Worthing Excelsior CC

James West heads out for a pacy pedal with a West Sussex outfit

- James West

It's late-April, but as Worthing Excelsior gather for their weekly club run by Washington Village Green the mercury is only just nudging 5°C. Thankfully the temperature doesn’t prevent us from receiving a warm welcome. The winter kit might still be on show, but this Sussex outfit doesn’t seem too worried.

“We’ve got a new member out with us today.” Robert Downham, club president, tells me as we set off. Downham has been with the club for 35 years, during which time there have inevitably been some changes, yet some things remain. “Worthing Excelsior has always been big on time trialling. We have a strong social side and are really encouraging for anything from schoolboys up to veterans.”

The newest recruit is Peter Williams. “It’s my first ride out with the guys. I recently moved to the area and have seen them out on the road, so I dropped them an email and they invited me down today,” he tells me as we cycle through rolling farmland on roads almost bereft of traffic.

The quiet roads really are a treat. As Mike Sturt, a member of three years, says. “It’s great. Once you are into the lanes around here it is beautiful and you’re away.” 

A few miles later, Williams has suffered the one thing you want to avoid on your first ride outwith a new group. A puncture. A few digs aside, everyone does the honourable thing and waits. “Do you know that if you puncture you buy everyone cake at the cafe?,” jokes one club member to Williams as he rejoins the group.