While we love the UK cycling scene, it can sometimes feels a little staid, a little too tradition-bound. Cycling Weekly has been going for over 130 years, and there are clubs and shops with similarly long heritages around the country. They are the foundation of what makes the sport great, but for new riders the weight of that tradition can feel like a barrier to entry. It’s understandable some crave something different, something fresh; to take cycling in a different direction, and involve new people.
Bristol is, like many other English cities with cycling traditions, the home to institutions that have been there for decades – Bristol South CC, its largest club, has been around since 1893 – but it has a perfect case study for how people are trying to mix up the world of cycling.
David McMillan, a local illustrator, was inspired to start up a new cycling club, Newtown Park CC, with James Diggle and Michael McKelvaney, after they all found the choice