PH wrote:al_yrpal wrote:There is a lot of group cycling going on outside the aegis of the CTC.
Al
I've had the pleasure of riding with 5 Member Groups, including HoE from the Meriden Weekend. All of them have been different, but all of them have very distinctively been touring rides. By that I mean it's been about where you go and how you get there rather than how far or how fast. There's a lot of clubs within a 10 mile radius of my home, some very family friendly, some very sporty, but none of them other than the CTC offer the sort of cycling I most enjoy. That this isn't the most popular sort of cycling is something I think we have to accept, but I believe it would be more popular if better promoted and understood. When promoting it to new members the short 3 ride trial before forking out £40+ does make it hard and NO need to address this before it's too late, or more groups will be leaving to do their own thing and IMO CTC will be weaker for it.
It's good to hear that HoE CC has made such a promising start, long may it continue. My experience of clubs (Of all sorts, not just cycling) is that however big the membership, it's just a handful of people putting the effort in to keep them going. I've seen clubs change as this handful of people have changed, which could of course fine for those involved, but a loss for those looking for what was originally offered.
Nicely put , I'd gladly go along to a ctc group if there was one local to me Perks of living in the sticks I suppose ! And the stunning scenery more then make up for it