Burnley Cycling Club is a cycling organization designed purely for the long-distance cyclist. The club was formed in December 2002, to give local randonneurs the chance to ride together and train for the 2003 Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP). Members of Burnley CC were represented at the 2003 'PBP' and regularly ride Audax events throughout the year. Riders also sometimes go out on Sunday club runs with distances ranging from 50 -200 miles as well as multi-day tours.
The two main types of cycling in which Burnley CC participates are Randonneuring and multi-day touring, as well as the occasional club run. Randonneuring is a form of non-competitive, long-distance cycling with events ranging from 200km upwards, and are usually organised on behalf of Audax UK (AUK), Britain's premier long-distance cycling association (www.audax.uk.net). The multi-day tours are self-organised where riders go away together, (usually a week or two), and invite other members of local cycling clubs to join.
If cycling long distances is your hobby, we understand your passion. We all enjoy getting out on our bikes to go for a long ride, either with others or by ourselves on a regular basis. It's the satisfaction of a day out on the bike under mild Spring sunlight, Summer thunderstorms, Winter gales, stiff hill-climbs or easy rolling countryside etc. The cycling year has its high and lows but these are against the backdrop of consistent endurance mileage and fitness. Such a year might include:
A Super-Randonneur Series
A week long or multi-week cycle tour (either at home or abroad)
A long randonnee such as: Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) or London-Edinburgh-London (LEL)
The list is not exhaustive but highlights the challenges one might target in the year. Not all in the same season, but Burnley Cycling Club offers you the opportunity to achieve your long-term goal(S). However, Burnley Cycling Club is very much a DIY organization for the long-distance road cyclist.
Most Burnley Cycling Club members are all experienced long-distance riders with many years' experience on the road. Our cycling isn't just confined to East Lancashire or Northern England, many members regularly participate in AUK events nationwide and/or regularly undertake self-organised multi-day tours (MDT) abroad.
Every cyclist has their own dreams and ambitions regardless of ability: from the casual/occasional rider completin their first 100mile ride to the more serious long-distance rider perhaps aiming for the elite PAC Tour (17-day tour across America averaging about 175miles per day).
Membership Details?
Any cycling organization is only as effective as the people in it! Normally, a cycling club accepts almost any person as a member regardless of cycling ability, fitness, type of cycling etc, but with Burnley CC it's much different. We're a small specialist long-distance cycling club based in this part of East Lancashire with the emphasis on Audax style riding and multi-day touring. Burnley CC isn't affiliated to any national cycling body but concentrate specifically on ourselves. We're not looking for team-players! What Burnley CC requires is the long-distance cycling individualist who can cycle on their own, regularly in isolation, and sometimes for hundreds or even a thousand miles on end!
To be eligible to join Burnley CC, you should have at sometime or another completed an Audaxz 200km randonnee or participated in one of our multi-day tours. If you haven't but are interested in joining (or at least progressing the idea further), email us at: burnleycyclingclub@yahoo.com. If you fit the above criteria, we'll probably welcome you with open arms regardless, we recommend the following:
Complete a 200km Audax randonnee (the northwest passage in mid-February is ridden by many local riders!)
Ride a 100 mile hilly route in under 8 hours
Be capable of riding in various weather conditions
Attend one of the club runs (usually we hold one per month)
Be a strong climber
Don't be afraid of flying
When riding together, which is very unusual, riders tend to have a good degree of camaraderie and friendliness however, with the vast distances we cover it's in evitable you'll ride alone at sometime or another so it's vital you're prepared for this such as: carrying your own tools and food etc, as well as money in order to get you out of trouble should things go wrong. This might mean a taxi to the nearest railway station followed by the train home, and rely on their own arrangements in the event of separation from the others. The emphasis is on individualness, self-sufficiency and self-reliance!
