The mission of The Cycling Club, is to create a healthy, cyclist and family friendly environment with a focus on education, training, safety, advocacy, and fellowship in order to make our community the best in the United States.
The Cycling Club’s vision is to unlock the potential of its community to make it the best cycling experience in the United States.
Through inclusive, family-oriented membership, the club will build upon the growing cycling community within and outside of our community.
By organizing structured rides and routes , the club aims to be a local, state, and national advocate for safe cycling for riders of all ages and skill sets.
Humble beginnings…
We’d make up the route during the ride, some people would get dropped, some people would finish strong with the pack, more often than not in a sprint to the town line. Generally, the atmosphere was friendly and at times could be extremely nurturing. We wanted to expand the group and get more people riding on a regular basis – Strength in numbers.
With Cycling exploding in Central Ohio, driven largely by Pelotonia and a move by so many towards preferring outdoor time and exercise, the rider count launching from New Albany over the course of a weekend had climbed into the high hundreds. Many of us were experiencing group rides with The Westerville Cycling Club, Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, or our Triathalon training groups. During the winter several of our friends would ride with the Swamis in Encinitas California and other great clubs around the country.
After a few beers and much discussion, a core group of us decided to form The Cycling Club. The club would host 2 or 3 organized rides a week between April and October. We deliberately avoided calling the club the “New Albany Cycling Club” because many of our best buddies live outside New Albany, and we aspired to be bigger than the city limits… we are about an attitude and an experience that transcends location. Simply put, “It’s About the Ride!”
From the start – and continuing today – we focus on the core purpose of the club – to have a safe, organized and inviting environment for cycling with an emphasis on improving skills and nurturing new riders. While we have “Rivet”, “A” and “B” rides for more accomplished riders, we continue our commitment to provide regular options for relaxed-paced “club rides” to nurture new riders and help build skills.
At the end of the 2022 cycling season, there were over 300 registered TCC members. We expect this number may grow substantially over the next several months. The best way to keep the Club healthy and growing is to have a consistently good rider experience. We strive to have high quality rides at all experience levels rivaling the best found anywhere. Our goal is to offer rides that will draw riders to the Club, not scare them away.
As a Club standard, every ride will continue to have a ride leader. Ride leaders will have the proper training, and will ensure they have a backup when they can’t make their ride. We expect experienced riders to play a key role on Club rides, nurturing new riders, encouraging and coaching developing riders. As riders move up to faster and longer rides, they will know they can drop back, recover, or just relax on slower-paced rides which many times follow the same or shortened versions of the route they are on.
We look forward to continuing our journey together with you as a member of The Cycling Club. We have a long and rewarding road ahead of us – our members are our strength!
