Thinking of starting a club ??

[Tintin]

Hi everyone

I am a roadie, I ride every week and get together with mates fairly regularly for group rides.

I enter a few sportive s and consider myself to be a reasonably good, fit cyclist and am getting the urge to join a club, but I do not want to race, or go out on social rides and have my 'legs pulled off' or be 'dropped on every climb'.

Yes I know there are some great clubs out there and please don't think I'm knocking them, but I'm just not in to racing.

I am in to sharing my passion with like minded riders who want to group ride regularly without the unspoken competition that sits on their shoulder during every weekend ride.

So, I thought I might try to create an informal club (without fees) to try and bring together other folks who enjoy riding but who would rather bow out of competitive riding or racing.

I currently ride with 2 or 3 mates fairly regularly, but thought their may be others out there that may also want to get together for group rides.

I live in Cottingham, East Yorkshire and ride locally around the area, so if you are reading and might be interested could you please post a reply and let me know.

Its just an idea at the moment but it could develop if I get some interest.

I quite like the idea as well as doing local rides, to do some riding and climbing around the North York Moors and the Peaks for away days.

Please let me know your thoughts

 

[Fab Foodie]

It's a great idea but ....

It's never as simple as you think. I've been involved since the inception with 'Abingdon Freewheeling' with an aim to get people together for group rides, short, long, fast slow, something for everybody, and FREE! And ... we've been mostly successful, in fact we'll soon have more riders and rides than we know what to do with, BUT, we've had to become an official club, with insurance cover, comittee, membership fees (£1 per year), register of riders etc. etc. It's the liability shoot that turns a mates ride into a bigger event more difficult and at the end of the day there's no getting round it. Affiliation to local CTC is a good starting point and getting the ride leaders insurance cover is required.
Whilst I'm really not a 'club' type there's no getting around the need for an organisation. Ask dellzeqq about his FNRttC and Martletts rides.

Ok, that's the downside, the upside is we've got loads of people cycling together evey week, about 20 to 30 on a Thursday evening for a road session (15 mile slow) 20-25 miler fast rides, they're getting bigger numbers on Tuesday night MTB rides and we get about 30 on a sunday morning, these rides vary according to which day, some slow beginners 20 to 30 milers to fast rides with Didcot club. Some of our guys are also race-training. So we have a real mix. On our 2nd annual Freewheeling festival day, we took nearly 150 people on guided bike rides, 4, 10 and 27 milers + free cake stop! Some Thursday regulars are in their 70's, some are teenagers, we all end-up in the pub.
Everybody is able to propose/organise their own rides as well as the 'official' Freewheeling events.

So, it's great, time consuming, frustrating, but worth the effort. We're constantly amazed and delighted.

Please take a look at the site, ride schedule and link to our Facebook page (a great communication tool).

I've often felt that our Freewheeling set-up is a pretty good model.

http://www.abingdonfreewheeling.org.uk/

There is an alternative, become a 'National Clarion Club' and here's how!

Good Luck

http://www.clarioncc.org/index.html

 

[Tintin]

Thanks for the info and eye opener, and congratulations on your club set up

I would get involved with your club if I lived in the area.

I don't intend to go down the official club route, and I guess it might be better if I just rephrase it and ask anyone in the local area to contact me if they want to go out on regular group rides, and keep the 'club' word out of it.

I hate all that formal form filling in liability c**p. Everything's got to be so regulated these days I just want to ride my bike with a group of mates

All we do now is text around and agree a time and place to meet. We do that cos its easy, cheap and informal.

Please let me know if anyone would want to meet up for regular informal 'non club' rides.

Cheers !

 

[italiafirenze]

Thanks for the info and eye opener, and congratulations on your club set up

I would get involved with your club if I lived in the area.

I don't intend to go down the official club route, and I guess it might be better if I just rephrase it and ask anyone in the local area to contact me if they want to go out on regular group rides, and keep the 'club' word out of it.

I hate all that formal form filling in liability c**p. Everything's got to be so regulated these days I just want to ride my bike with a group of mates

All we do now is text around and agree a time and place to meet. We do that cos its easy, cheap and informal.

Please let me know if anyone would want to meet up for regular informal 'non club' rides.

Cheers !

There's a group near me that meet every sunday morning and set off just after or before our club ride, I can never remember which. They aren't a club, but they all know it's the same time every week and anyone is welcome. They often have way more than our club ride.

I don't think they worry about the organisation, but then they don't have a name or a website or a committee, just a time and place and whoever is there rides.

 

[Tintin]

Yeh this is what I was aiming for, so if anyone's interested please post !

 

[teletext45]

you know im in stu !



andy