A strong ‘cycling for all’ ethos was behind the formation of Stonehaven Cycling Club in 2015, and the club’s secretary, Emma Veitch, believes that this has contributed to their tremendous surge in membership.

Despite being less than a year old, the Aberdeenshire-based club has over 160 members, over 50 of whom are female.

Emma says:

“The growth in the club’s membership since our formation has been phenomenal. The committee is astounded at the fantastic success and huge membership numbers for a small town of only around 12,000 people.

“The ‘cycling for all’ ethos was very important to us when setting up the club. We wanted to strive hard to encourage all forms of cycling, in all abilities. If the ethos has also encouraged more women to join, that’s great.

“We work hard to encourage, support and look after novices and more apprehensive new club recruits. The new riders are never left behind, and if someone is having a slow day, we wait.”

Emma believes that the community feel of the club is one of the reasons why it continues to attract high numbers of female riders. She continues:

“The exercise and health benefits of cycling speak for themselves, and women can appreciate this. If you add in a social element, friendship, teamwork, camaraderie and common goals like completing your first cycling event, then you will attract more female members.

“Also, a strong female presence on the committee, with good leadership, helps. Ultimately, women are excellent multi-taskers, so being able to cycle, talk and socialise, with amazing coffee and cake stops thrown in, makes cycling a fantastic sport for all women!”