Reading Cycling Club press report, week ending 14 December 2009

A Big Year for Cycling

Team GB's track star, Chris Hoy, won the BBC's Sports Personality of the
Year on Sunday evening. Hoy was not the bookie's favourite to win but
nevertheless took the public vote by a wide margin to cap an excellent
year of success for British riders in Olympic and World Championships.

Reading CC became involved in the buildup to the Sports Personality of
the Year awards. At the beginning of December the BBC came to Palmer
Park Stadium to film riders cycling around the track for their weekly
entertainment programme, The One Show. The One Show was to feature
segments relating to each of the nominees. As no fewer than four
cyclists were on the list, four cyclists' profiles were required. The
BBC wanted footage of competitive cyclists so it was that members of
Reading CC volunteered to help. Craig Brophy was there: "Together with
members from Palmer Park Velo we went around the track doing various
line formations with the cameraman filming us from from a car that was
also on the track. I was also lucky enough to have a camera mounted on
my bike to give the television viewer the sense of being inside a
cycling group." Reading CC members would have followed through on this
good work by voting for Hoy on the night and he duly became the first
cycling SPOTY since Tom Simpson in 1965.

People who want to get a sense of what it is like being inside a cycling
group can of course achieve this in a more direct way by joining Reading
Cycling Club. So has Reading CC experienced an Olympic bounce effect,
with people suddenly joining up? If there has been such an effect, it is
minor. On the other hand, Reading CC's membership is now at the highest
it has been for many years. Much as Olympic success was the result of
careful build-up over many years, something similar is true of Reading
CC. With over 200 members, the club is dedicated to giving cyclists the
opportunity to race, ride and enjoy life on two wheels. We have
something on offer for all sporting riders, with activities that include
racing, social rides, sportives, audax and cyclo-cross. Neither is cycle
sport something that has to be given up with age: older cyclists can
remain very fit and competitive and there are many categories of
age-related competition.

For those who wish a gentle start to cycling, the National Lottery is
funding a full-time cycling development officer in Reading. Her job is
to get more people cycling, especially those who feel they are leading
unhealthy lifestyles and want to change. She can be contacted via
Reading Borough council, or via the CTC (www.ctc.org.uk).

Reading CC always welcomes new members. An excellent place forn the
newcomer to start is the clubrun, which forms the backbone of social
cycling within the club. Several groups depart from the Market Place,
Reading, next to the Queen Victoria statue, on Sunday mornings at 09.00.
It is on the clubrun that the newcomer gains experience of cycling in a
group and how a group behaves safely on public roads. Most newcomers are
not familiar with the network of minor roads in Berkshire, Hampshire and
Oxfordshire; with the club they can appreciate the excellent countryside
that surrounds us and learn routes to use on solo rides. The newcomer
gets a feel for the other cycling activities in the club, and so they
themselves can embark on more competitive riding and push themselves
towards new levels of fitness. The first step onwards from clubruns is
often to sportive riding. In 2009 Reading will promote a new sportive
event in memory of Anthony Maynard.

Cycling is at the intersection of many current concerns. It's not just a
sport but a pursuit that contributes positively towards personal health,
lowers road congestion and reduces our environmental impact. That's not
why most people in Reading CC join the club of course: they just love
cycling.

Photo caption: The view from the bunch: you can learn group riding
skills with Reading CC
Photo credit: Rod MacFadyen
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Roderick MacFadyen
Reading Cycling Club