A
cycling club is a society for
cyclistCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
s. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The
Cyclists' Touring ClubCTC and the UK's national cyclists' organisation are the trading names of the Cyclists' Touring Club.CTC is the United Kingdom's largest cycling membership organisation. It also has member groups in the Republic of Ireland...
, CTC) in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is a national association; i-Team and
Team Internet are internet clubs; the
TricycleA tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
Association,
TandemThe tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...
Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those over 40, are specialist clubs. Members of specialist or national groups often belong to local clubs. Other groups support leisure cyclists or campaign for improved facilities for cyclists. The
London Cycling CampaignThe London Cycling Campaign is an independent membership charity lobbying for better conditions for cyclists in London. Its vision is to make London "a world-class cycling city"...
,
Friends of the EarthFriends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
, and Greenwich Cyclists are examples of campaign groups.
Activities
A cycling club's activities vary from one aspect of cycle sport to a range of cycling and social activities. Racing clubs organise competitions for members and others, including
track cyclingTrack cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
,
cyclo-crossCyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter , and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and...
,
road bicycle racingRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
and
time trialsAn individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
). They may also organise training and have
BC or
ABCC qualified coaches. For most competitive cyclists belong to a club affiliated to one of the national racing associations, such as
British CyclingBritish Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
and
Cycling Time TrialsCycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council in 2002.-Time trialling:...
in the UK. They often race in their club's colours.
Cycling clubs may offer
touringBicycle touring is cycling over long distances – prioritizing pleasure and endurance over utility or speed. Touring can range from single day 'supported' rides — e.g., rides to benefit charities — where provisions are available to riders at stops along the route, to multi-day...
, weekly club rides (traditionally on Sunday mornings), regular meetings and social events.
Sponsorship
Some clubs are sponsored by commercial organisations. Riders advertising in return for the support.
Names
Many clubs are named after their home town or district. A few clubs are named after the topography of their region, such as the
Alpine Bicycle Club of Golden, Colorado. Some have no connection, such as the
Acme Wheelers in south
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Zenith CC in
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Gemini BC in north-west
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Some clubs are just named after the behaviour of the members — VC Daft.
Some call themselves Road Clubs or use a foreign title such as Coureurs or Velo. Examples in Britain are
WarringtonWarrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
Road Club and
Archer RCThe Archer Road Club is a cycling club in London, England. The club has produced national, world and Olympic champions.-Formation and early history:...
); Clayton Velo,
Yorkshire Velo, Rugby Velo,
Thames Velo, VC Elan, VC Londres or Velo Sport Jersey all use foreign names that reflect the origins of cycle-racing in France. Another common title is Wheelers.
Some names have roots in political or social movements. The
National Clarion Cycling ClubThe National Clarion Cycling club is a cycling club with some 26 member sections and over 600 members throughout Great Britain.-Clarion Cycling Clubs:The first club was formed in February 1894 in Birmingham, England as the Socialists' Cycling Club...
spread socialist propaganda by bicycle in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The name remains -
FenlandFenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...
Clarion,
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
Clarion,
BuryBury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
Clarion, North Cheshire Clarion etc.) - but the politics have gone. Other names reflect historical religious allegiance, such as
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
St Christopher's Catholic Cycling Club) or jobs: RAF CC,
NorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
Police CC, GB Fire Service Road Team, Army Cycling Union. Others evoke the wandering nature of cycling - '34 Nomads,
AltrinchamAltrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
Ravens,
LewesLewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
Wanderers,
ColchesterColchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
Rovers - or an aspiration:
Norwood- Australia :* Norwood Secondary College, Secondary School in Ringwood, Victoria.* Norwood, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide**Electoral district of Norwood, a state electoral district in South Australia...
Paragon,
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
Phoenix, Dulwich Paragon.
External links