John,

Thanks for the clarification.  I have known and had the plaeasure to meet many of those whom have participated in the event.  The culture and pseudo clubs that organize almost exclusively for RAGBRAI is pretty neat.  Many of the off-shoot just for fun attitude has defintily crossed over into lower level cyclocross.  I agree that the insights that RAGBRAI and the London, Drenth and Dutch cycling fests would reveal a lot about motivations and reasons people cycle.  Most of my work has focused on racing cyclists, jargon and the dynamics of races, and group rides, basically anything that involves trainning to race!  

Cheers,

-Heston  

From: John Meudell <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: Cycling club membership

Heston

 

Minor quibble, it’s RAGBRAI, the “Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa”.  I know that because I’ve been on it and it’s a brilliantly fun and exhausting mass bikes ride that’s been running for over 40 years.

 

If the definition of “club” were to include such things as mass bike rides (because many have their own following, people who do them year after year) then a comparison between such annual rides as RAGBRAI, The London to Brighton, and the Drenthe Four day Cycle festival (in Holland) would give a good insight into not just cycle culture but also the difference in organizational imperatives and impact on the communities they go through.

 

On the history, the “Register” bit refers to the De Moine Register, one of the major newspapers in Iowa, who have sponsored the event since it was started by two of their cycle mad journalists in 1973.

 

Cheers

 

John Meudell

 

 

 

From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of heston roop
Sent: 31 October 2012 09:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cycling club membership

 

There are many clubs focused across the entire spectrum of cycling.  I studied and compiled many people's experiences in the US midwest and southeast.  Mostly road racers; but there were many MTN biking clubs, cyclocross and track racing clubs as well as recreation type clubs.  An excellent example of recreational clubs that are family orientaed look at RABRI "ride across Iowa" participants as well as rides such as Multiple Siroccos ride. 

Best,

Heston Roop 

 

From: burton richard <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 12:26 PM
Subject: Re: Cycling club membership

 

Not sure I'd describe them as meeting the needs of the entire community.  From their website, they seem to be almost totally dedicated to competitive cycling: no family rides, no beginners rides.

On 30 October 2012 19:47, Richard Lewis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Mirela,

If anyone can tell you the answer to this, the organisers of Cycling
Club Hackney can. Have a look at their website to see how they meet the
needs of the entire community.

cyclingclubhackney.co.uk/

Regards
Richard.


On Tue, 2012-10-30 at 14:28 +0000, Mirela Oliver, Research Assistant
wrote:

> Does anyone know of any research into cycling club membership needs and/ or member's requirements when joining a cycling clu?
>
> Mirela Oliver, Research Assistant on behalf of Graham Berridge, School of Hospitality and Tourism, University of West London.