Cardiff Club, Wenvoe Wheelers has become a popular new breed of club that focus on the social ride and motivating more people to get involved with cycling. This month Welsh Cycling award Wenvoe Wheelers with the recognition of Februarys' Club of the Month.

Welsh Cycling spoke to Rob Harrison of Wenvoe Wheelers to find out more about the Club and how they are working towards closing the gender gap for club members.

Rob Harrison, Members Secretary at Wenvoe Wheelers said "We will be celebrating our 4th year this April and working towards encouraging more women to cycle with us. Three of our club members are training to be ride leaders next month taking our total female leaders to four and our total ride leaders for the club to twenty".

"Our minimal joining fee covers our costs, we've never been about making money but we try to make the club as effective as possible.  We've applied for Community funding and are now the proud owners of 8 turbos, providing a weekly turbo session free to members".

Stepping up to Level 1 Coaching Qualifications

Susan Williams is on the Steering Group and is set to become a Ride Leader next month as she undertakes her Level 1 British Cycling Coaching Qualification in March with two other female members of the club. Susan tells us about her journey;

"Wenvoe Wheelers seemed to pop into my life at just the right time and it has turned out to be far better than I expected.  Well, actually I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t been a member of a cycling club before, but even so, it’s opened up a whole new world for me. 

It started with Commuter Cycling

I have had a bicycle for, I suppose 10 years or so, getting my first one through a cycle to work scheme and I was a ‘two or three’ times a week cycle commuter for a bit, weather dependant, of course.  I got a bit bored with my hybrid bike and started to think about getting a road bike.  I hated my first road bike for quite a while.  I didn’t commit to cleats, just normal pedals and I found it very different to my old commuter bike.  I persevered and after a few months I found myself enjoying it much more. 

I think I had had my road bike for about two years though before I heard about Wenvoe Wheelers.  I am an actual Wenvoe resident, so I was delighted to find that somehow, someone had kindly set up a cycling club for me to join. This also coincided with finding an old friend on social media (ok, Facebook) who was also a member and one of the founding fathers, so to speak.  Me, the Husband and number 1 son quickly joined.

My First Ride

I think the first club ride I did (whilst there were still only a handful of people in the club) went from Wenvoe, up the Bwlch mountain and back.  Well that was a real shock! I was absolutely exhausted.  However, what was a real revelation to me was how nice it was to cycle with other people, chatting, laughing, joking.  This, was brilliant and a great way to see the countryside.  Who knew there were so many lovely lanes in the Vale of Glamorgan! 

Things have changed since then.   I think I have been lucky enough to watch the club grow in tandem with my own experience. I have learnt how to ride in a group, keeping distance from the bike in front, pointing out potholes and low branches, cars and anything else, though my ability to do this is still severely limited when going downhill. I’ve picked up tips on good riding habits, such as trying to cycle more efficiently by pedalling in a circle rather than up and down – it does work, honestly!

Introduction Rides for New Members

The club has really taken on board the responsibility of making new members welcome.  We do introduction rides once a month and make sure that no one is left on their own.  We always have a  steady ride going out on a Saturday morning  which will do a faster pace and longer ride, and twice a month we have our social group.  Our social rides are really popular and always involve cake – hmm, maybe that’s why!

Wattbike and Turbo Sessions

Our club now has Wattbike and turbo sessions in the winter to keep legs ticking over and arranges sessions at the Velodrome – and I’ve done all of those things!  I never would have imagined me doing any of this stuff a few years ago, but all of this has given me a load of confidence on my bike now. So much so that I have volunteered to do a ride leaders course in the next few weeks.  This is just the first level of ride leader course and quite a few of us are doing it. We are hoping that it will give us enough ride leaders to lead more rides, particularly our social rides. 

I love my bike now (ok, a newer one has been purchased since my first cheapish one), I have done a few sportives including the Velathon and conquered a few mountains too – ok, slowly but still, it’s better than the couch any day.  And if you think I’m young and fit reading this, think again. I’m not far off 60 (no, I’m not thinking about it).  Cycling is really for anyone of any ability. You just need a bike and a sense of humour".

Encouraging more riders

Rob Harrison continues;  "Starting in April, every first saturday of the month we will be encouraging and inviting people to join our 'Introduction Rides', this is for all levels, we ask that people just turn up and ride, usually about 30 miles which allows people to get a feel for the club".

"We're also hosting a Sportive through the Vale of Glamorgan and into the hills of South Wales on 30th June and encourage anyone who enjoys a social ride to sign up!  Event entry is through British Cycling and is now open. This will be a fully signed route, feed stations and choice of a 40 or 80 mile route. Entries now open - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/196619/Valeothon-

A popular new breed of Club

Dan Coast, Welsh Cycling Development Officer in the South Region said "Wenvoe Wheelers are a popular new breed of Club who are keen and eager to progress and listen to their Club members".

"They focus and concentrate on social riding and are doing all they can to work on closing the gender balance, encouraging more women to ride with them and creating more female ride leaders". 

"A worthy Club of the Month and we look forward to seeing further progression from Wenvoe Wheelers".

Click here to find out more about Wenvoe Wheelers.

Thank you to both Susan and Rob for sharing their journey with us, Wenvoe Wheelers will automatically be entered into Club of the Year Awards 2019.

Click here to find out how your club could be considered as featured club of the month