To Club or not ?

andy h 1

Hi all, i am relatively new to cycling again!!! and was wondering what the best way to develop my cycling fairly quickly would be? when i say develop i mean riding techniques ,advice, support ,routes etc etc would a club be best, or a friend or 2 or on my own? the club idea does appeal as it is a CTC section which i feel would be best for me initially, all comments would be very welcome, thanks.

McBain_v1

Go with a club unless you think that you won't be able to stand the pace. I know that when I joined VC Halton I was a little alarmed that the average speed on a ride from Widnes to Mold was about 22mph. Still, once you get caught up in the bunch you soon forget the pain messages from your legs. Clubs are a great place to pick up free advice and hard-won lessons about riding and bike maintenance etc.

Stwutter

I agree with the above, but try a few out for size, as cycling clubs can vary from the very friendly to the utterly obnoxious. It's best to aim for one that offers a range of rides, so you can join faster groups as you progress. If you go out with the nutters at first, it can be very off-putting.

E-mail and call a few - you can tell a lot simply by their response. I e-mailed one club recently that's near me, and you'd think I was trying to join the bloody freemasons.

Some are nice too!

jibi

I am sure a good club would let you have a couple of rides with them before you were asked to join.

Find out where they meet and go along for a ride to find out about them.

what area do you live in Andy ?

someone here may be able to suggest a club.

george

andy h 1

Hi George , i live in Halifax West Yorks,actually i have a club in mind which is the Halifax CTC, which i feel would be a good starting point for me.

jibi

Have you seen there website

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/7530/

seems like only one more easy ride this "summer"

But they do have links to other clubs in the area too.

george

winkywonky

Join a a club, you wont regret it. I've started with the Liverpool Century and it is a blast.
A mix of rides for all levels, on the club runs somebody will always make sure you get home. Plus chain gangs for training. The feeling of riding in a bunch can't be beaten. A lot does depend on fitness but any club worth their salt would look after you anyway. But as said not every club will be the same.

Mossrider

Halifax Imps (Imperials) are one of your local clubs and they seem ok. I'm with a sister club in the Huddersfield District Association and there are 16 clubs in the area - so plenty to go at including the CTC. Why not ride out with both for a couple of sessions - the local CTC to me (Huddersfield) meet on a weekday evening. If the Imps are too fast; you will be surprised if you stick with it to find that after a couple of tortuous rides you start to keep up with them

Mark Alexander

definitely join but choose care fully

overmars

Now that I have a GPS I'd join a club. So when I get dropped by guys going an average of 22mph :shock: I can find my way home. 8)

richard_l

andy h 1 wrote:

Hi all, i am relatively new to cycling again!!! and was wondering what the best way to develop my cycling fairly quickly would be? when i say develop i mean riding techniques ,advice, support ,routes etc etc would a club be best, or a friend or 2 or on my own? the club idea does appeal as it is a CTC section which i feel would be best for me initially, all comments would be very welcome, thanks.

andy - do you yet know what your aims are from joining a club? Is it for relaxing leisure, for fitness, for competition, etc? For a lot of advice and techniques, (Particulalry if you want to develop over a short period of time) you might want to join a cycling club with a qualified coach rather than join a CTC group.