Out with the old and in with the new

Big changes are happening at the rejuvenated cycling club.

There is a new committee who are dedicated to put the enjoyment back into cycling, introducing a new website, coaching, but more importantly introducing the camaraderie back into the club.

Bann Wheelers are an established club with a wealth of experience and expertise which they have been sharing with newcomers, all with an array of abilities. Over the past few weeks there have been lots of new faces, beginners to cycling, social cyclists and also ‘old’ faces that haven’t been seen for many years, turning up to join in the fun of the club runs.

As a club, Bann Wheelers cycle at many different levels. They race, run sportif, will be encouraging youth development and more than anything enjoy social and leisure cycling.

Club members are due to attend ‘Sprocket Rocket’ training, a cycling skills course for coaching youths; to assist with one of their new initiatives - introducing juniors to the enjoyment of safe cycling. Club sessions will be organised specifically for juniors in the very near future – watch this space.

There have been many new ladies joining the club runs recently, if this continues the Bann Wheelers may end up with a dedicated ladies section within the club! These new faces are very welcome and have obviously been encouraged by the accomplishments of some of the lady members who won many races and team events for the club last year. This year may prove to be even better.

The club has some very experienced race cyclists who give up their time to encourage, assist and offer advice to other members during club runs. These organised club runs take place each week, meeting at 9am sharp on Saturday and Sunday mornings at Strand Road Service Station, the Old Bridge in Coleraine.

There are groups to suit all levels of cycling; ‘espresso’ for the accomplished cyclists, ‘cappucinno’ for the intermediate and ‘latte’ for the beginners. There is always at least one coffee stop on route where the groups meet up to refuel and enjoy club banter. No one is ever left behind and people are introduced to the enjoyment of group cycling with two main objectives - fun and safety.

If you would like to join the Bann Wheelers on one of their club runs, contact [email protected] or www.facebook.com/groups/bannwheelers for more information. Keep your eyes open for the new website in the coming weeks; www.bannwheelers.com.