WELWYN WHEELERS – INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Gosling Sports Park, Stanborough Road, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL8 6XE

http://welwynwheelers.org.uk/

FORWARD BY THE CHAIR

Congratulations on joining one of the strongest clubs in the country.

Welwyn Wheelers has a rich history of guiding and nurturing some outstanding riders in its long history. Riders such as Peter Bissell, Christopher Church, Andy Fenn, Karl Gough, Bethany Hayward, Brendan McKeown, Claire Newland and Laura Trott all benefited from being part of the Welwyn Wheelers Cycling Club.

But whether you are an aspiring Olympian, or whether you have more modest cycling ambitions, Welwyn Wheelers is an excellent club with which to pursue your interest and ambition. Our main aim is to get you !

This guide has been produced to welcome you to the Club, to provide a reference point for you to answer some of the typical questions a new member may have. There are also likely to be questions you have from time to time that may not be answered by this guide.

So, if in doubt, please just ask. All members will be pleased to help, or are likely to be able to point you towards the right person.

Finally, welcome to Welwyn Wheelers, we look forward to helping you develop and enjoy your cycling in a friendly, open and inclusive manner.

Chair - Welwyn Wheelers

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CYCLING – A BRIEF GUIDE

If this is your first cycling club the structure of the sport may seem a little confusing. This brief guide is intended to help introduce you to the sport, provide information about useful cycling related organisations and also how the competitive side of cycling is organised. If you have any queries as you get into the sport please ask one of the club coaches, officials or club members, they’ll be happy to help. Also see the club website – www.welwynwheelers.org.uk

Welwyn Wheelers provides the opportunity for its members to take part and enjoy a wide range of competitive and non-competitive cycling activities.

Non Competitive – Sunday morning club runs all year round for all club members, Go-Ride Saturday Club (directed primarily at novice and young riders 8 years to adults) and Off Road Rides. There are also ‘Sportive’ and Challenge Rides.

There are several types of racing – these are quite different from each other, each have their own rules and regulations and require different skills and equipment. These include - , Road and Circuit Racing, Time Trials, and Cyclo-cross Racing.

The two Governing bodies for cycle racing are and Cycling Time Trials. Their roles are explained below:

British Cycling (www.britishcycling.org.uk) BC is recognised as the governing body for at international level and controls: ♦ Road Racing; bunch racing on the roads; ♦Circuit racing: bunch racing on closed circuits (can be purpose built or town centre circuits); ♦Track Racing; a variety of events held on hard tracks or grass tracks; ♦Cyclo-cross; bunch racing over parks/fields in winter; ♦; a bit like motorcycle speedway; ♦BMX racing; ♦, both cross country and downhill; ♦A small number of time trials.

To take part in BC racing events you first need to join the organisation (see their website for details) and to obtain a racing licence from them as well (under 16’s and below get a free racing licence). There are various grades of membership some of which give you third party insurance cover and other benefits. Those benefits are often useful to have even if you don’t want to take out an annual racing lice