On the one hand it’s easy to see why - retired people have the time to pursue their hobbies whilst working people have many competing commitments. But that doesn’t explain why sportive events are mainly entered by younger, working age people, and why these events tend to sell out their places very quickly, even if they are quite pricey. In fact, the tougher the event, the more quickly they seem to sell out, even if they are downright expensive.
The CTC is the national charity aiming to represent all cyclists. Along with British Cycling, which represents sports and competitive cyclists, it offers free 3rd party insurance to all members, and so it is a very good organisation to be a part of. But increasingly I feel that there is a sector of society which isn’t interested in what the CTC has to offer, and it’s a big sector. It follows that I feel that the CTC must work to attract and benefit this sector.
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| Things you see from a bike No.1 - a Belgian Blue Bull |
“Younger people aren’t joiners” the Chief Executive of CTC recently said to me. That may be true, but there is more than one way to support people who ride bikes, even those that don’t like to join clubs. The CTC could boost its coffers and its profile by setting up a subsidiary company to run sportives and mountain bike events, the proceeds being paid to charity (ie, the CTC) with the tax advantages that would flow from that. These proceeds could be spent on stepping up the already good work that the CTC does, particularly those things that are of concern and interest to younger cyclists.
If the CTC doesn’t attract younger riders to cycling, then British Cycling will (indeed it already does) and it'll be British Cycling that these new riders will join. Before long, that could mean that the CTC would become a club of mainly retired people, representative only of an aging sector. I would hate to see that happen.
That’s of course assuming that British Cycling don’t eventually take over the CTC...
From British Cycling’s website:
“The breadth of British Cycling’s work is testimony to our status as the only organisation that works across all levels of cycling – from the playground to the podium. Whether people are looking to get on a bike for the first time, wanting to find great places to ride, seeking to enter a sportive or race, or needing tips from the pros on riding safely and keeping their bike in top shape, British Cycling is with them every step of the way.”
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| Things you see from a bike No.2 - Bridges in Millers Dale |
