be, it's not a bad choice - they had a fairly "mixed bag" of members - from the outright road racing and time-trialling nutters through to people who were mainly there for the "social" and club run side of things.
They used to do some fairly memorable things - I remember the Christmas Morning Club 5 mile TT - fancy dress optional (though encouraged) - half of the people pitched up either hung over or still drunk... This was my one and only Time-Trial ridden on a (borrowed) Tandem - A friend and I rode it in a "Pantomime Horse" costume... God only knows what the car drivers who saw the pantomime horse flying down a 1 in 10 hill on a tandem thought!
Having had a quick look at the website, I'd give the club secretary a quick email and ask to have a chat, or perhaps drop in at one of their meetings - if you're going to be spending quite a bit of time with your fellow club-members, it certainly pays to spend a little time "shopping around" to find a club where the members are friendly and you have something in common with...0 -
Hey Franny!
I have just recently joined a club so I can race in TT's.
They are a really friendly bunch, although I haven't been out for a group ride with them yet they have been very welcoming and helpful. Apparently I will get discount in local bike shops once my membership card comes through too, which can't be bad!
I think it's a good move, I've done quite a few events (charity, audaxes and sportives) and the camaraderie between fellow cyclists is something to be relished.
The other day I was cycling to my mums and I caught up a girl who I suddenly recognised from our by-weekly time trial meet. We chatted for a bit and then went our separate ways when the time came. It is a great way to meet new people and make new friends who have a common interest.
Good luck in your search and happy riding! 0 -
Hey Fran - have you been in touch with any of the club's yet ?0
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In the end I decided I need to build up a bit more confidence before doing it - perhaps it's the wrong way round but I thought perhaps at the start of next Spring I'd have a look at contacting a couple then I've got a few months rather than doing it at the end of the summer. Probably daft logic but I'd hate to be the one at the back all the time, so I decided to lose a bit more weight and get a little fitter first ... this time next year I'll be doing TT's. Haha!!! :laugh:0
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I'd say that late in the season (usually after the club "hillclimb TT") is one of the best times to join - all the racers are winding down (apart from the cyclo-crossers of course - freaks!) and looking to do something gentle and social on clubruns. Plus, the sunday clubrun is a great motivator to get you out riding in the winter, a bit of company, and someone to sit with in the cake-stop cafe is always welcome.0
