A Little Bit About The Club

History - Ye Olde UQCycle Club

The Club was formed way back in 1983 and since then has produced a number of Australian and State representatives.

Yes, over the last 20 years the UQCC has produced many avid sport cyclists as well as cyclists and triathletes of national and international standards. We have been the starting points for athletes such as Jackie Gallagher (World Triathlon and Duathlon Champion), Liz Hepple (Multiple Australian Champion), Juanita Feldham (Australian Representative, Feminine Tour de France Stage Winner), Kym Shirley (Australian Representative, current professional cyclist), Margaret Hemsley (Australian Champion, Australian Representative, current professional cyclist), and multiple State champions and representatives.

Not to be outdone by the women of the club, the men have many notable past and current state representatives. Ben Litchfield joined the club after moving from Sydney some years ago, doing us proud with many state track wins and countless state road wins to his name. Other track and road winners include Michael O'Donoghue, Paul Jackson, and Peter Herzig.

In the MTB arena, Michael Skroblin has been a new up and comer, representing Australia in the U19 World MTB Championships in Austria, August last year.

Want to know about the major races in the club? Check here!

Cycling Disciplines - Tell me what's ya flava

The club enjoys participation in Road, MTB (mountain biking), and Track cycling. We have state and Australian representatives in all 3 disciplines, so rest assured you will always find a bunch of cyclists willing to take you under their wing.

Road cycling has traditionally been the club's major focus. However, with the ever increasing popularity of MTB, we've seen many members try their hand at it. There tend to be regular social rides in the foot-hills around Brisbane.

Track cycling is for the serious cyclist. If you've always loved watching the Madison or riders cycle round a velodrome, this may be for you! The Uni Cycle Club has around 10 members at any one time involved in track cycling, mainly participating in Individual and Team Times Trial Pursuits, and the 'Kilo' or 1 Km Time Trial.

Competition

Racing, racing, racing! It's what the best riders do best, it's what the rest of us just enjoy to be a part of!

The club has 3 grades of racing: A, B, and C grades, with A being the hardest. We have the Nundah circuit booked every 2nd and 4th Saturday morning. Depending on numbers, we ride a variety of different 'race simulations' including scratch, handicap, sprint, points score and elimination. We try to have at least two grades and preferrably 3, though that depends on numbers. Unless we're having a more formal race for one of our many trophies, such as the Uni World Cup, we usually finalise the format when numbers are known.

We generally leave the Regatta Hotel at Toowong at 6am in Summer and 6.15 in Winter, though for definite details you should join our official email list. Start at Nundah at about 7am (7.15 in winter)

And how fast do we all ride? Depending upon your preconception of cycling speed, this may be faster OR slower than you'd have thought. A grade average about 42km/hr with the sprint finish 60km/hr. B and C Grades average about 36km/hr with a sprint finish about 45 to 50km/hr. It's not Tour de France speed, but then thank God for that right!

After racing, everyone goes for breakfast and coffee, usually at South Bank.

These races are provided by the club for free and held every week (unless it's raining hard, then we like to all stay in bed :-). This is unlike many other clubs that charge to race.

Check out the major races held by the club.

Training

Lets face it, we all live to race, right!? Well, even if you don't, training sessions held at the University grounds (6am in summer, and 6:30am in winter, each Tuesday and Thursday morning opposite the Lakes and Dutton Park Ferry Stop - click here for the map), are always a good way to build your strength, improve handling abilities, experience group riding and pacelining, as well as improving your all round fitness.

Those club members that wish to compete in major events will generally conduct more gruelling sessions - thankfully somewhere else so we can't see how well they're doing compared to us!. If you ever want to get involved in this, seek those keen riders out during a social ride. They're easy to spot - they'll be the ones ranting they've already done 500km for the week :-)

=>We are also offering Beginner Training Courses - Contact the club executive to find out the details.

All training sessions are conducted under the guidance of a qualified coach to make sure you get the right information.

Social Rides

- The club loves its coffee, so social rides are always on the agenda! Ever Friday morning we begin our ride at the Indooroopilly Bike Bridge, 6:30am. From here we ride around the river, meandering at a leisurely pace around Tennyson, Fairfield, Dutton Park, and finally into the City where we stop at Merlo's on George St. for our much needed caffeine boost! After coffee and a good gossip about the week's goings-on, people depart to work in the city, or ride back to the University along the bike path at around 8 to 8:30am.

- Saturdays see the club enjoy another social ride around the river after our race and coffee.

- Many people ride home from work in the city, so if you are ever keen for a social ride in the afternoons, you can arrange a ride around the river, or to wherever!, with your fav. cycling pals.

To join the cycling club costs $35. This entitles you to subscribe to our newsgroup (where you can organise rides, find out when events are, and just chat), free training on Tuesdays and Thursdays under the guidance of a qualified coach

If you would like to race for the club, then you must become a member of the Cycling Queensland Association. This covers insurance for you and your bike in races to make sure everything is legit. To join, you have a variety of levels depending upon age and what sort of racing you wish to do. This fee is not decided by us. ALL riders in cycling clubs in Queensland must have this license to take part in any cycling