Wasn’t involved from the very beginning but got involved very early on. Our club was formed to be an official body to raise funds to build and maintain a local mtb trail. In the beginning this meant applying for funding/grants etc. So we affiliated to both ctc and BC as everything had to be above board for official funding applications. It grew much faster than anyone expected. I remember the treasurer saying he’d had 50 plastic membership cards made and we’d be doing well if we’d used them all by the end of year 1. They were all gone in the first 3 months! By the end of year 1 we were somewhere around 200 members and at it’s peak around the 300 mark. We were thought by some in the industry to be one of the biggest mtb clubs in the country at that time. One of the hardest things to do is make members understand why the club does what it does the way it does. Rules WILL creep in, as an affiliated club we couldn’t be seen to be riding illegally. A particular bone of contention as much of the better riding around here is cheeky. As somebody else has pointed out the issue of junior riders is a massive issue, everyone wants it to happen but nobody wants to take responsibility for it.
Almost 10 years down the line now and on the whole it was worth it. Membership has dropped to roughly half of what it was at its peak but we got that trail built and much more importantly, we created a local mtb scene. I’m less involved now than I was but I’m very proud of what the club has achieved and hope there are enough people with enough interest in it to take it forward. There are certain things I wish we’d done differently. At times I found us to be somewhat over officious and found ourselves tangled up in so much red tape but its been mostly good times.
If you’ve a genuine reason for starting a club then go ahead, it’s hard work but mostly rewarding. If you just want to put together a local riding group then my advice would be to keep it as unofficial as you can.
