Club

Sheffield University Cycling Club

Railing Berms At Bolehills

With nearly sixty men and ladies riding regularly, the Club encompasses all abilities: Elite/Cat.1 to absolute beginner. So whether you’d like to ‘rip our legs off,’ a relaxed social ride in the breath taking Peak District, or give cycling a try for the first time, there will always be like minded riders to join you.

Benefits of joining the Cycling Club range from organised trips as far as Scotland and the south of France, to local knowledge of the best routes and trails in the Peak and local Sheffield area. And of course the eclectic social side!

Riding

One aspect that makes us stand out from other sports clubs is that we ride our bikes a lot! Due to our new facebook pages people are organising rides nearly every day- so if you can’t make the main ones, there’s a ride for you.

We ride every Wednesday afternoon at 1pm and Saturday & Sunday at 10am (both leave from outside the Arts Tower), keep an eye on the facebook groups for exact routes and who’s going!

If there isn’t a ride to suit you, just let us know and we’ll be more than happy to arrange one. DH urban nightride at 2am? 100mile Peak District epic finishing at an all you can eat Pizzahut? University vs Hallam road criterium? Bring it on!

Location

Our Claim: Sheffield is the best situated university in England for cycling.
Let us explain…

CrossCountry: A gentle 3 minutes ride from the Students Union and you are in Endcliffe Park. Warm up riding 10 minutes worth of twisty wooded singletrack and you are in the Peak District. From here you can enjoy some of the BEST riding in the country. Boulder strewn descents, flowing singletrack and technical climbing provide a new challenge every ride.
30 minutes from the Union you can be at the edge of Wharncliffe Woods where there is more cross country than you can shake a stick at. Change direction faster than you can change gear, ride roots, rocks and tricky drops: Wharncliffe has it all.

If something more gentle is what you had in mind, the new loop at Parkwood Springs (near the ashes of the old Ski Village (sorry ski club)) is the ticket- a gentle climb with a flowing smooth descent (with optional jumps!) can be ridden at a leisurely pace or you can smash round loops of the 2,5km track until you throw up. Your choice!

Racing Downhill

DownHill: Cruise down to Wharncliffe and ride Steve Peat’s own training ground. Ever wonder why Great Britain produces so many world class downhill racers? Wharncliffe provides the answer. Serviced by forest tracks, the network of trails provides a stunning progression of difficulty, allowing riders of all abilities to improve their skills. From super fast and flowing to white knuckle technical with more off camber roots, clattering rock gardens and hammering drops in one descent than you can usually pack into a day’s riding.

Warming up in the shade

Road: An exit from the city on marked cycle routes leads you into the Peak District where the many quiet back roads allow you to hammer out the miles with the bleakly beautiful landscape providing the backdrop.
The sharp climbs of the Dark Peak encourage spur-of-the-moment, lung busting, leg burning, short sharp attacks; as if getting to the top wasn’t challenge enough!
The rolling hills of the Derbyshire Dales combined with quiet winding back roads allow the peloton to snake its way through at speeds unobtainable by a solo rider. Lead out at the front to set the pace, or just tuck in and enjoy the ride and banter, this is where fitness is developed and a love of cycling formed.

BMX+DJ: Just 15 minutes away from the Union is the Bolehills BMX Track, with inviting locals and a host of events throughout the year. And there is the Devonshire Green Skatepark only five minutes from the Union, as well as 2 NEW INDOOR PARKS FOR 2012 – Onboard (which has a foam pit!) and Industry. Both are awesome places to go. We also regularly ride dirt jumps in the summer months, just get chatting to our guys on low slung frames…

Trips

The club organises at least one trip per term to some of the UK’s finest riding locations. These are great fun and it’s great to get all the parts of the club together for a weekend of socialising and riding.

We always keep the costs to a minimum so you can spend your pennies on shiny bike parts and beer. The first trip always heads to Wales in October and is guaranteed to be a corker- last year we tackled Snowdon (and won)

The trips are organised by our Committee. Keep up to date with our Calendar.

Racing

Hill Climb Determination

The Club takes part in all BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) events throughout the year. These well organised events are definitely worth attending even if it is just for the craic! Whatever your ability you’ll enjoy the BUCS , whether it’s settling old scores and rivalries on the bike, or shouting ‘encouragement’ from the sidelines with a beer in hand. Not to be missed.

Our past successes in the BUCS events can been seen here.

We often organise our own club races sometime in the New Year and don’t forget that there’s your chance to compete against Hallam and defend the honour of our University during Varsity. Unlike many clubs who form their ‘elite’ for Varsity- we encourage everyone to try their hand at each event (Only the top few riders count for points, but its the taking part that counts right?). The captain last year entered every cycling event possible (and had a lot of fun doing so)

Socials

Infamous Lycra Social

If all that riding isn’t enough then Our Social Sec is arranging a host of amazing socials throughout the year that you won’t forget (or even remember!). These give you the chance to let your hair down and get to know the other club members, and sometimes other societies such as Dance or Netball

Legendary antics such as Dance-off’s, Karaoke renditions of ‘Where is the love’ and lighthearted banter go down on these Socials- don’t miss out!

Safety

The club is committed to ensuring the safety of all its members. Our risk assessment and good practice guidelines may be found on the Safety Page

If you have any questions about the club get in touch with us. You can find all our details and contact information on our committee page.