Thinking of becoming a club member?

If you are thinking of becoming a club member then you have 2 things to do.

1. Start riding with the club.

2. Join the club.

Both of these things are very easy.

The best way to find out your ability and the best level of the club activities for you is to attend one of the training sessions on a Monday night at the Tiddington Home Guard Club. These are held on a 400m Tarmac running track under floodlight. The sessions allow safe riding without having traffic navigating and potholes to worry about. The best advantage is that you can ride at a pace suitable to you without being left behind or leaving the group behind. We have found that these sessions develop group riding skills and fitness very quickly and socially.

If you are an experienced cyclist then as an idea of the other road rides that we have, very similar to most other club in the UK we have club runs and training runs for the racers. To see which of these suits you read on…

Before riding with the club you should choose which of the clubs rides suits you best...

Can you ride 25 miles at 16 mph on your own? If so the Sunday club run is fine for you. Whilst the club runs are further than 25 miles the effect of being in a group will extend your endurance. If you are in any doubt over whether you can make it on a club run but would like to try it anyway contact ‘Wedge’ with about a weeks notice and he will arrange for a Chaperone to look out for you on the club run and ride home with you should you feel that it is too much for you. Don’t feel this is a bind for the club, it is quite normal at clubs all over the country and we have all been there, it’s much easier to plan in advance though!

Can you ride 30 miles at 17.5mph? If so as well as the Sunday ride the Saturday bash is suitable for you. You will need some skills at riding in a group for this ride. If you have never ridden in a group then if you mention it at the meeting place somebody will look out for you and show you the rope. If you have never been on a Saturday ride before then you should not be tempted to the front until you are sure that the pace is okay for you. Saturday rides are often spilt in two with a slower group leaving 5 minutes before the racing members.

Can you ride 30 miles at 19mph? If so you are probably up to the Tuesday bash. This is a fast training ride and it is a wise precaution to know the way home, the bash will not wait after the first 5 mile neutralized zone. There are short cuts on the two routes that you can use to regroup and recover.

Want to race?... To ride the club time trials you must be registered to an RTTC (Road Time Trail Council) affiliated club, Stratford CC is affiliated. Then once you are a paid up member of the club you may turn up half and hour before the start of the race and sign on and ride the time trial. It is your responsibility to know the route (they are all quite simple). Time trials are all individual and so you are only racing yourself, this means that you are already good enough to start racing.

Not up to the rides and want a training program to get you into shape? If you join the club we have the expertise within the club to outline a training plan for you and some goals so that you can target joining the clubs social rides in good time.

Junior Membership

Stratford Cycling Club is committed to introducing and developing young people to cycling in a safe and fair environment. To achieve this we adhere to British Cycling’s Go-Ride scheme. Our coaches are Go-Ride qualified and our junior activities are all run under Go-Ride guidelines.

Stratford CC are fortunate to have use of an excellent traffic-free facility at Tiddington, near Stratford.

As well as a hard-standing 400m oval track where we teach group riding and track racing skills, we also have a first-class off-road course for cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing.

Our coaches are qualified and insured by British Cycling, and offer a fun and friendly environment for all ages.

Regular road rides run through the year (see the event calendar), from the car-park at Milcote crossroad car-park, half way up the Greenway. Parents must accompany children on these rides, and a road-bike is essential.

There is also a monthly mixed on/off road ride, typically in the nearby Cotswolds,for which a mountain bike will be needed. See the event calendar."

The best way to find out more is to come along and watch a session and speak with one of the coaches who can give you the right advice for your family.

Junior membership in the club entitles a young person to attend club sessions and to ride in competition for Stratford Cycling Club. Juniors may only ride in Senior club activities when a club coach advises that the activity will be suitable for the young person, this is to protect the young person from a situation where they are found well and truly out of their depth. When a young person is ready to start riding with the senior section then this will be managed for each individual to make the transition as safe, fun and beneficial as possible.

Junior membership costs £15 | Download Form

Family membership.

A single membership fee of £40 will entitle all the members of families living in the same house to any level of club membership they wish (racing membership upgrade must still be paid). The idea of this is to help cycling families with the cost of membership.

Family membership cost £40 | Download Form