Who we are and what we do

The CTC is the national cycling charity; it inspires and helps people to cycle and keep cycling. It encourages all types of cycling, on the road or off it.  It supports you if you already ride, or would like to ride, to work or school, for health, touring, sport and leisure – or just because it’s fun. Members of CTC South Hampshire range from those who like to ride 10-20 miles to those who ride Sportifs and events of over 1000km. Some members also enjoy touring in the UK and abroad.

CTC South Hampshire is the local CTC group for the area covered by SO postcodes although we regularly welcome riders from outside this area. It offers a range of cycle rides organised by its 2 informal groups: CTC Southampton (Southampton and Romsey groups) and CTC Winchester and also puts on open challenge events throughout the year.  It also campaigns locally for better cycle facilities. 

The rides range from short, easy rides suitable for novice cyclists to more challenging rides that are longer and faster.

What you need: 

Bike: all you need is a roadworthy bike. You’ll find life a lot easier on a reasonably lightweight road or touring bike rather than a heavy bike mountain bike with knobbly tyres. Don’t be put off trying one of your rides because you think you don’t have the right bike. We can advise on how you can adapt your existing bike and provide expert advice if you want to buy a new one.

Clothing: Specialist clothing and a helmet are optional. A light, waterproof jacket is almost essential for the British climate. Otherwise just bring something to drink, a spare inner tube and tyre levers and lights for winter and evening rides. Rides stop for refreshments at regular intervals but you may like to pack a cereal bar or similar as emergency rations.

Membership: You don’t need to be a CTC member when you first come out on a ride. You can ride with guest memberships for about 4 rides to see whether you like us. Membership of the CTC is national and membership allows you to ride with any CTC group anywhere in the country and also provides you with £10 million 3^rd party insurance cover plus free technical and legal advice and a bi-monthly magazine. For membership information see www.ctc.org.uk

Rides: We offer a full range of leisure rides ranging from short to long at varying speeds. Each ride has a leader who decides the route and makes sure that nobody gets left behind. We also organise open challenge events; they have no leader but you are provided with a full route description. For those wishing to try the odd time trial we are affiliated to CTT, the national time trialling body.

For a full description of our rides and the current programme, see CTC Southampton, Romsey and CTC Winchester