Today Gloucester City Cycling Club has received £9,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project called Jubilee125.
The project will celebrate the 125 years of Gloucester City Cycling Club, which was founded in 1891. The celebrations will bring alive some of the traditions of the club and through a three month display opening on 30 April 2016 in the Folk Museum will show what Club life was like in the 19th century. The display will include the Club’s Scrap book containing photographs of members at the formation in 1891, cycling activities then and other memorabilia of the last 125 years.
The Club’s very first ride, which was to Dursley, will be re-enacted on Sunday 1 May complete with bikes of the period like “penny farthings”. It is planned that the exhibition and the re-enactment will make Club members and the community more aware of the heritage of the Club and the light it shows on how ordinary people of Gloucester enjoyed themselves before the days of TV, computers and satnavs and how they tackled long hard rides on poor roads with primitive bikes.
It is not just about the past as we hope to chart how cycling in Gloucester has developed and changed over the 19th 20th and 21st centuries coping with the enormous increase in vehicular traffic and the modern technological developments in the manufacturing of bicycles.
Year-long celebrations will include a family day picnic as described in the club’s records of the 1920s, a charity challenge ride in conjunction with Radio Gloucestershire, a night ride to Avebury, and an “Audax” long distance Ride. A short history of the Club will also be written.
A film will be made of the Club’s current activities which will be shown at the Folk Museum and then lodged with Gloucestershire Archives as a record of the Club today. Today’s activities are tomorrow’s heritage.
Alastair Goldie of Gloucester City Cycling Club says “We are thrilled to receive support from the HLF which will enable us to really celebrate Jubilee125. The events will make people aware of what life and cycling were like in the days of few cars and modern communications.”
Nerys Watts, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players we’re pleased to support Gloucester City Cycling Club as they celebrate a key milestone and share 125 years of their social history with the local community.”
Gloucester City Cycling Club, sponsored by Rudy Project, has over 200 members and has varied rides for all every Sunday leaving Kings Square at 9.00 when new riders are warmly welcome, there is an easy ride on the 1st and third Sunday of each month. Other activities take place on Tuesday evenings throughout the year and in the summer road races and time trials are held.
Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery