Cyclists' Touring Club
Encyclopedia
CTC 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
. It was established in 1878, originally as the 'Bicycle Touring Club', making it the oldest national tourism organisation of any description in the World, and was renamed the Cyclists' Touring Club in 1883. Since January 2007, CTC's president has been the newsreader and journalist, Jon Snow
.
CTC works to encourage more people to take up cycling, to make cycling safer and more enjoyable, and to provide cyclists with the support and resources they need. Its activities vary from road safety promotion to the provision of organised cycling holidays. CTC does not focus on competitive cycle sport, since that has its own organisation, British Cycling
.
CTC's successes have been a benchmarking project to spread best practice in cycle-friendly infrastructure design, and a grant of nearly £1 million to promote national standards for cycle training, standards CTC helped to develop.
CTC is organised at a district level, with CTC Local Groups organising cycle rides on most Sundays and often during the week. The more leisurely rides are planned around café stops, the quality of the ride often being judged on the standard of the cakes; CTC has been referred to as "Café To Café" or "Coffee, Tea and Cakes".
In 2008, the CTC Charitable Trust launched their Cycle Champions' programme. Using funding from the National Lottery's Wellbeing Fund, CTC employ 13 Community Cycling development Officers around England to promote cycling in all sectors of the community, particularly those not traditionally associated with cycling. They recruit 'Cycle Champions' within the community to work towards these goals as volunteers.
In 2009, CTC, in partnership with ContinYou and UK Youth
, launched Bike Club, a programme funded by Cycling England with the intention of promoting cycling, and its associated learning experiences, among children and young people aged 10–20. Locally-based officers advise on the establishment of clubs and the application for funding.
The members' magazine, Cycle, covers subjects including ride reports, product reviews and legal and technical advice. Members benefit from public liability insurance, which is extended to cover rides organised under the auspices of CTC Local Groups.
The CTC is also the organisation behind the British Cycle Quest
, an informal competition which challenges members to visit six designated places in each of the counties of England, Scotland and Wales
.
CTC is a member of the European Cyclists' Federation
.
CTC is in the process of converting to Charitable status. Members of CTC were unhappy with this decision, but a poll of the membership resulted in the majority who voted agreeing to this change.
CTC believes that UK cyclists should continue to be free to decide whether or not they wear cycle helmets, and campaigns to keep the UK's laws as they are. CTC says that this is because putting too much emphasis on cycle helmets makes people think that cycling is much more dangerous than it actually is, and can put people off. CTC believes that health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks, so it is important that people are not discouraged. CTC also feels that the real risks faced by cyclists, such as excessive vehicle speed, are often forgotten when all the discussions concentrate on cycle helmets. CTC reviewed the current Highway Code before it was published, and helped reword some sections that could have been detrimental for cyclists.
CTC is a founder of the Slower Speeds Initiative
, an unincorporated association dedicated to reducing traffic speeds on all roads. CTC works with organisations such as Transport 2000
and Sustrans
, and has charitable offshoots, the CTC Charitable Trust and the Cyclists' Defence Fund.
, Yorkshire
, on 5 August 1878 by an Edinburgh medical student, Stanley Cotterell. It was originally called the Bicycle Touring Club and its headquarters were wherever Cotterell happened to be living. It had 80 members, all men. The first woman, a Mrs W. D. Welford, joined in 1880. In 1883, the Bicycle Touring Club was renamed the Cyclists' Touring Club to open membership to tricyclists. Membership rose to 10,627 and CTC opened a headquarters at 139-140 Fleet Street
, London
EC4.
jacket, knickerbockers
and a "Stanley helmet with a small peak". The colour changed to grey when green proved impractical because it showed the dirt. Groups often rode with a bugler at their head to sound changes of direction or to bring the group to a halt. Confusion could be caused when groups met and mistook each other's signals.
, or "penny-farthings", as going up. Nowadays, CTC no longer puts up general road signs—although the right to do so is retained—and approved establishments are offered a plastic window-sticker carrying the blue and yellow logo shown above.
In 1898 CTC became embroiled in a court case to defend a member denied what she thought adequate service at a hotel carrying the club's badge.
Florence Wallace Pomeroy, Lady Harberton (1843–1911) of Cromwell Road
, Kensington
— wife of James Pomeroy, 6th Viscount Harberton
and president of the Western Rational Dress Society — cycled on the morning of 27 October 1898 to have lunch at the Hautboy Hotel in Ockham, Surrey
. Her campaigning for society to accept that women could wear "rational" dress on a bicycle and not ankle-length dresses led her to wear a jacket and a pair of long and baggy trousers which came together just above the ankle. She walked into the coffee room and asked to be served. The landlady, a Mrs Martha Sprague, showed her instead into the bar parlour.
CTC went into action, mounting a prosecution for "refusing food to a traveller". The landlady was acquitted and CTC lost the unusually large amount of money it had allotted to the case, which had been considered at the root of cyclists' rights and the values of CTC.
to amend its constitution so that it could admit all tourists, including car-drivers. A majority of members - 10,495 to 2,231 - had voted the previous year for the change to take place. The court ruled that CTC could not protect the interests of cyclists and drivers at the same time and denied permission.
In 1926 the CTC discussed an unsuccessful motion
calling for cycle tracks to be built on each side of roads for "the exclusive use of cyclists", and that cyclists could be taxed, providing the revenue was used for the provision of such tracks.
CTC is the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The 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...
's largest cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
membership organisation. It also has member groups in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It was established in 1878, originally as the 'Bicycle Touring Club', making it the oldest national tourism organisation of any description in the World, and was renamed the Cyclists' Touring Club in 1883. Since January 2007, CTC's president has been the newsreader and journalist, Jon Snow
Jon Snow
Jon Snow is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...
.
Activities
CTC, the UK's national cyclists organisation, promotes cycling in the UK, and had about 60,000 members in 2008. CTC's interests include cycling for many purposes:- Recreation
- Commuting
- Transport
CTC works to encourage more people to take up cycling, to make cycling safer and more enjoyable, and to provide cyclists with the support and resources they need. Its activities vary from road safety promotion to the provision of organised cycling holidays. CTC does not focus on competitive cycle sport, since that has its own organisation, British Cycling
British Cycling
British 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...
.
CTC's successes have been a benchmarking project to spread best practice in cycle-friendly infrastructure design, and a grant of nearly £1 million to promote national standards for cycle training, standards CTC helped to develop.
CTC is organised at a district level, with CTC Local Groups organising cycle rides on most Sundays and often during the week. The more leisurely rides are planned around café stops, the quality of the ride often being judged on the standard of the cakes; CTC has been referred to as "Café To Café" or "Coffee, Tea and Cakes".
In 2008, the CTC Charitable Trust launched their Cycle Champions' programme. Using funding from the National Lottery's Wellbeing Fund, CTC employ 13 Community Cycling development Officers around England to promote cycling in all sectors of the community, particularly those not traditionally associated with cycling. They recruit 'Cycle Champions' within the community to work towards these goals as volunteers.
In 2009, CTC, in partnership with ContinYou and UK Youth
UK Youth
UK Youth is a national youth work charity supporting over 750,000 young people, 40,000 volunteers and 7,000 youth projects, groups and clubs in the United Kingdom.-UK Youth:...
, launched Bike Club, a programme funded by Cycling England with the intention of promoting cycling, and its associated learning experiences, among children and young people aged 10–20. Locally-based officers advise on the establishment of clubs and the application for funding.
The members' magazine, Cycle, covers subjects including ride reports, product reviews and legal and technical advice. Members benefit from public liability insurance, which is extended to cover rides organised under the auspices of CTC Local Groups.
The CTC is also the organisation behind the British Cycle Quest
British Cycle Quest
The British Cycle Quest is a challenge, organised by the Cyclists' Touring Club, in which the cyclist must visit six sites in all the traditional counties in the United Kingdom, which comes to a total of 402 sites, 252 in England, 48 in Wales, and 102 in Scotland. As well as visit the site, the...
, an informal competition which challenges members to visit six designated places in each of the counties of England, Scotland and Wales
Wales
Wales 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...
.
CTC is a member of the European Cyclists' Federation
European Cyclists' Federation
European Cyclists' Federation is an umbrella federation for national cycling organizations throughout Europe.ECF was founded in 1983 by 12 bicycle user associations...
.
CTC is in the process of converting to Charitable status. Members of CTC were unhappy with this decision, but a poll of the membership resulted in the majority who voted agreeing to this change.
CTC believes that UK cyclists should continue to be free to decide whether or not they wear cycle helmets, and campaigns to keep the UK's laws as they are. CTC says that this is because putting too much emphasis on cycle helmets makes people think that cycling is much more dangerous than it actually is, and can put people off. CTC believes that health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks, so it is important that people are not discouraged. CTC also feels that the real risks faced by cyclists, such as excessive vehicle speed, are often forgotten when all the discussions concentrate on cycle helmets. CTC reviewed the current Highway Code before it was published, and helped reword some sections that could have been detrimental for cyclists.
CTC is a founder of the Slower Speeds Initiative
Slower Speeds Initiative
The Slower Speeds Initiative is a UK single issue coalition pressure group. It is an unincorporated association, controlled by its management committee, made up of representatives of its founder organisations...
, an unincorporated association dedicated to reducing traffic speeds on all roads. CTC works with organisations such as Transport 2000
Transport 2000
The Campaign for Better Transport is a UK advocacy group that promotes better bus and rail services and for supportive policies and for less expenditure on road building...
and Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
, and has charitable offshoots, the CTC Charitable Trust and the Cyclists' Defence Fund.
History
CTC was founded at HarrogateHarrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, on 5 August 1878 by an Edinburgh medical student, Stanley Cotterell. It was originally called the Bicycle Touring Club and its headquarters were wherever Cotterell happened to be living. It had 80 members, all men. The first woman, a Mrs W. D. Welford, joined in 1880. In 1883, the Bicycle Touring Club was renamed the Cyclists' Touring Club to open membership to tricyclists. Membership rose to 10,627 and CTC opened a headquarters at 139-140 Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
EC4.
Uniform
Members, like those of other clubs, often rode in uniform. CTC appointed an official tailor. The uniform was a dark green Devonshire sergeSerge
Serge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both sides, made with a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, great coats and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety...
jacket, knickerbockers
Knickerbockers (clothing)
Knickerbockers are men's or boys' breeches or baggy-kneed trousers particularly popular in the early twentieth century USA. Golfers' plus twos and plus fours were breeches of this type...
and a "Stanley helmet with a small peak". The colour changed to grey when green proved impractical because it showed the dirt. Groups often rode with a bugler at their head to sound changes of direction or to bring the group to a halt. Confusion could be caused when groups met and mistook each other's signals.
Cycling accommodation
In earlier times, the Cyclists' Touring Club gave seals of approval, in the form of a cast metal plaque showing the winged-wheel symbol of CTC, for mounting on an outside wall of hotels and restaurants which offered good accommodation and service to cyclists. A few of the metal plaques still exist, as do a handful of road signs put up by CTC to warn cyclists of steep hills: usually steep going down, which was as much a problem for riders of large-wheel ordinariesPenny-farthing
Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s...
, or "penny-farthings", as going up. Nowadays, CTC no longer puts up general road signs—although the right to do so is retained—and approved establishments are offered a plastic window-sticker carrying the blue and yellow logo shown above.
In 1898 CTC became embroiled in a court case to defend a member denied what she thought adequate service at a hotel carrying the club's badge.
Florence Wallace Pomeroy, Lady Harberton (1843–1911) of Cromwell Road
Cromwell Road
Cromwell Road is a major road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, and is designated part of the A4. It was created in the 19th century and is named after Oliver Cromwell....
, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
— wife of James Pomeroy, 6th Viscount Harberton
Viscount Harberton
Viscount Harberton is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1791 for Arthur Pomeroy, 1st Baron Harberton, who had previously represented County Kildare in the Irish House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Harberton, of Carbery, in 1783, also in the Peerage of Ireland...
and president of the Western Rational Dress Society — cycled on the morning of 27 October 1898 to have lunch at the Hautboy Hotel in Ockham, Surrey
Ockham, Surrey
Ockham is a tiny English village near East Horsley, in Surrey, England. The village lies to the east of the A3 which runs between Cobham and Guildford. Other neighbouring villages include Ripley, Wisley and Effingham....
. Her campaigning for society to accept that women could wear "rational" dress on a bicycle and not ankle-length dresses led her to wear a jacket and a pair of long and baggy trousers which came together just above the ankle. She walked into the coffee room and asked to be served. The landlady, a Mrs Martha Sprague, showed her instead into the bar parlour.
CTC went into action, mounting a prosecution for "refusing food to a traveller". The landlady was acquitted and CTC lost the unusually large amount of money it had allotted to the case, which had been considered at the root of cyclists' rights and the values of CTC.
CTC and motorists
In 1906 CTC asked the High CourtHigh Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
to amend its constitution so that it could admit all tourists, including car-drivers. A majority of members - 10,495 to 2,231 - had voted the previous year for the change to take place. The court ruled that CTC could not protect the interests of cyclists and drivers at the same time and denied permission.
In 1926 the CTC discussed an unsuccessful motion
Motion (democracy)
A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...
calling for cycle tracks to be built on each side of roads for "the exclusive use of cyclists", and that cyclists could be taxed, providing the revenue was used for the provision of such tracks.