Getting Started with Clifton CC
Clifton Cycling Club is based in York and caters for all ability levels and most forms of cycling. We have members who Road Race, Time Trial, Audax, MTB ..or just ride Club Runs. We aim to be friendly and approachable and to help support our members to get the most out of their cycling. We also have specific activities and coaching for Juniors through our Go-Ride programme.
We get involved in the following:
Mountain Biking - Clifton has a large and active MTB section with regular club rides, weekends away, a Challenge Series and plenty more. See our MTB section for more details.
Club rides - See Our Rides for a quick guide to the various rides we do, or take a look at the section Social Rides for a more detailed description
Racing - Our members take part in most branches of cycle sport including road racing and time trialling. Clifton CC also organise 2 road races, a club hill climb, a 12 event club time trial series and an open time trial. See the Competition section for more info
Challenge riding - Clifton organise a number of Challenge rides throughout the year including a reliability ride, Audax events and a Sportive. See our Challenge section
Young People - We have a specific section of the Club that provides training and coaching sessions for juniors aged from 8-18. See our Youth & Juniors section for more information
email info@cliftoncc.org for advice on getting started with us
FAQ for beginners
Do I need an expensive bike? No! People have ridden club rides on all sorts of bikes. A road bike is a good idea for the Saturday/Sunday social rides, but for EasyRiders any type of bike will be fine so long as it's roadworthy
I've never ridden in a group! Don't worry. Start with one of the slower rides to get used to riding in a group and in no time you'll be going faster, further and with less effort than you thought possible
Do I need to be a member to come on Club rides? If you are under 18 then yes, you need to join Clifton before you ride with us (current membership rate for U18's is only a fiver though!). Adult riders don't have to join straight away. You're welcome to try a couple of rides as our 'guest' to see if it's for you, but after that you'll need to join.
Do I need to bring anything with me? On any ride you'll need a pump, spare inner tube (or two), something to drink, spare food (eg energy bar, cereal bar). For social rides with a cafe stop you'll need some money, and a waterproof jacket is sensible for most of the year
My bike is uncomfortable/I don't know if it fits See our Road Bike Setup page
What about children? See our Youth/Child policy
Links
"A New Member's Tale". Chris Gaskill's tale of starting with the club
"Silly Question" A thread on the discussion board