Please complete this form if you are thinking of Joining London Clarion Cycle Club but want to try a ride out for free first. NEW RIDER ENQUIRY FORM 2026 First name* Last name* Email* What are the first 4 characters of your Postcode?* What's the longest cycle you have done in the last 12 months?* What are you looking for in the club?* By submitting this form you agree to join a London Clarion Cycle Club Ride at your own risk. Submit INTERESTED IN RIDING WITH THE LONDON CLARION CYCLE CLUB? Complete this form if you have questions about the our London Cycling Club. READY TO JOIN NOW? Skip the form and become a member today! Sign up here:

In May 1895, W.H. Crisp of Clapham wrote a letter to The Clarion newspaper and started London's oldest cycling club. Discover the full story of the man behind the founding ride.

Discover London Clarion Cycle Club's exclusive Ride with GPS route library. Members get turn-by-turn navigation for 20 to 100+ mile rides for just £10/year. Club Routes Find your next ride, mapped out and ready to go. To help our members discover new roads (and make life easier for our ride leaders), London Clarion Cycle Club maintains a comprehensive route library on RideWithGPS. Whether you’re planning a solo ride, following one of our regular Club Runs, or just looking for weekend inspiration, our library sends turn-by-turn navigation straight to your phone or GPS device. We cover everything from gentle 20-mile social loops to full century epics. What You Get As a member, you unlock exclusive access to: Our Full Route Archive: Every ride the club has mapped, from short spins to 100+ mile routes. Turn-by-Turn Navigation: Download routes directly to the RideWithGPS app or your dedicated GPS device. Ride Leader Routes: See exactly where our regular Club Runs are heading before you even set off. A Growing Library: Discover new routes constantly added as members explore and share their favourite roads. How to Access Club Routes are an exclusive, members-only benefit. Once you join, approval is quick - you’ll be exploring our route library in minutes. Already a member? You'll find a link on the members page Not a member yet? Join London Clarion for just £20/year. You'll get access to Club Routes, third-party liability insurance, our full events calendar, and a warm welcome into a friendly cycling community with over 130 years of history. Join London Clarion Today

Here is a selection of the cycling club rides we have previusly organised. London Clarion Cycle Club members have access to all future cycling club rides. Past Rides and Events Explore Our Past London Clarion Cycle Club Rides Welcome to the archive of our cycling adventures. At the London Clarion Cycle Club, our history is written on the tarmac and in the rides we do together. We are proud to be more than just a cycling group; we are a community built on the principle that "Fellowship is Life," continuing a radical tradition that dates back to 1895. Here, you will find a curated selection of the rides we have held as a club: a diverse mix of endurance challenges, leisurely social spins, and historically themed routes. Themed & Historical Rides Our heritage as part of the National Clarion Cycling Club sets us apart. We frequently organize themed rides that celebrate our roots in social history and the labour movement. London Heritage Trails: Routes that retrace the paths of early Clarion cyclists, visiting historic meeting spots and celebrating the "Clarionettes" who paved the way for modern club cycling. Endurance Challenges & Special Events For those looking to push their limits alongside friends, we organise larger-scale excursions throughout the year. From riding the 26.2-mile London Marathon route together to tackling the famous overnight Dunwich Dynamo for a dawn beach arrival, we embrace bigger challenges as a team. Social Spins & Weekend Adventures Not every ride is a history lesson or an endurance test. The backbone of our club is the regular weekend social ride, ranging from 30 to over 90 miles out into the green lanes of Hertfordshire, Essex, and the Surrey Hills. The "No-Drop" Promise: We are a mixed-ability club. On our social rides, no one is left behind. We ride as a group, supporting one another through mechanicals and fatigue alike. Cafe Culture & Pub Stops: No Clarion ride is complete without a stop for coffee and buns, and we are just as fond of finishing a long route at a great local pub or independent taproom. The social aspect is just as important to us as the miles covered. Join Our Next Adventure Browsing our past rides offers a glimpse into the Clarion experience, but the best way to understand it is to ride with us. Inspired by our past journeys? Check our Upcoming Rides page to see what we have in the diary. Visit our Join Page to become a member of London's friendliest cycling club. JOIN SCHEDULE TIPS Ride data loading...

Discover the history of the Middlesex Clarion C & A C, their historic routes, and their role in London's socialist cycling movement. Middlesex Clarion Cycling and Athletics Club. A West London Racing Club, 1948–1979 The Middlesex Clarion Cycling and Athletics Club was born out of a practical need: as the National Clarion movement grew in post-war London, the city’s western districts needed their own dedicated racing body. Founded in December 1948, the club quickly established itself as a serious competitive force, running road time trials, track events, and mass-start races across the Home Counties. At its peak it counted over 100 members and produced nationally recognised champions. This page draws on contemporary newspaper reporting — principally from the Richmond Herald but also the national press — to piece together the club’s story decade by decade. The Origins The club emerged from a reorganisation of National Clarion’s London operations. The Bayswater Chronicle of 17 December 1948 reported the formation of a new body that would take control of racing for all National Clarion members in West London, with G. Booker of Berrymede Road, W.4 named as secretary. A week later, the Richmond Herald confirmed that the inaugural club night had been held on 10 December at the Oddfellows Hall in Acton, where the racing section would meet every Friday. The new club was immediately affiliated to the Road Time Trials Council. From the outset, Middlesex Clarion balanced hard racing with a lively social programme. By early 1949, members were already riding to St Albans on Sundays, holding dances jointly with the Kensington and Fulham Section at Hammersmith, and sending their strongest riders on training runs down to Brighton. The intermediates explored Surrey’s hills via Leith Hill and Abinger Hammer, while the “hardriders” prepared seriously for the time trial season. The club grew rapidly. By the time of its first AGM in November 1949, membership stood at 114. In its debut competitive season it had promoted road and track events as well as a mass-start race — all praised for their efficient organisation. A highlight came in the club’s first open 25-mile time trial, when George Fell (Becontree Wheelers) broke the British competition record with an extraordinary time of 58 minutes. Newspaper sources — The 1940s: Bayswater Chronicle, 17 December 1948 — formation of the club announced Richmond Herald, 18 December 1948 — first club night at Oddfellows Hall, Acton Richmond Herald, 5 March 1949 — rides to St Albans and Brighton training runs Richmond Herald, 30 April 1949 — Shrewsbury National Meet; Bath Road “50”; Rockingham Castle mass start Richmond Herald, 8 October 1949 — “Tommy Atkins” Trophy won by “Blackpool” Yates (25 miles in 1hr 3min) Richmond Herald, 19 November 1949 — AGM notice; “100 in 61” reliability trial entries Richmond Herald, 26 November 1949 — first AGM review: 114 members, record broken at inaugural open event Growth and Competition: The 1950s The new decade saw the club hit its competitive stride. Members made the long ride to the National Clarion Easter Meet in Buxton in April 1950, stopping overnight at Harpenden on the way north and Leicester on the return — a proper adventure in the era before motorways. On the racing front, the 1950 open 25-mile time trial was a highlight: C. Marriner recorded a fastest-of-the-season 58 mins 43 secs, edging out the previous year’s record holder G. Fell, with G. Bentley taking third in his first sub-hour ride. The club’s social life remained active too, with a farewell dinner for venue hosts Mr and Mrs Crabbe at the Bull Hotel drawing 17 members, followed by dancing at the Penrhyn Rooms until midnight. The new clubroom moved to the Greyhound on Kew Green. The most celebrated figure to emerge from Middlesex Clarion in this era was Jean Dunn, a housewife from Stanmore who became one of Britain’s finest track sprinters. In August 1957 she set a new national women’s 880-yard standing start record at Coventry with a time of 68.2 seconds. The following year she broke her own quarter-mile standing start record at Herne Hill, improving from 39.4 seconds to 33.4 seconds. She went on to win the English women’s 500 metres sprint title three years in succession — 1957, 1958, and 1959 — and in 1959 also broke the half-mile tandem-paced record, lowering it from 1 min 2.2 secs to 55.9 secs. Newspaper sources — The 1950s: Richmond Herald, 15 April 1950 — Easter Meet ride to Buxton Richmond Herald, 22 April 1950 — Matching Green mass start; club 25-mile TT won by A. Ford (1hr 6min 15sec) Richmond Herald, 27 May 1950 — Open 25-mile TT: Marriner wins in 58:43; Fell second; Bentley third Star Green ’un, 10 August 1957 — Jean Dunn sets national 880-yard record (68.2 sec) at Coventry Birmingham Mail, 21 June 1958 — Jean Dunn breaks her own quarter-mile record at Herne Hill (33.4 sec) Portsmouth Evening News, 2 August 1958 — Jean Dunn, English women’s sprint champion, races at Alexandra Park Portsmouth Evening News, 5 August 1958 — Jean Dunn retains national sprint title for second year Middlesex County Times, 11 July 1959 — Jean Dunn breaks half-mile tandem-paced record (55.9 sec) Daily Mirror, 4 August 1959 — Jean Dunn retains 500m national sprint title at Portsmouth, beating Valerie Rainbow Into the Sixties The club continued to produce riders of national quality into the 1960s. Keith Mernickle was named in the British team for the 1963 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship in Calais, as reported by the Wolverhampton Express and Star — one of several British riders selected from the record entry of 123 at the national championship at Harlow. In 1966, Derek Thomas of Acton made a remarkable comeback after nine years away from racing, finishing fifth in the West London Cycling Association’s 100-mile time trial, claiming the handicap prizes, and leading Middlesex Clarion to a team victory. Newspaper sources — The 1960s: Wolverhampton Express and Star, 1 February 1963 — Keith Mernickle named in British cyclo-cross team for World Championships Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette, 7 July 1966 — Derek Thomas wins handicap and leads team to victory in WLCA 100-mile TT Later Years: The 1970's By the 1970s references to the club in the press had become less frequent, though Middlesex Clarion was still active on the track. In July 1979, the Westminster & Pimlico News recorded Ron Hughes and G. Locke of Middlesex Clarion CC placing first and second in a 10-lap track event — a small but telling sign that the club’s competitive spirit endured three decades after its formation. Newspaper sources — The 1970s: Westminster & Pimlico News, 6 July 1979 — Ron Hughes and G. Locke, 1st and 2nd in 10-lap track event A Club Worth Remembering Middlesex Clarion Cycling and Athletics Club was never a household name, but it embodied everything the Clarion movement stood for: ordinary working people cycling together, racing hard, socialising warmly, and building something that lasted. From the Oddfellows Hall in Acton to the track at Herne Hill, from the Bath Road time trials to the National Meet in Buxton, it left a real mark on West London cycling life across three decades. If you have memories, photographs, or information about Middlesex Clarion, we’d love to hear from you — contact us here.

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Join London Clarion Cycle Club from £20/year (£39 family). Friendly group rides, social events, and third-party liability insurance. Founded 1895.

Join the excitement of the Tricycle Marathon in London to Brighton with the Clarion Cycle Club. Experience the thrill of the ride on Raleigh Children's Tricycles. The Tricycle Marathon May 1960 London to Brighton Bike Ride on Raleigh Children's Tricycles London Clarion Cycle Club members have a proud history of social campaigning. In 1960, the Hounslow Clarion cycled from London to Brighton on Tricycles to draw attention to the world refugee crisis. In what subsequently became known as the ‘Tricycle Marathon’, they undertook the journey on children’s Raleigh tricycles and handed out over 4000 leaflets on the front at Brighton. In a bid to get some publicity, they wrote to Pathé a few days before the planned cycle to ask whether the news organisation wanted to cover it. Needless to say, there was insufficient time to receive a reply and the original trip took place. Pathé subsequently replied and a re-run was organised for the following Saturday 14th May 1960. Colin McDonald recalls that “the tricycles were lent to us by the Raleigh Cycle Company which had a main depot on the Great West Road, Brentford. As the news item says the wheels had specially fitted spokes. There were no breakdowns, as I recall, only my Morris 10 (the support vehicle) which blew a spark plug. It was the intention initially to make charitable collections en-route but there was some legal reason why they could not. I do know that on the downhill runs they did get up to some pretty impressive speeds.” The original idea of collecting money throughout the run had to be abandoned due to opposition by the Police. Instead the National Clarion Cycling Club offered 2s. 6d. for every mile covered by the riders. Colin remembers that from the line up at the beginning of the film are, from left to right: #3; Jim Knight, all in black. Jim died some years ago. #5; Peter Shepherdly, brown shorts, green shirt & pullover. Peter died in 2009. #6; Terry Davidson , Clarion jumper-red with yellow stripe. Review, extract from CYCLING , 25 May 1960

Get in touch with the London Clarion Cycle Club. Have questions about our £10 memberships or weekend group rides? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch Please complete this contact form if you have any questions about London Clarion Cycle Club. First name* Last name Email* Write a message Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. * Submit

Join the Clarion Cycling Club for an unforgettable Easter Meet 2024 in Gloucester. Discover the thrill of cycling and explore scenic routes with fellow enthusiasts. Clarion Cycling Club Easter Meet 2024 Gloucester Join us for a weekend of cycling, bounderising, comradeship and fun. Following the success of our Easter meet in Leicester in 2023 we are already busy planning Gloucester. A Clarion Cycling Club Easter Meet was last held in Gloucester in 1938. Book Now! Clarion Cycling Clubs Easter Meet 2024 - Gloucester 0 DAYS TO THE EVENT Clarion Cycling Clubs Easter Meet 2024 in Gloucester When 29 Mar 2024, 12:00 – 01 Apr 2024, 12:00 Where Gloucester, Bakers Quay, St Ann Way, Gloucester GL1 5BQ, UK Details

Get more from your cycling! London Clarion members enjoy group rides, Ride with GPS Premium, and 3rd-party insurance options - all starting at just £10/year.

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