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Events
..a brief description
As well as CTC Calderdale there are other local
clubs whose style of cycling may appeal to you. This page describes their
activities. Website links are included where available.
Website at http://www.halifax-imps.org.uk/
Founded in 1924, the Halifax
Imperial Wheelers hold the distinction of being the longest established cycling
club in Calderdale. But the Imps, as they are affectionately known, do not rest
on their laurels and organise a wide range of cycle sport activities.
We cater for most types of cycling including road racing, time trialling, touring, social rides, club runs etc. We meet on the second Friday of every month at the The Halifax Catholic Club, Hopwood Lane at 8pm (click here for a map) call in if you are interested in joining us or contact one of the club officials (under club info').
Every Wednesday at 10am a group meets at Shelf roundabout along with members
of our fellow club the Condor RC for a ride where you can expect to cover
between 50 – 75 miles depending on the weather and time of year, with a café
stop usually at the half way point. (Destination decided on the day)
Every Thursday evening throughout the year there
is an evening ride of 20-30 miles, starting outside the TOYMASTER store on
We support the Audax
rides organised by CTC Calderdale and try to incorporate these into our
calendar of events.
The club also organises events itself, including
at the beginning of the season an Early Season Reliability Ride. In late April
we organise the Derek Smith Memorial Road Race held up on the local Norland circuit.In June and
jointly with the CTC Calderdale we hold the Skipton & Back Challenge at the
end of which we meet back at a local pub for a bite of supper (inc in the entry
fee). In Autumn, club members get to have a go at a
Hilly Mountain Time Trial and we round the year off with our Annual Dinner and
Prize Presentation held at the end of November. If this sounds like the sort of
thing that would interest you, The Imps welcome new members and would love to
hear from you.
For further details, see website
Website at http://www.halifax-racingclub.org.uk/
Another club with a proud tradition is the Halifax
Racing Club. The original Halifax Road Racing Club was formed in 1942 by a
group of riders who wanted to compete in massed start road racing on the open
roads, something which was prohibited at the time by the National Cycling Union
and the Road Times Trial Council, the sport's two controlling bodies. The Union
promoted track and circuit racing on closed circuits and the Council organised
time trials on the open road.
Percy Stallard of the Wolverhampton Club promoted a massed start race from Llangollen to Wolverhampton on
Sunday June 2nd 1942 and Halifax RRC was one of a strong nucleus of clubs
wishing to compete in this type of racing. . Prominent amongst the early
members were Keith Swaby from Pye
Nest and Johnny Lobb from Ovenden,
but probably the best racing member at that time was Eric Law from All Souls.
Incidentally all the clubs and riders who competed
in this type of racing had been banned for life from competing in track and
circuit racing by the NCU and were also banned from competing in time trials by
the RTTC.
On Sunday November 14th 1942, twenty two men and
two women met at Sherebrook Lodge Hotel, Buxton and
as a result of this meeting the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) was
formed. Keith Swaby was one of the twenty four people
present at this historic meeting.
From this beginning until the club's demise in the
early fifties, the Halifax RRC was one of the strongest in Yorkshire. Top
riders at this time were C Le Bourgeous, G Cowper, E Longbottom, G Binns, E Law, K Swaby and D Shields. The club also had a very strong junior
team in B Broadbent, J Bates, A Clare, D Watling and
D Whitely.
In 1943 the 'League' promoted the first ever
British National Road Race Championship, starting and finishing in Harrogate.
This history-making race was won by Ernie Clements of the Wrekin RCC and one of
the finishers was George Jowett of the Halifax RRC
Eric Law rode in the Brighton-to-Glasgow six stage
race. This race was the forerunner of the Daily Express 'Tour-of-Britain' which
eventually became the Milk Race.
The highlights of the club's early days were probably
1948 when Brian Broadbent won the Yorkshire Junior Road Race Championship and
twelve months later Alan Clare repeated the success with S Bates taking second
place. D Watling and D Whitely backed up the first
two to secure the team prize.
By the early fifties most of the top riders had
joined other clubs and Halifax RRC was disbanded.
In 1980 the Halifax Racing Club was re-formed in
the same way as in 1942, to cater for some riders whose needs were not being
met by their present clubs.
Ex-professional road race champion Danny Horton
headed the senior team along with former international riders Tim Broadhead, Paul Milnes and Steve
Thomas. The club was instantly successful culminating in Horton winning the
Yorkshire Divisional Championship. 1981 produced a high number of road race
wins, but 1982 was probably the best year the club has enjoyed so far. After
winning numerous road races in the early part of the year Danny Horton decided
to have a crack at the Elite British Best All Rounder Time Trial Competition.
After riding two '50s', one hundred and one twelve hour Danny finished third
behind the winner Ian Cammish and along the way won
the National Twelve Hour Championship beating Cammish
into second place. Not bad eh? for a novice time triallist.
In the late 80's and through the 1990's the club
riders, following Danny's example, have concentrated on time trialling,
particularly distance events and to date in the National Twelve hour
competition Halifax RC riders have won one gold medal, three silver and two
bronze individual medals. Also in 1998 the club won the team award,
Halifax RC is actively looking for new talent to
nurture, so any young riders willing to give it their best shot are very
welcome to come along and talk to us.
Club Honorary President
H Derek Browne
01274 674693
The Condor has a blog at http://condorroadclub.blogspot.com/
for current runs and other information.
Also there is the VS Cycles website at http://www.vscycles.co.uk/
for VS Cycle activities.
Richard Burnham, editor of the club newsletter The
Condor's Beak, writes:
Condor Road Club members organise or are involved
in a number of social rides that run throughout the year. Members and non
members are welcome to turn up, and to take part.
We find that these rides are supported by cyclists
from a variety of clubs. It is my view that the main aim for the Condor should
be to get cyclists out riding together on as many occasions as possible,
irrespective of club membership. Club runs, that are
well supported by riders from a number of clubs, or perhaps by riders with no
club affiliation at all have therefore to be seen as a measure of the Club's
success.
The Condor's main achievement in this respect, in
recent years, has been its Monday night mountain bike rides, run through the
summer months. These events have attracted a wide range of younger participants
from outside the normal cycling fraternity.It is
encouraging to see that the Club can generate new participation in cycling.
In order to assist club members a list of runs is
produced regularly. In addition a separate list of Sunday morning runs with
start times, start location and general destination is also produced.
Sunday Runs
weekly, in association with Halifax Imperial Wheelers. Starts and destinations
vary.
Mountain Bike Runs
Start 1st April-Finish ?
Meet 6.30 pm outside VS Cycles Brighouse Open to anyone with a suitable bike and
helmet. Those over 18 years of age are welcome to join other riders for a drink
at the Red Rooster.
Thursday Road Runs
Throughout the year
Meet 7.30 pm outside the Post Office Halifax
(Organised jointly with the Halifax Imperial Wheelers. Rides conclude at a pub
in the Halifax area.)
Wednesday Road Runs (Luddenden
Foot)
Throughout the year
Meet 7:00pm Luddenden Foot(except third Wednesday
Meet Sowerby Bridge Police Station)
Training/Social run usually conclude for a drink at a local pub.
Wednesday Road Runs (Brighouse)
Winter months.
Meet 7:00pm VS Cycles, Brighouse. Run in lieu of Mountain Bike runs and will
probably cease when these start in April.
For further details of Condor RC activities, contact Trevor Lever 01274 874789
Pedalsport CC- if you require further information on this relatively
new club, contact:
Mark Rushby 01422 361460
Website at http://www.tints.freeuk.com/
The Autum Tints is a
countrywide cycling organisation but the majority of active members are from
the Yorkshire area. You do not have to be a member of the CTC to join us. The
only criterion is that you are over 50 and enjoy cycling and the company of
fellow cyclists. Life Membership includes an enamel club badge engraved with
your choice of name for £8.50.
A 3 monthly Runs List is published which covers
South Yorkshire, Kirklees and Calderdale, Craven and North Yorkshire runs. Although it is called a Runs List it actually lists
the lunch stop cafe and people make their way there from all directions. In
Halifax we have two groups who cycle at different paces. We tend to organise
our meeting places the week before but both groups go at an easy pace doing
about 30 miles each Wednesday during the winter and 40/50 during the summer
months. In the winter we seek out a good coffee stop in the morning and when
the better weather comes we stay out longer and often stop at a tea stop in the
afternoon. We have about 10 regular cyclists in Halifax and we have a lot of
fun and keep fit at the same time without being competitive in any way. There
is also a faster group of ex -racing cyclists who are members. Typical winter
runs may be to Hollingworth Lake, Marsden, Haworth
and in. summer Grassington, Cannon Hall, Ilkley. Every 3rd Wednesday in the month Otley Cycling Club open up their
Clubroom for us and we can meet up with the cyclists from Craven and North
Yorkshire. The Runs are always on a Wednesday. In Calderdale there are also
Saturday rides- very similar to the Wednesday rides- around 20-30 miles.
If you are interested in learning more about us please ring: Philip Lees on 01422 357632. Philip can
email members about the runs, or if they don't have a computer, he can give
them a print out if they are out and about.
The following information is taken from The Tandem
Club (UK): West Yorkshire Regional Group. Website at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stephenhaigh/
The group is made up of members of the Tandem Club
living in the West Yorkshire area and beyond, loosely based on addresses with
the following postcodes: BD (Bradford); HD (Huddersfield); HG (Harrogate); HX
(Halifax); and LS (Leeds). Wakefield (WF) is served by its own regional group.
You can find other regional groups/regional officers at http://www.tandem-club.org.uk/_regionalgroups.htm
We meet up throughout the year for local rides and
occasional weekends away. All rides are open to all tandemists, or to anyone
with an interest in tandems - new riders always welcome!
As well as the main programme of runs there are
usually some days planned for those riding with children. The year's runs list
is put together in January, although additional rides or events can be
announced via the web-site.
The Regional Officers are the main point of
contact for the group, but for particular rides the day's organisers should be contacted
directly. If possible phone them in advance to check the ride is going ahead,
and to let them know you are planning to come
Contact details:
Regional Officers:
Steve & Anna Haigh
11 Browcliff
Silsden
Keighley
BD20 9PN
Tel: 01535 658925