Manchester Wheelers Cycling Club: A Manchester Institution

Manchester Wheelers Cycling Club were founded in 1883, at a time when the bicycle was a genuinely new technology transforming how people moved around cities. That date makes the Wheelers one of the older cycling clubs in the country, and the club has adapted through every era of the sport – from the penny-farthing age to the Tour de France era, from the track racing of the early twentieth century to the British Cycling revolution that followed the Manchester Velodrome’s opening in 1994. Access to the National Cycling Centre velodrome through club membership is one of the Wheelers’ most significant practical benefits – track sessions in a world-class facility for club members is not something most cities can offer.

The club runs road rides on routes out of Manchester into east Cheshire, the Peak District edge, and the Ribble Valley – accessible cycling country once you clear the city boundary. Time trials are also part of the programme, a discipline that the club has competed in for most of their 140-plus year history. British Cycling affiliation means the club is integrated into the racing structure, with club members eligible to race at open events across the country. For anyone cycling in Manchester who wants more than solitary rides or anonymous group sportives, the Wheelers offer the kind of club structure that comes from a century and a half of existence. Contact via their website for current ride schedules and membership details.