London cycling clubs
Discussion
I've been given to understand Finchley Road Team only accept Cat 2 racers and above or women. That was six months ago when I was looking into clubs, things may have changed. Indeed their website indicates that they're more open, so it's not impossible that I was misinformed.
What I discovered in general is that there are traditional clubs, typically with a heavy racing bias, and latter-day clubs, which may have a broader appeal and may also be more inclusive. If you're serious about racing, I'm told membership of a traditional club can be advantageous in gaining entry to popular races, as well as providing a peer group of established racers to encourage you and against whom you can measure progress. The less traditional, newer clubs would still suit someone who wanted to try racing, but they might put just as much emphasis on, say, social rides and mini-adventures as they do on competition and may not be ideal for those already racing seriously.
If you're happy to consider north of the river then CC London and Islington would be possible latter-day club choices, if that sort of club might suit. Islington I haven't ridden with but I've met the guy who runs CC London, Ian Watson, and rode Rapha HOTN with them. Sunday club runs start in East Finchley, but of more interest to you might be the midweek morning and evening training sessions around Regent's Park on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They've also got some longer club runs, like London-York, going on during the year. I got the impression Ian does like to encourage people to get into racing so they could be a good fit if their north London bias doesn't put you off. Possibly the biggest drawback might be that I am intending to join myself
(as a second-claim member, mostly for the mini-adventures, once I've settled on a more local club to join for regular club rides).
What I discovered in general is that there are traditional clubs, typically with a heavy racing bias, and latter-day clubs, which may have a broader appeal and may also be more inclusive. If you're serious about racing, I'm told membership of a traditional club can be advantageous in gaining entry to popular races, as well as providing a peer group of established racers to encourage you and against whom you can measure progress. The less traditional, newer clubs would still suit someone who wanted to try racing, but they might put just as much emphasis on, say, social rides and mini-adventures as they do on competition and may not be ideal for those already racing seriously.
If you're happy to consider north of the river then CC London and Islington would be possible latter-day club choices, if that sort of club might suit. Islington I haven't ridden with but I've met the guy who runs CC London, Ian Watson, and rode Rapha HOTN with them. Sunday club runs start in East Finchley, but of more interest to you might be the midweek morning and evening training sessions around Regent's Park on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They've also got some longer club runs, like London-York, going on during the year. I got the impression Ian does like to encourage people to get into racing so they could be a good fit if their north London bias doesn't put you off. Possibly the biggest drawback might be that I am intending to join myself
(as a second-claim member, mostly for the mini-adventures, once I've settled on a more local club to join for regular club rides).Cos18 said:
Without wishing to stir up the hornets nest, would you recommend the Clapham Chasers? I'm moving up that way in a couple of months and am keen to find a decent tri/cycling club to get stuck into, to keep my mind off the fact I'll be living in London 
Absolutely thet areca very friendly bunch with the whole range of ability. The fact they had a fair few doing the tour of wessex suggests they have some serious cyclists on board. They also seem a large club too.Dizeee said:
Absolutely thet areca very friendly bunch with the whole range of ability. The fact they had a fair few doing the tour of wessex suggests they have some serious cyclists on board. They also seem a large club too.
I think all clubs have people doing sportives.Serious clubs would be ones with heavy representation at races and I guess for them, tri events/Ironmans etc.
Certainly Finchley only taking 2nd cat or above is quite rare, not heard that one before, though I suppose our club is a bit more like that, but we only want people that are competing at any level and are happy to give back to the sport by helping put events on.
Edited by okgo on Wednesday 27th May 11:25
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