
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 of groups in the city lacking. Unlike a ‘traditional’ club, NPCC is not affiliated to British Cycling, does not have a membership fee, and was instead associated with Newtown Park, a Bristol-based brewery, which has since closed.
“My partner had been going to the Left Handed Giant [another Bristol brewery] running club, and people there had been talking about a cycling club, so it seemed like a natural progression,” McMillan tells CW. “I had been finishing my rides at Newtown Park for a while, and we realised we should start a cycling club through that. So last year we made it official, but it had been something that we’d been talking about for a long time.
Denne historien er fra October 05, 2023-utgaven av Cycling Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 05, 2023-utgaven av Cycling Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

UK SCENE WILSON WINS AT CLAYTON SPRING CLASSIC HANDICAP
Junior rider Atkins wins North Road CC 25

"I'm Geraint Thomas," he said politely."And I'm a bike rider"
The Doc salutes the Welshman's staying power and charm

AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON...STRENGTH TRAINING
The need-to-know essentials for cyclists lifting weights - Rob Kemp asks an expert

NOURISH TO FLOURISH
The nutrition you need to age-proof your performance

THE WORLD'S FASTEST DESCENDER
DOWNHILL MAESTRO SAFA BRIAN TELLS MARIA DAVID HOW HE MASTERED THE ART OF DESCENDING TO BECOME FASTER THAN EVERYONE EXCEPT, PERHAPS, TOM PIDCOCK

VISION METRON SL 60
Super-stiff, responsive race wheels that hold their line when the wind whips up

RIDDEN AND REVIEWED GIANT TCR ADVANCED O £3,699
Lively all-rounder that offers pro bike pedigree without the premium price tag

Six days of Paris
This is one of those images that makes you feel almost as though you're there in it, soaking up an atmosphere heavy with embrocation and cigarette smoke, those hanging lamps creating a ghostly glow across the arena.

Alberto Dainese's BMC Teammachine R
We take a close look at the Italian sprinter's Tudor Pro Cycling team bike

Pogačar has fun in the desert
World champion wins UAE Tour overall, with some chaos on the way