The nights may be drawing in, but don’t let winter get in the way of your club activities – there’s still plenty you can be doing at this time of year that will benefit your young riders, both now and over the next 12 months.

Club Activities

Go-Ride Racing Winter Offer - Have you registered your Go-Ride Racing winter events yet? Fancy a festive or a New Year’s race to test the skills of your young riders? Let us know about your event and you will be eligible for our Winter Offer, which includes bespoke prizes for clubs delivering a series of two, four or six events. All young riders that are British Cycling members and part of a Go-Ride Club hosting Go-Ride Racing events throughout winter are also eligible to sign up for some amazing coaching and racing sessions at iconic facilities across the country.

Hosting a Go-Ride Racing event is easy; all you need is a Level 2 coach and some enthusiastic volunteers. To register your event, download the registration form here. If you have any questions, or would like to have a chat about entry-level racing at your club, contact the Go-Ride team on 0161 274 2070 or go-ride@britishcycling.org.uk.

Winter Coaching Sessions - You could use the winter months to mix things up in your coaching sessions. If your club doesn’t already offer a range of disciplines, doing so can help with basic bike handling skills and offer some variety to your sessions. Or you could head inside and do some important technical work on rollers.

Alternatively, having a go at other team sports or activities such as circuit training are a great way to encourage teamwork and contribute to young people’s overall physical development.

Club Management

Why not use the winter period to plan ahead for the next 12 months? You could take the opportunity to work on your club development plan, consider whether your club would benefit from recruiting more volunteers to help with the smooth running of your club and think about any training your existing volunteers may benefit from to enable them to fulfil their role safely and effectively.

It is also important to review your club’s risk assessments on a regular basis, taking into account changes in weather and other environmental factors such as surface conditions. There are template risk assessments on the British Cycling website if you need them.

If your club isn’t already using it, now could be the ideal time to make the most of the free Club Management Tool, which can help with the smooth running of your club’s day-to-day activities.

Club Equipment

It is important to keep a comprehensive record of all club equipment and ensure that bikes in particular are safe to use. Club bikes, whether loaned for an individual session or long term, must be properly maintained and fit for purpose. If the club owns the bikes, then it is important that a maintenance log and records are kept to show that all bikes have been serviced on a regular basis.

If a bike that is loaned or hired from the club is involved in an accident that is claimed to have been caused by a mechanical failure, the bike’s service and maintenance records will be very important and may be called upon in the event that a claim of negligence is brought against either the loanee/hirer or the club.

It is therefore important that those loaning or hiring a bike from a club understand and accept that it is their responsibility to ensure the bike is appropriately maintained and remains fit for purpose whilst in their possession.

Clubs should have a simple agreement for members to sign to accept this responsibility and also ensure that all of their equipment is tracked and properly maintained.

If you’d like any further guidance on winter activities, contact the Go-Ride team on 0161 274 20701 or go-ride@britishcycling.org.uk.