November marks the anniversary of our joining British Cycling and becoming a real club, so it’s only right that we mark our 4th birthday with a little summary of the year and some general back-patting.
My how we’ve grown
In the last year we’ve grown to over 160 members representing our 5 ride groups. More of our members have tackled long, challenging rides over the summer (particular shout out to the 200km Crazy Gang led by Max E), and despite some truly awful weather at times, our weekly rides have continued to be the bedrock of our club. Women now represent 22% of our membership, which puts us slightly above the estimated national average, and we’ll continue to look at how we can work to build on that foundation.
As winter sets in recruitment naturally dips as folks opt for the warmth of their home, but expect an influx of New Year resolution enquiries and Spring sign-ups! As ever, thank you to our New Joiner Liaison, Gabor101, for his excellent work managing the new joiners.
A TdF without Pogacar…
A few weeks ago we held our first Tour de Forge, a 3 stage Sunday ride intended to allow riders the flexibility to ride with ride groups they might not normally ride with, meeting for coffee to socialise and getting to know their fellow riders. A roaring success and one of more to come…
Oh Captain My Captain!
Our Ride Captains are the bedrock of our club rides and do a sterling job ensuring they go smoothly. We’re working closely with our Ride Captains to ensure the club goes from strength to strength, looking to improve both on and off the road.
We’re always looking for volunteers to assist on rides, so if you’d like to discuss Ride Captain opportunities, please get in touch with Club Captain, Matt G, via Slack.
Over the Seas we go
This year has seen the club take on the Spring Classic of Liege-Bastione-Liege and venture to Mallorca for some epic pre-season training. Flying the club colours elsewhere, our members have been seen taking part in GFNY Alpes Vaujany and the Marmotte Gran Fondo, as well as UK audaxes and sportives.
Future trips include Amstel Gold in April 2025 and another pre-season training camp in Mallorca, as well as member-organised trips to sportives and races at home and abroad.
Personal Challenges
This has been an exceptional year for personal challenges, with more of our members pushing themselves to achieve their goals. Highlights include qualifications for the Gravel World Championships, the epic Pan Celtic Race, a strong peloton at the Ford RideLondon including some first timers taking on the challenge, numerous charity rides including London to Paris and L’Etape, a ridiculous IronGravel 360, and a LEJOG. We’re tired just reading all that!
We love that our members are taking on challenges and encourage everyone to share their experiences with the club in our Personal Challenges channel on Slack. Kudos abounds!
As we move into our 5th year we’re entering an exciting new era of growth and development. Now an established local club, we’ll be looking at ways we can grow both as a club and within our community, and offering our members more opportunities to ride with a club they’re proud to be a part of. Go Forge!
