Cycling UK and Local Groups - how do they interact from a member’s perspective?

[Jdsk]

The CTC is Cycling UK or was. Its all been restructured to Charity status and now is just a campaigning charity it isnt a club anymore. I feel very let down with it, as a full CTC member I was looking forward to the CTC holidays, Birthday Rides, York Rallies, and other events on retiring....all gone. After years of membership the reduced rate for lifers gone and then now all this Woke Ideoligy and progresive rubbish is now gradually pushing me out. I have joined the National Clarion as a private member and I may join their local group and dump all the CUK crap, just not a club and they even got rid of the Winged Wheel, Stanley Cotterall must turning in his grave. Its just for insurance I stay and the local DA but with all the electric bikes speeding the group up and being flashed to blindness with all the flasher read lights many use I think I will be better riding alone and this is how I see it going now for me.

My emboldening. Please could you give us some examples.

Thanks

Jonathan

[Nearholmer]

I’m not a CUK Member (fraud, I hear you all cry!) because our club is BC affiliated, but there is a former CTC branch locally, and I sometimes bump into them when out and about. They are a chatty, pleasant and cheery group, but the vibe from those I’ve met is unquestionably “very mature; traditional touring or day-touring”, so hugely unlikely to appeal to newbies, or youngsters, or roadies, or MTBers, or gravelistas, or ….. well, anyone who isn’t very mature and into traditional touring. That branch has reduced in membership as time has marched onwards.

Our “woke and progressive” club, OTH, is thriving, has hundreds of members, turning out rides almost every day, several each day at weekends, and caters for everyone and anything except MTB, which has its own very active local club.

[PH]

I’m not a CUK Member (fraud, I hear you all cry!) because our club is BC affiliated, but there is a former CTC branch locally, and I sometimes bump into them when out and about. They are a chatty, pleasant and cheery group, but the vibe from those I’ve met is unquestionably “very mature; traditional touring or day-touring”, so hugely unlikely to appeal to newbies, or youngsters, or roadies, or MTBers, or gravelistas, or ….. well, anyone who isn’t very mature and into traditional touring. That branch has reduced in membership as time has marched onwards.

My local CTC group is doing pretty well, when I started riding with them I thought it would have faded away by now. They were mostly older than me, a youngster of 40, and there were no younger riders coming through, or much effort being made to recruit them. What I hadn't realised was this sort of cycling - where you go, who you meet, what you see and of course the cafe - does have more appeal to the mature rider. They didn't need to bring youngsters through, though they're always welcome, they'd find them when they were old enough. It's now no surprise that the largest rides are the two midweek ones. Most of those riders have never toured, in the sense of multi day trips and they won't consider the day rides to be touring. Don't be fooled by the casual appearance into thinking these are all easy rides. We try and offer a variety, but some of the regular rides are longer and more challenging than those offered by some sporting clubs, though with different objectives.
I think everyone should try a few CTC rides, I put some effort into encouraging people to do so, with some success. I'm not bothered that a lot of riders decide it's not for them, it's hard to explain, so sometimes it won't be as they were expecting. It's often possible to point them in the direction of something that is. What CTC groups can offer, often can't be found elsewhere, and there's enough participants who appreciate that to make it worthwhile. I'd hope that CTC groups continue to cater for them rather than try to boost numbers by offering what's available elsewhere.

[Nearholmer]

Don't be fooled by the casual appearance into thinking these are all easy rides.

Don’t worry, I’m not. I’m in awe of some of these sinewy old ladies and gents, especially when they overtake me going up steep hills!

Noticeable also that the Wednesday rides of the ‘modern’ club have many characteristics in common with the CTC format, including the sinewy old participants, but they seem to be more pace-driven (a pace far higher than mine!).

[mattheus]

The CTC is Cycling UK or was. Its all been restructured to Charity status and now is just a campaigning charity it isnt a club anymore. I feel very let down with it, as a full CTC member I was looking forward to the CTC holidays, Birthday Rides, York Rallies, and other events on retiring....all gone.

Is this the same York Rally I attended in June? Hundreds of people on a variety of bikes - some camping, some* just there for the 400k audax.


*OK, not many!

[mattheus]

I’m not a CUK Member (fraud, I hear you all cry!) because our club is BC affiliated, but there is a former CTC branch locally, and I sometimes bump into them when out and about. They are a chatty, pleasant and cheery group, but the vibe from those I’ve met is unquestionably “very mature; traditional touring or day-touring”, so hugely unlikely to appeal to newbies, or youngsters, or roadies, or MTBers, or gravelistas, or ….. well, anyone who isn’t very mature and into traditional touring. That branch has reduced in membership as time has marched onwards.

Our “woke and progressive” club, OTH, is thriving, has hundreds of members, turning out rides almost every day, several each day at weekends, and caters for everyone and anything except MTB, which has its own very active local club.

Did you form that "woke" club? (Or did you just jump on the bandwagon? )
And would you say the founders wanted the "very mature" type of rider?

IAMFI

[Philip Benstead]

I’m not a CUK Member (fraud, I hear you all cry!) because our club is BC affiliated, but there is a former CTC branch locally, and I sometimes bump into them when out and about. They are a chatty, pleasant and cheery group, but the vibe from those I’ve met is unquestionably “very mature; traditional touring or day-touring”, so hugely unlikely to appeal to newbies, or youngsters, or roadies, or MTBers, or gravelistas, or ….. well, anyone who isn’t very mature and into traditional touring. That branch has reduced in membership as time has marched onwards.

Our “woke and progressive” club, OTH, is thriving, has hundreds of members, turning out rides almost every day, several each day at weekends, and caters for everyone and anything except MTB, which has its own very active local club.

Where in the UK is your club and its name if possible?