“We have been able to reopen our closed-road cycle circuit”
How long have you been with the club?
I joined Wyre Forest CRC almost as soon as I got my bike six years ago. They have a closed road cycle circuit open to club members which was and still is extremely handy to cycle around and hone your skills safe in the knowledge you don’t have to worry about other road users.
How has the club handled the return to group riding?
Safely. We have been able to reopen our closed road cycle circuit exclusively to our club members albeit at reduced capacity to keep everyone safe and control the spread of Covid-19. The circuit is now available several times a week via an online booking system.
We also reintroduced our Friday night youth coaching sessions at the start of July following British Cycling’s guidance and this has been well supported.
Finally our club rides have slowly been increasing in number as riders begin to return to some sort of normality. In the past we would run a few larger group rides at various paces; however, the new normal is to run even smaller groups, no more than six. As such, the offering in pace, distance and route is now more varied, catering to even more members.
What have been your own thoughts and emotions on returning to club riding?
It has been a stressful time trying to help our members but ensure we all play our part in controlling this virus, and the guidance is always changing, which makes keeping on top of it challenging.
Has the club made plans for any events and or promotions later this year or next and what are they?
The club is currently running its weekly time trial series, which is open to all and has been a runaway success. We hope to run an open TT later this year and possibly a round of the West Midlands cyclo-cross league.
Has the club seen an influx of new members since lockdown? If so, why?
We’re lucky enough to have access to a closed road circuit, which has been a huge factor in our influx in membership during lockdown. Due to coronavirus controls only our club members can use it at the moment. This has driven people to join. We’ve also seen new members join, some of whom only started cycling during lockdown. They want to tackle the open road but they want to do so with other riders so our group rides have appealed to them.