Cycling UK Forum

I just wanted my disappointment out there. I'm sure I have nothing new to add.
The winged wheel has been gradually hidden away the writing was on the cards when 2 logos appeared.
York rally was killed off even when Eroica reinvented it, and CTC tried to get on board which in my mind was so sad. Eroica could have been the York rally if there had been the foresight to see the opportunity.
Now we lose the name.
And identity.
I know the cyclists who interested me in cycling and who are mostly cycling in loftier places now( thank you lads, I wish I had said that then not 30 years too late) would have been up in arms.
I expect that consultants have done well out of this.
I expect much of it is about attracting funding.
I'm sure that paid charity managers will change again and we will all be left wondering how we ended up being bland and dull with short term members coming and going but never feeling that they are part of something solid and long lived in a disposable world.

Well said.

+1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb4eZ7Z5yk8

I'm not a racer, but I've just checked out BC membership. I think I have more in common with them than with the 'not the cyclists' touring club'

Never thought I'd see the day...

+1 too.

I won't be renewing my CTC membership this time.
Last time, I prevaricated a bit and nearly joined BC, but now it's the last straw.

BC will get my support from now on.

I'll be off too, British Cycling numbers are going to go up for certain. CUK , no thanks

Iand wrote:I just wanted my disappointment out there. I'm sure I have nothing new to add.
The winged wheel has been gradually hidden away the writing was on the cards when 2 logos appeared.
York rally was killed off even when Eroica reinvented it, and CTC tried to get on board which in my mind was so sad. Eroica could have been the York rally if there had been the foresight to see the opportunity.
Now we lose the name.
And identity.
I know the cyclists who interested me in cycling and who are mostly cycling in loftier places now( thank you lads, I wish I had said that then not 30 years too late) would have been up in arms.
I expect that consultants have done well out of this.
I expect much of it is about attracting funding.
I'm sure that paid charity managers will change again and we will all be left wondering how we ended up being bland and dull with short term members coming and going but never feeling that they are part of something solid and long lived in a disposable world.

Love it. Vintage has been increasingly popular for years, what does this group of paid professional charity workers do? Become invisible. Enjoy your salaries before you move on to British Cycling or some such.

For me touring was the thing that brought a diverse group of cyclists together.
Racers who toured and the hard men/women who were true athletes
Family tourers
Commuters who toured and aspired to tour
Shaggy haired students who wanted to see the world
Old men who relived the travels of their past and inspired the youngsters and who incidentally still did awesome things with a bike( tours across S.Australia and ascents of Helvelyn by touring bike!)
Women of all ages
Engineers of the highest calibre who gave their skills for free
I have since found much of this is still present in the running community but the local DAs have dwindled leaving the cycling community poorer. Other groups are appearing but are more inclined towards BC and seem largely unaware of CTC.
Ps just remembered the old men were probably my age now. Make mental note to inspire some youngsters....

Euskadi wrote:Love it. Vintage has been increasingly popular for years, what does this group of paid professional charity workers do? Become invisible. Enjoy your salaries before you move on to British Cycling or some such.

Or return to BC, in the case of the new Chief Exec.

Oh and as Euskadi has so rightly said retro is big.
Growing my whiskers and dusting the cotton duck off(actually both 're all year features!)for my 3rd Eroica in a few weeks.
Eroica is everything the old York rally could have been.
One of the reasons it failed was because peeps didn't want to pay to get in if I remember correctly.
Eroica full within weeks again 5k riders and thousands of paying visitors. I love it.I wish you could buy membership!

Mick F wrote:Last time, I prevaricated a bit and nearly joined BC, but now it's the last straw.

BC will get my support from now on.

Out of interest (I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm genuinely interested), what do you see in British Cycling that you don't/won't get from CTC/Cycling UK?

When I go to the BC homepage, it's covered with "sportive", "GB cycling team", "world cup winner", "top road cycling series", "BMX supercross world cup" - those are all the headlines right now. I understand people's anger with CTC/Cycling UK, and I can certainly see how the rebrand might have been done differently and perhaps better; but BC seems like a very different beast.

But I may be prejudging it because I've had bad experiences with sport governing bodies overextending their reach beyond sport in other areas (*cough* RYA *cough*). Tell me what I'm missing!

Richard Fairhurst wrote:Out of interest (I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm genuinely interested), what do you see in British Cycling that you don't/won't get from CTC/Cycling UK?

Yes, I'm dismayed by the landgrabby new name of CUK but they're still better than the helmet-forcing sport-centred BC. I feel that LCC and its siblings (Cyclenation) are best if you have one near you, or can start one.

Richard Fairhurst wrote:

Mick F wrote:Last time, I prevaricated a bit and nearly joined BC, but now it's the last straw.

BC will get my support from now on.

Out of interest (I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm genuinely interested), what do you see in British Cycling that you don't/won't get from CTC/Cycling UK?
...

I can't answer for Mick but, had I not left when they made a complete mess of CJ being made redundant I would be leaving now, not so much due to the decisions (although I disagree with them) but because of the way they have been made and implemented. The poor manner suggests distinct lack of capability it the top to the point where it will severely impact the organisation.

Whilst I disagree with CJ having been made redundant, the way the management mishandled the action turned a bad situation into a complete disaster for the organisation. And losing a highly experienced and highly regarded member of staff does not make sense. That comes down to bad management.

And with the re-branding, that they failed to even try to get the support of those who are actually paying for it all beggars belief. It's not some commercial company who've got to keep what they are doing secret to avoid their competitors taking counter/protective action. So what were the management thinking by not informing and consulting the wider membership. And that they didn't really makes one wonder about the capability of those running the organisation.

As to joining other organisations; for some reason I feel strongly that I should be a member of at least one organisation supporting activities I participate in (not so much for self-interest but because if I am participating I feel I should also be contributing and supporting the activity). Other sports/activities I participate in I am a member of the national organising body or a comparable organisation. For me the CTC used to be worthwhile in that regard. But as I got to see how the management were running things I became more and more doubtful about their competence. Completely avoidable and unnecessary situations are created that causes member/public disquiet. And to me that suggests changes are needed or the organisation will not achieve what one would expect.

Ian

Like many I'm looking for an alternative, BC ETA or simply to arrange my own insurance and join a local or specific interest group.
What others are available?

I have say (as a BC employee!) I am flummoxed as to why people are considering joining BC when it is even further away from the idolised golden age of the CTC that they are mourning, than CyclingUK is.....?

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of joining BC...if it does what you need it to do then go for it...but all the things people are complaining that the CTC is losing...BC doesn't do them!

I guess the bottom line for me is
Where do I get 3rd party insurance and the legal backup that has always been a big selling point for me.
The rest of it has largely become an irrelevance, ie a magazine that is nearly always " read " in five minutes, few local groups, no rally etc.