# Time to find a new club ?



## cyberknight (3 Jul 2021)

My current club has been running for 3 years now starting from a few riders on a sunday and morphing into around 20 riders on a saturday in various rides .
I have led the sunday ride for a few years but it has always been hard to get more than 3-4 of use whereas a saturday they are fighting for spaces and sundays for the last month have had no takers at all .
This means im struggling to motivate myself to ride as although i can do the distance easily its more fun with a few of us so my mental health as well as physical health is suffering .
My old club still meets on a sunday but they start later so im not back till around 2-30 and last time i went they had a medium group avg 15-16 which is sedate for me or it was the fast boys who would aim for 20 avg and if you got dropped it was tough luck and i didnt enjoy killing myself every week .
Contacted the club founder sayign they need to promote the sunday ride a bit more as there are plenty of capable riders but he doesnt seem interested .


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## DCLane (3 Jul 2021)

If there's no-one else interested and you want a group ride, but can't get one, then I'd say "yes". Maybe keep this one and join another as 2nd claim?

My son's in his team for racing, my club for TT's and social rides but has had to join a 3rd club to get a _really_ hard training ride. Other groups/clubs have said "no" because he's under 18 and/or a rider doesn't want to be embarrassed: we've had that from a local group and one of my club's rides [personally I think the rider in question who's in both needs to grow up a bit  ]


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## 13 rider (3 Jul 2021)

If I was you I'd stick with your current club for the summer and see if the numbers pick up with hopefully the nice weather . Would also look at gusting at other clubs to get a feel of the club . Coalville Wheelers ?.


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## mjr (3 Jul 2021)

It sounds like you need a bit of assistance promoting, rather than a new club. Could you contact the current club secretary or newsletter editor to promote the Sunday rides more, rather than the founder?

And I'm not sure what you want, rather than what you don't (15mph, 20mph, 2.15pm finish, Saturdays...)


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## cyberknight (3 Jul 2021)

mjr said:


> It sounds like you need a bit of assistance promoting, rather than a new club. Could you contact the current club secretary or newsletter editor to promote the Sunday rides more, rather than the founder?
> 
> And I'm not sure what you want, rather than what you don't (15mph, 20mph, 2.15pm finish, Saturdays...)


One and the same, there is a core of people who are mates who run the club


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## cyberknight (3 Jul 2021)

13 rider said:


> If I was you I'd stick with your current club for the summer and see if the numbers pick up with hopefully the nice weather . Would also look at gusting at other clubs to get a feel of the club . Coalville Wheelers ?.


Current club was Sundays to start with that turned into saturday.been struggling to get rider's for a couple of years now.
My usual ride would be 50-55 miles 17-18 avg


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## neil_merseyside (3 Jul 2021)

Why not ride Saturday when they have loads of riders out?


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## PaulSB (3 Jul 2021)

It's a perennial problem in cycle clubs, you can't please all of the people all of the time. This is not to have a dig at you but to suggest it's a common issue. We have similar in my club and no matter how many rides the club puts on it's impossible to embrace the needs of all.

From what you've said it sounds as though the majority want to ride on a Saturday. Have you considered putting on your ride on a Saturday?


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## Sharky (3 Jul 2021)

You should probably take the issue up with your club mates, committee or at your agm. If there is no demand for a Sunday run, then you need to accept it.

But a thread like this on CycleChat makes me wonder. Are any of your club mates on cycle chat? If they think you are having a moan about them, it might not strengthen your position?


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## cyberknight (3 Jul 2021)

neil_merseyside said:


> Why not ride Saturday when they have loads of riders out?


wife works and i have kids , mini ck swimming lessons and half the time i dont get to bed till 1.30 am gone dependant on shift rotation at work


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## cyberknight (3 Jul 2021)

13 rider said:


> If I was you I'd stick with your current club for the summer and see if the numbers pick up with hopefully the nice weather . Would also look at gusting at other clubs to get a feel of the club . Coalville Wheelers ?.


bit far for me , current club is a 6 mile ride away , i think mercia was about 5 ( old club)


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## PaulSB (3 Jul 2021)

cyberknight said:


> wife works and i have kids , mini ck swimming lessons and half the time i dont get to bed till 1.30 am gone dependant on shift rotation at work


Yes, very sympathetic to this situation and although I'm now retired I remember the difficulty of fitting my riding around family. I used to ride 5.00-9.00am on Saturdays.

In my club we have a bunch who go out at 6.00am on a Saturday because it solves their family/social situation. They looked at the problem and solved it.

I feel what you need to do is cast around for people who want/need to ride at similar times to you.


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## lane (3 Jul 2021)

When you have young kids then live revolves around that and domestic stuff and you can't always make club rides. I was lucky able to make some Tuesday evening rides but it was luck the rides were on that evening any other would have been out. Then things changed and it was hard to make the Tuesday. Then covid came along and all the rides stopped. Then all of a sudden my kids are older and I am semi retired and can do more or less what I want.


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## Milkfloat (3 Jul 2021)

I would be tempted to ask the members what they don’t like about the Sunday ride. One of the local clubs near me switched time from a 10am start to an 8am start and got huge numbers of people joining the club as they were looking for an earlier Sunday ride.


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## cyberknight (4 Jul 2021)

lane said:


> When you have young kids then live revolves around that and domestic stuff and you can't always make club rides. I was lucky able to make some Tuesday evening rides but it was luck the rides were on that evening any other would have been out. Then things changed and it was hard to make the Tuesday. Then covid came along and all the rides stopped. Then all of a sudden my kids are older and I am semi retired and can do more or less what I want.


due to mrs ck having chemo etc we had to have ivf and started late so mini ck 2 is not 18 till im 62 , the shift pattern at work means im up at 3.45 am or getting home after 1 am the next week on top of a job that tbh is killing me ,


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## lane (4 Jul 2021)

cyberknight said:


> due to mrs ck having chemo etc we had to have ivf and started late so mini ck 2 is not 18 till im 62 , the shift pattern at work means im up at 3.45 am or getting home after 1 am the next week on top of a job that tbh is killing me ,



I'm 59 my daughter is 15. Discussion yesterday she might be doing something on a Sunday that means I will be missing some Sunday rides. I have been lucky to semi retire so have more options and more time now. Never liked getting up early at the weekend. We had swimming on Saturday for years so I used to go out on my own later after that usually mid to late afternoon and then do 5 hours lucky I never minded riding in the dark. Hope things work out for you it gets easier eventually.


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## cyberknight (4 Jul 2021)

Takes the biscuit , the one weekend i couldnt ride a club ride due to mrs ck working the club founder and another who used to ride with me decide to ride on a sunday 
Paranoia setting in now


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## HLaB (4 Jul 2021)

neil_merseyside said:


> Why not ride Saturday when they have loads of riders out?


Its some years since I was in the ERC but they had 5 or 6 time groups on a Saturday for the fixed training rides and often they had to split them up because of high numbers (there could be 100s overall), similar on a Tuesday night training rides in summer but on a Sunday you'd get less than a dozen. Other clubs I have been in have been similar fixed Saturday rides are more popular 👍


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## ExBrit (5 Aug 2021)

13 rider said:


> gusting at other clubs


Sometimes the typo is better than the original


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## fair weather cyclist (6 Aug 2021)

OP, have you ever thought about riding solo and have complete freedom?

What's good about club riding?


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## PaulSB (6 Aug 2021)

fair weather cyclist said:


> OP, have you ever thought about riding solo and have complete freedom?
> 
> *What's good about club riding?*



Many, many things. New routes, new friends, cameraderie, chat, meeting old friends, support on your shite days, drafting, help with mechanicals, advice........ really the list is long


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## fossyant (6 Aug 2021)

PaulSB said:


> Many, many things. New routes, new friends, cameraderie, chat, meeting old friends, support on your shite days, drafting, help with mechanicals, advice........ really the list is long



This ^


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## cyberknight (13 Nov 2021)

Update
Not had a club ride in at least 4 weeks in fact more like 6 as its died a death completely as 2 of the riders i could count on to at least make a duo have switched the saturdays which now can have 2 groups of 6-8 .
Raised it again with the club founder and got the usual response , bloomin fed up and told him i will not be renewing my membership next year at this rate .Considering how much time and effort i have invested getting the club off the ground planning and leading rides over the last few years i feel abandoned


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## cyberknight (8 Apr 2022)

Bit of an update
planned a ride sunday even though no one has asked for a sunday ride i posted on the club facefluff page just in case anyone wanted to join and was told to remove it as it didnt start at the "official time " ,

Pretty much sealed their fate as far as im concerned they can do one


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## Darius_Jedburgh (8 Apr 2022)

You don't need a club.
You don't have to go on a club ride.
You need advice? Plenty of that available, the interweb is free to use!
Remember clubs are run by guys who like to be in control. (vide posts on here)
If you want to ride your bike at a certain time then do it.
All depends if you are happy with your own company. Some folk need the blanket of a club. Others can stand on their own.
Only you can decide which group you fit in.


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## cheys03 (8 Apr 2022)

That’s not in the spirit of things at all, what motivates someone respond in that way..? I wouldn’t want anything to do with the club either after toxicity like that.


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## DCLane (8 Apr 2022)

Time to find somewhere more accommodating, engaging and basically ... better


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## Kingfisher101 (9 Apr 2022)

Pedantic or what? I'd leave them to it totally. I've never liked being in groups as I like my own way all the time. I like to do the route I want, stop where I want and ride at the speed I want as well.


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## cyberknight (9 Apr 2022)

Kingfisher101 said:


> Pedantic or what? I'd leave them to it totally. I've never liked being in groups as I like my own way all the time. I like to do the route I want, stop where I want and ride at the speed I want as well.


i like group rides and enjoyed planning routes and finding cake stops .I dont socially interact with any other people so it was the one thing i looked forward too in a week given the many issues with mrs ck and mini ck 1 health and mental problems .


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## Kingfisher101 (9 Apr 2022)

cyberknight said:


> i like group rides and enjoyed planning routes and finding cake stops .I dont socially interact with any other people so it was the one thing i looked forward too in a week given the many issues with mrs ck and mini ck 1 health and mental problems .


 Well I hope you find a more accommodating group in future.People obviously haven't behaved very nicely here.


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## rogerzilla (10 Apr 2022)

DCLane said:


> Time to find somewhere more accommodating, engaging and basically ... better


Unless you live in a city, there is usually one cycling club in town. That's the problem.


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## DCLane (10 Apr 2022)

@rogerzilla - there's no cycling club in my town. I'm between about four - which gives a choice but also a limitation since they're all at least 6 miles from me.

Knowing where the op lives there's a few around there that _may_ be possibles but need a bit of travel to get there.


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## PaulSB (10 Apr 2022)

DCLane said:


> @rogerzilla - there's no cycling club in my town. I'm between about four - which gives a choice but also a limitation since they're all at least 6 miles from me.
> 
> Knowing where the op lives there's a few around there that _may_ be possibles but need a bit of travel to get there.


That's quite usual amongst members of my club, many of us would travel 5-10 miles to the meet point, some drive, some ride. Myself I ride 6.2 miles there and just see it as extra mileage. When the ride is heading in my direction I might join enroute and also would drop off early if near my house. When leading I have been known to route the return past my road!


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## PaulSB (10 Apr 2022)

cyberknight said:


> Bit of an update
> planned a ride sunday even though no one has asked for a sunday ride i posted on the club facefluff page just in case anyone wanted to join and was told to remove it as it didnt start at the "official time " ,
> 
> Pretty much sealed their fate as far as im concerned they can do one


That's definitely out of order if your ride did not clash with an official club event I can't blame you for being upset. The rule in my club, and yes clubs do have to have some rules, is all official club rides should start from the standard meet point at the designated times of 8.00/8.30/9.00 at weekends and 18.15 hours Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Outside of this members can organise private rides as and when they wish though we strongly advise/request private rides do not clash with official rides. Members are very good about observing this.


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## cyberknight (23 Apr 2022)

PaulSB said:


> That's definitely out of order if your ride did not clash with an official club event I can't blame you for being upset. The rule in my club, and yes clubs do have to have some rules, is all official club rides should start from the standard meet point at the designated times of 8.00/8.30/9.00 at weekends and 18.15 hours Tuesdays and Thursdays.
> 
> Outside of this members can organise private rides as and when they wish though we strongly advise/request private rides do not clash with official rides. Members are very good about observing this.



well another kick in the teeth , last week i was asked at short notice to lead the sat ride due to covid/ easter they were short of leaders and luckily i was free so i hastily sorted a route out , " have you got another route they dont want that one ",Bear in mind im still struggling with longer rides due to rehab.
After being asked to not post on facefluff non official rides i post on the club whats app im planing to go out sunday after being told i can then to be told i cant do that either .
Thats it , they can fark right off i have done with it now , even the chap i knew since he started club riding whom i have helped getting him fit , group riding , fixing his bikes etc etc has blanked me


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## cheys03 (23 Apr 2022)

Get gone. Closed minds and the self-defeating control freaks are not worthy of your efforts or further thought. Amazing level of expected take but no give or reasonable flexibility in return. Something very wrong.


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