Following are some general points about clubs and teams. Many riders recommend being a member of a club but there are many riders who are BCF private members and race in plain jerseys. You can do both of course as many clubs will have special memberships for those that want to be a member but still ride as a private member, or perhaps as a sponsored rider with another team.

Like with any sport, there are good and bad clubs. Ones where you will get along with the other riders and others where you will not. Over time, you will get to know the riders and learn which club is suitable for you. Being part of a club/team has many advantages with training and racing and learning the ropes. You can read all you want, but experience is what counts!

Where do you go to learn about clubs?  Ask prospective clubs what type of races they mainly ride. Many clubs will concentrate on time trialing while others will do road racing or both. If you want to road race and the club is mainly involved in time trialing, they may not be that helpful to you.

Find out if the club you want to join can offer you coaching about training, race tactics and so on. Some clubs have training evenings.

If you want to ride as a sponsored rider outside of a club, the sponsor needs to be registered with the British Cycling which allows you to place the sponsors name on your clothing for racing. You can however train in such clothing without it being registered with the British Cycling.

Clubs affiliated to British Cycling are organised in geographic divisions, the boundaries of which are detailed below. These links produce specific pages from the BCF site from whom we appreciate the assistance.

Racing Circuits
Many races in this country are held on purpose built cycle circuits, or on roads not open to cars and other road going traffic (such as on Motor Racing circuits). Circuit racing is an ideal way to start racing. Following is a list of circuits in the UK.

Hillingdon - West London
Milton Keynes Bowl - OFF THE M1
BARNSFIELD HEATH circuit
Eastway Cycle Circuit - North East London
Thruxton Motor Racing Circuit
Mallory Park (Leicestershire-Nr Kirkby):
Goodwood (Southern England)
Castle Combe (South West England)