Which Bristol cycling club?

Rigged

Having just moved to Bristol, I'm considering joining a club to get to know a few more people and hopefully improve my riding along the way.

I'm not really looking for anything competitive at this stage. Currently comfortably riding 30 miles at about 13-14 mph so looking for a club that do shorter rides at a slow/moderate pace. There seems to be lots of clubs to choose from so I don't quite know where to begin. I live near Temple Meads so city centre/south/south east clubs are ideal. North Bristol is less accessible for me.

Which clubs would you recommend?

soslow

I know you have limited access but North Bristol cycling clubs sounds just right for you. Its only up the M32 if you a have car easy to get to
You don't want to be riding in our fair city, although Park street is a hill to be done on a Sunday morning

vespario

Bristol road club meet at BW cycles which is hotwells, not far to ride from Temple Meads and they have at least 2 groups. Check out their website. They are very friendly.

adam0bmx0

If im free I go out with:

http://www.nb-cc.co.uk/

They do both Sat and Sun rides, start at 10am which is a good time for me and also split into groups, rides range from 35-65 miles. Easy to drive and park too if you're coming from the south.

thescouselander

Another vote for NBCC here!!! I'd suggest starting on the cake ride that happens first Sunday of every month and see how it goes from there.

Rigged

Thanks for your replies so far. It seems fairly conclusive that NBCC is the popular one to go for. Bradley Stoke isn't ideal for me as I don't have a car, but if it's the nicest group to go out with maybe it's worth the additional 7 miles to cycle there...that's just a nice warm up, right?

Is there a good mix of ages and genders that attend? I'm really considering joining a club more for the social side than anything else so the more people and the bigger the mix the better really. Hopefully I can suppress my competitive urges!

Is now a bad time to confess to people that I don't like cake? :shock:

adam0bmx0

Yes, a mixture of all abilities and even gender!

Last time I went out was about 25-30 of us, we do re-group too if the ride has a faster gorup (and hasn't split into seperate routes etc). Good friendly bunch and as you get quicker, the guys up front do know how to cycle in close format, so good practive for drafting/hand signals and calls etc.

nferrar

Another NBCC rider here, there are a few members that are in South Bristol and ride up to the start so can usually find someone to tag along with. A lot of the Saturday rides go South as well so can pick them up on the way. I think all the weekend rides these days will be 40+ miles (cake ride sometimes shorter but not if you're riding to the start) and generally 14-16mph so should be fine for you - we don't leave anybody behind either (well not on purpose ). We generally fragment a bit on rides (rather than having separate rides) so the faster riders will go at their own pace and wait up from time to time - handy if you want to start pushing yourself as if you get dropped by the faster group the main pack is always behind to pick you up.
Having said that I know a few of the more South based clubs do have easier/social ride options that might be more convenient so worth contacting them.

jotko

This thread is relevant to my interests. I am in South Bristol (BS4), not joined a club yet, not often free Sunday mornings in Summer though. Was hoping to start going to some local TT events as they are normally midweek, but the South Bristol club one at Chew Valley is on Wed nights which I can never do as play football. Do N. Bristol do a midweek TT? Any others?

frankybadboy

try the fastest growing club in the area,riders of all abilities are welcome


Saturday early morning 7am from keysham for lap of lakes

sunday rides different route every week from 40miles+

http://www.saltandsham.co.uk/

the_prophet

saltandsham looks intresting.... i've been struggling to find a club this last year myself. based in downend so looks like a pretty good option for me, thanks for the link.

markyone

We have a club in portishead which go out on Saturdays.
4 group rides ranging from 20 / 30 miles up to the elite group which is over 75 miles plus,summer rides increase.

d10brp

markyone wrote:

We have a club in portishead which go out on Saturdays.
4 group rides ranging from 20 / 30 miles up to the elite group which is over 75 miles plus,summer rides increase.

HI Markyone, could you please share some details? I live in Portishead and normally go out solo or occasionally with a couple of guys from the estate. What kind of average speeds for the groups and where/when do you meet?

markyone

d10brp wrote:

markyone wrote:

We have a club in portishead which go out on Saturdays.
4 group rides ranging from 20 / 30 miles up to the elite group which is over 75 miles plus,summer rides increase.

HI Markyone, could you please share some details? I live in Portishead and normally go out solo or occasionally with a couple of guys from the estate. What kind of average speeds for the groups and where/when do you meet?

Hi meet at parish wharf at 8 then some of us will go over to wales or some will then go to clevedon to meet the other guys.
average speeds depends what group you are in.
What sort of mileage and average speeds are you doing at the moment?
we have 4 groups.

d10brp

I'm in the 15-17 mph range over 30-50 miles at the moment but I also did a couple of longer sportives in the summer too. Getting out on average for one 40-50 roundtrip commute and one weekend ride each week at the moment. I take it you guys are still getting out regularly over the winter?

markyone

d10brp wrote:

I'm in the 15-17 mph range over 30-50 miles at the moment but I also did a couple of longer sportives in the summer too. Getting out on average for one 40-50 roundtrip commute and one weekend ride each week at the moment. I take it you guys are still getting out regularly over the winter?

Yes we will be out all winter unless its really bad weather.
We always have a coffee stop on route and don't really push hard this time of year.
If you want to know more give me a pm or visit the website pactri.
We have a great bunch of lads and lasses and lots of banter as well.

temitchell1987

North Bristol Cycling Club. I was in a similar position to you an have ridden with them a fair bit over the last 6 months or so. Good bunch of people, good routes, get involved.

However I can recommend not getting into a battle of legs on flat roads with nferrar!

They do a lovely line in water bottles too, cheers Nick.

hibster

d10brp wrote:

markyone wrote:

We have a club in portishead which go out on Saturdays.
4 group rides ranging from 20 / 30 miles up to the elite group which is over 75 miles plus,summer rides increase.

HI Markyone, could you please share some details? I live in Portishead and normally go out solo or occasionally with a couple of guys from the estate. What kind of average speeds for the groups and where/when do you meet?

i live in portishead as well so will also send you a pm
go out with t'other half & do 20-30 mile rides

markyone

We have a ride in the morning 30 plus, meet parish wharf then go to clevedon to pick up any others.

natsnoz

If i still lived in Keynsham, I would be riding the salt and sham club. Know some of them and very friendly and the roads around the lakes are cracking.

frankybadboy

natsnoz wrote:

If i still lived in Keynsham, I would be riding the salt and sham club. Know some of them and very friendly and the roads around the lakes are cracking.

great club that carters for everyone,and the lake aint a bad loop to ride around on a Saturday early morning ,and then finish up in the cricket club for a bacon sandwich and coffee to finish the morning off with

longer rides on a Sunday from 30miles+

also mtbike regular midweeks and weekends

also some guys race tt and road races so always a bit easier for a lift
http://www.saltandsham.co.uk/

frankybadboy

natsnoz wrote:

If i still lived in Keynsham, I would be riding the salt and sham club. Know some of them and very friendly and the roads around the lakes are cracking.

what guys do you know mate?

Vino'sGhost

im moving to bristol,

Are the keynsham club helmet nazis? The north bristol club appears to be

helmetberg

I should imagine every cycling club states a helmet is mandatory. Why would you not wear one?

Traffic and drivers in Bristol aren't the best. I'd strongly advocate the use of one in and around the city.

cgfw201

das rad klub look like a fun bunch on social media

Jayme

Vino'sGhost wrote:

im moving to bristol,

Are the keynsham club helmet nazis? The north bristol club appears to be

I ride with SAS (the keynsham club). They are a good bunch, catering to all levels of rider ability. However, helmets are mandatory. It might be a BC thing

giropaul

BC, nor any other insurer, requires helmets for club runs or the like.

fat daddy

Start your own club ... I'll join you if it's early enough in the morning

Jayme

giropaul wrote:

BC, nor any other insurer, requires helmets for club runs or the like.

Hence the might. I don't really know the ins and outs of clubs and helmet rules. Nor do I care. I've worn a helmet since I was a kid, and it feels weird if I'm riding without one.

gethinceri

giropaul wrote:

BC, nor any other insurer, requires helmets for club runs or the like.

There are grammatical errors in this which render it unintelligible.

sloppyschleckonds

"The use of a crash helmet is mandatory" from their code of conduct.

They also have a code of conduct for their Facebook group.

"When replying to others - especially those with whom you disagree - imagine you're having a face-to-face conversation, and ponder how differently you would interact with those people while in the same room, looking each other in the eye, as opposed to a few miles away"