Cycling

Barts & The London Cycling Club (BLCC) is a friendly club open to both Barts and Queen Mary students. We welcome cyclists of all abilities; whether you are a complete beginner, a social cyclist or an experienced and competitive roadie.We run training sessions throughout the week and we aim to enter a number of Time Trial events this year and a Sportive event next spring. We run social rides every weekend and monthly rides to places around London (such as Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge). This is a great way to get out of the big smoke and meet new people whilst doing something fun and exploring the surrounding countryside. Depending on ability, the pace of these will vary but no one will be left behind. Cafe stops will be encouraged!We are a open and friendly group of people who love bikes and want to share this with as many people as possible. We are focused on building peoples confidence, fitness and ability so don't worry if you're not there yet. These skills will help you become a better cyclist, commuter and stay fit and healthy in London. Come along to a session and see what you think. If you've started cycling over lockdown but aren't sure whether to bring your bike down to uni - sometimes living in london can feel overwhelming. Riding your bike through the beautiful countryside surrounding the city is one of the best ways to de-stress. It's also an amazing excuse to eat lots of cake, have a good time and get better at one of the UKs fastest growing sports.If you do not feel confident cycling in london yet we can facilitate two 2 hour free individual coaching sessions with a qualified instructor to teach the basics of city riding (open to all those living in tower hamlets and most other London boroughs). This is really useful for anyone looking to build up their skills and commute in London. We also do 1 session a week at Lee Valley cycling track which is closed to traffic.  Join our Strava group to let us know about your cycling, and to keep up with what the club and the BLCC members have been doing: www.strava.com/clubs/262599.Membership levelsFirst year cycling membership - This is the full membership for new members to the club. This means that if you haven't had a membership with us in the past you can join up with this membership regardless of the year of study you are in. It includes full access to all of our track sessions, our BLCC curated training plan, spin session/turbo access, social cycles and a chance to race for us in the coming year if you feel up to it! This has always been our best selling membership due to the value for money and access to world leading facilites on offer!Senior cyclists membership - If you have been in the club for a year or more already then this is the membership for you if you want to continue to access the full range of sessions we put on. Even at the slight increase in price over your first year, this membership is extremely good value for money and can't be beaten. QMotion Spinning Sessions & Griff Inn Fitness Room Turbo TrainersOur spin sessions will take place during the week when the weather isn't good enough to train outside. We will have full use of five turbo trainers in the Griff Inn as well as going to QMotion and using the newly purhcased smart spin bikes. These sessions are accessible to all of our members, no matter the level of subsription. Social Weekend RidesWe organise social road rides on the weekends (usually saturday). The distance (anywhere between 30-100km) and speed of these rides will vary depend on demand and the ability of the group on the day. We either ride out from Whitechapel or hop on the tube to start the ride outside of the city. Tea and cake stops are encouraged. We feel this is an essential part of our club that we would thoroughly recomend everyone joining. Sometimes we run shorter rides on sunday for riders who don't yet feel confident enough to joint the main group but these are fun too! Road Cycling Triaining SessionsOur road cycling training sessions happen twice a week. A Tuesday morning session (7:00am to beat the traffic and get back for lectures) round Regents park and a a Thursday evening session at the LeeValley VeloPark road circuit. Semester one training will follow a club training plan produed by an professional coach specifically for our club, focused at improving our timetrialing and shorter efforts. Semester two will focus on getting us ready for sportive riding and other longer efforts. These sessions are perfect for those who want to improve their cycling abilities and/or those who are interested in competing. Coming along to one or more of these sessions is an invaluable way to participate in the club and get access to world leading facilities, used in the 2012 London Olympics.  Equipment Members will require a bike and helmet for any club road rides. Equipment rental is currently not available in light of the global pandemic as sharing of equipment is currently prohibited. We hope that this changes soon, however in the case that members cannot afford essential kit, then please let us know and we can help you to apply for funding to subsidise equipment like a bike and helmet. Please email us on cycling@bartslondon.com. CompetitionsBarts and The London Cycling Club will compete in British Cycling events, charity sportives and related races as well as BUCS 2020-21 this coming year. We cannot wait to help our members get to a level where they feel comfortable to and want to race! How to get involved1. Join the Facebook page and get in contact with the club committee members.2. Attend the Introductory Lee Valley Velopark club road cycling event on the 7th October 2020. Please email/message us if you couldn't make the event, we promise that you haven't missed out!3. Purchase your subs - online at QMSU - and get involved! ContactPresident: Jasper Craib (cycling@bartslondon.com)Treasurer: Henry Vowels (cycling@bartslondon.com)Social Secretary: Barnabas Tedder (cycling@bartslondon.com)Welfare Officer: Anoushka Sharp (cycling@bartslondon.com)