I’m aware of a number of clubs in my area (N-west) is it worth joining a club? what should I look for? I had experience of road bike clubs back in the 80’s (a bit clicky!) but I expect MTB to be a bit more relaxed, so please can you tell me about your experience of clubs good or bad, I dont want a name and shame! just advice.

IME everthing is good until their real personalities are revealed

So – steal the routes and move on

its like internet dating for bikes 😈

Turn up and ride. See what suits you. Some take it all really seriously and have arguments about how fast they should go etc and some are in it for the craic. It’s a good way to make new friends and explore your local area, anything else is kind of dependent on the group.

Mine is very relaxed and easy going but I run it so I would say that 🙂

Nooo stay away from the Keswick Tuesday night wobble meeting at the pedlar cafe at 630,…Its rubbish really,you would hate it, 😉

I have found they are either to slow, stop to often, or proper boring feckers.

Like someone else said, poach their routes and ride them with your mates/on your own.

Also having no input on where you ride etc is a pain in the backside.

joined a well known NW club (im a wiganer) and found most of the lads sound.

didnt really like the blokes who ran it though.
talked a lot about themselves, very clicky and didnt allow cheekys.

last straw was when one of the leaders told a new lad with a slight disability not to bother coming back as he was holding eveybody else up on a newbie ride, which he wasnt as they all fekt off and left a few of us ‘amateurs’ to look after him.

They can be mixed. Good way to meet people, find routes and make new friends. You’ll have to be prepared to compromise though as with a larger group there will be more stopping, mechanicals, punctures and you’ll have to ride at the group pace.

I think my local club is great. Really enjoy the rides, especially the night rides (that I probably wouldn’t do otherwise) but still enjoy getting out in a small fast group or on my own on a regualr basis.

MTb clubs, like junk food “can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet” but might drive you nuts if it’s all you do, especially if you are currently a solo rider.

Our club is pretty relaxed, often have new riders. No membership or money changes hands apart from when we buy club jerseys etc or doing 2412 type stuff.

In ours at least, members do have an input into the rides we do as we encourage them to lead rides. So we see lots of varied riding and get to see new trails regularly.

We get the odd comment if we stop for too long chatting, but there are little groups within the club that do their own thing such as faster rides and local night rides.

http://z6.invisionfree.com/sussex_muddyarse

The group I’m in is brilliant. We meet weekly and there is always at least three rides to choose from, depending on your ability/fitness and how you are feeling on the day. For a beginner, or if you’re stepping up to the next level of ride, it’s very important that you don’t feel like you are holding everybody up and our group is great for that – NOBODY gets left behind, on ANY ride. The social side is great, you make new friends and rides get organised by different people to different places.

Hate them! I also believe God Hates Them too!

haven’t looked back since joining the large NW based club i ride with!

was bored riding solo all of the time and tended to ride in the same places; i now know loads more routes all over the NW and beyond. although there is a committee to run things the club is driven by members leading rides and we encourage people to get involved although there is no pressure to do so – if someone wants to just turn up & ride that’s fine. there’s also no pressure to ride all of the time – people dip in and out as they feel.

we’ve got a very busy ride calendar which averages at about 1 ride per day and there’s something for all levels & interests: beginners & intermediates, long distance xc, dh, dj and lots of trips/weekends away (pyrenees, alps, scotland, wales etc etc), even road rides. there’s also a very active forum and we have other benefits such as owning a bunch of tools which people can borrow, discount at local shops etc.

of course there are issues you get with riding with groups such as lots of stops, but if you hate that then you probably wont want to join a club anyway. apart from that there’s nothing negative that i can say about the group really – everyone is sound & i’ve made some really good mates through the club.

I ride with one of the larger (and often maligned) clubs in the Swinley area. In terms of MTB clubs it is quite formalised, committees and meetings, etc., but given the tie ins to the management of the riding areas and the benefits of getting Swinley permits, insurances, etc. as part of the membership that makes sense. I’ve been on other club’s rides that are a darn sight more structured than ours, I’ve ridden in ‘collectives’ with barely an idea of where to go among us. I find my club’s MO suits me just fine in general.

The club itself, like any walk of life, has a whole variety of members, many of whom also post on here. So I’ll be kind and say that some of the membership are pretty good friends that I’m happy to see on rides or for away weekends, others are ‘less so’. I could also say the same about my work colleagues, or even my family, and there are probably an equal number who’d say the same about me.

I don’t make as many rides as some, more that others. I like the social aspect and being able to turn up on a Sat am, know there’ll be a ride taking place, see who else is there and have someone to chat and laugh with. I sometimes organise an away ride myself, sometimes go on other’s away rides. Sometimes I ride on my own. It’s all riding, after all.

You want advice – go for it. It won’t be expensive to join, if it costs at all, you might make some new riding buddies and find some new areas, you might not. You probably can do a few rides to start with without even joining to see if you do get on with the ethos. What’s to lose, if you don’t like it don’t go back.

Ours is a great club – Glasgow Meet Up, we have rides for all abilities, encourage and help newcomers, have weekends away, days away and ride a whole heap of the local trails. Something for everyone usually. We listen to all feedback and are very happy for people to suggest alternative routes and places. Lots of informal rides as well with like minded people meeting through the forum. And best of all, its all free! What’s not to like….

People keep coming back so we must be doing something right!

Best advice is to just try it out and see if it suits you.

The large NW club that peachos recommends actually compliments our more local club quite well. We all tend to ride locally most of the time unless we are entering events and most of us compete and do quite well. So for some people our club rides are perfect. If it is not what they are looking for then I let them know about the BIG club who obviously can cater for a wider range of abilities.