We're a club with history
But we're always looking to the future
Formed in 1893 by a group of enthusiastic cyclists, Bristol South Cycling Club has been riding the roads around Bristol ever since.
We welcome riders of all abilities and currently have over 300 active members.
Our club members are involved in a wide range of cycling disciplines, including Road Racing, CX, TT, MTB and Hill Climbs. We run our own events including a TT series, an annual road race and hill climb.
The mainstay of our weekly activities is the Sunday Club Run. We have in excess of 30 routes and they all involve a stop for coffee and cake. They’re a great chance to build up some miles and meet up with other club members. Visit our club rides page for more information.
Back to our roots
In April 1893 a group of cycling enthusiasts met in a coffee shop in Bedminster and formed Bristol South Cycling Club. Their first ever club ride, a run to Bath and back, took place on 29 April 1893. A lot has changed since then, but the club is still held together by a shared love of cycling in the beautiful South West countryside.
Although now a firm feature of the club, racing started by chance, with members out on a touring holiday deciding to have a go around a track in Wells in 1894. Some of the members then decided to join the half mile race and set about converting their roadsters to racers by dismantling the mudguards and brakes from their bikes. To the amazement of the club, member R (Bobby) Alden won his heat and then the final! He went on to take up racing seriously and became the first Club Champion in 1896.
Bristol South CC survived the war years and saw a rapid revival going into the late 1940s when it reorganised and admitted women for the first time. While this is taken for granted today, it was very progressive at the time.
The club had now established itself as a major cycling club, with members competing at national level events. In 1961, Souther, Chris Holloway (pictured) managed third place in the Best British All Rounder (BBAR) competition with Bristol South claiming first place in the National Team Competition. Then in 1966, Barbara Body became the first Bristol Souther to represent GB at the World Championships, on the famous Nuremburg Ring in Germany.
Throughout the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties the club remained especially active in time trial events, including promoting the first ever time trial held in the UK for professional riders, in 1967. Following his placing in the 1961 BBAR competition, Chris Holloway continued to excel, achieving first place in the Middlesex R.C. 12 hour TT (1965), Western T. T. A. 100 mile TT (1981), and the Welsh C.A. Championship 100 mile TT (1982), to mention just a few.
In 1982 the club promoted the National 25 mile Championship on the Gloucester Road, which was won by Dave Lloyd.
By 1992 Bristol South CC was celebrating its Centenary in a new patterned racing stripe kit, still retaining the original club colours of red and gold. To mark the event, the Club re-enacted the first ever club run from Bristol to Bath along the railway cycle path, in association with the Veterans Cycle Club. The club also promoted the National 100 mile TT Championship on the Gloucester Road.
Amongst other things, the noughties were notable for Souther, Dave Keene’s three wins in the World Trike Championships (2005, 2006 and 2008). He also organised the 2007 National Hill Climb Championship in Cheddar Gorge.
Over the years, as membership has grown, the club’s interests have diversified. The new millennium saw members taking part in events such as Paris-Brest-Paris, which had no less than six Southers riding in 2019; the Trans-continental Race, with Souther Gareth Baines coming in a mightily impressive 8th in 2015; not to mention Everesting, where Alice Thompson claimed the Women’s record in 2018 with 89 repeats of Naish Hill to ascend the required 8,848m.
The club continues to excel in time trialing and hill climbs with a number of notable achievements in recent years. These include a stand out 2019 for Meg Dickerson which saw her take 3m 23s off the women’s 10 mile TT club record and a full 5 mins off the Women’s 25 mile TT club record. She also placed a very impressive fifth in the National 10-mile TT. In the men’s events, Nick Livermore also had a stellar 2019, claiming the club records for the 10 mile, 25 mile and 30 mile TTs. The National Hill Climb Championships in 2020 were held on Streatley Hill near Reading and saw Kate MacTear claim an excellent sixth place in BSCC colours from a field of 109 starters.
For more than 100 years the club has been able to celebrate these notable achievements against the backdrop of countless weekend rides, coffee stops, and miles of riding with people who love the sport of cycling. We at Bristol South are proud of our history, but we’re looking to the future!
Trophies and Records
We’re rightly proud of our history and some of the amazing performances members have put in over the years.
Club trophies
The club trophies allow us to celebrate the varied achievements of our members and we've got a pretty impressive collection of silverware, much of which dates back well into the history of the club.
Club records
Whether it's Open 10 mile TT or the Mixed Tandem 50 mile TT, the Female 12 hour or the Trike 100 mile TT you'll find all the club record holders here.
Club Officers
BSCC is run by a dedicated and enthusiastic group of members. We’re all volunteers with a passion for cycling and between us we keep the club running smoothly! We’re also always keen for members to volunteer and help us run our events – it’s a great way to give back to the club.
The current Club officers are featured below. The list of previous officers is available here.
Craig Rockcliffe (he / him)
An outdoors lover through and through, if Craig isn’t out on his bike you might find him trail running, in the mountains or even out on the water. Craig is there to help Dave and the rest of the committee in all things club related.
Jaz Clarke
Jaz is happiest on a bike, any bike really and he’s has ridden road bikes since childhood as well as racing and riding BMX and occasionally getting muddy with MTB (anyone remember the red kite events?).
After life changes forced him off the road for close to ten years Jaz climbed back on to his road bike in 2019 and has been desperately trying to find some form ever since.
Jaz loves cycling for the camaraderie, the fresh air and the views. He’s not here for competition and he doesn’t take the monthly segment competition at all seriously (he says!).
Will Scott (he / him)
Anyone who’s been on a Sunday club run in Group One will know Will as he leads them most weeks. For those of us who can’t quite handle that pace you’ll have to catch him at the coffee stop. He’ll introduce himself to the wider club in good time but as he’s only just been elected captain we should probably give him a few weeks.
Olive Holliday
Jim Dyke (he / him)
Jim is an honorary Bristolian having moved to the city from Somerset in the late ‘90s and not managing to find his way home!
When not partaking in the Sunday Club run, monthly Strava competition or the mammoth Year In A Day ride, Jim has been known to volunteer at events and would encourage any members who are thinking of getting involved to take the plunge!
Off the bike, Jim is a music lover and you’ll likely find him on a stage in Bristol with one of his bands or in the audience at a gig or festival.
Currently vacant
If you’d like to put yourself forward as club secretary please get in touch us via the contact form.
Gary Bishop
Gary organises our intro rides. (What’s an intro ride? Check out our club rides page).
Gary is a Bristolian and loves to show riders his favourite cycle routes around the city at a steady pace. He did his first ride with Bristol South about 42 years ago. As far as he is aware he is the only BSCC member to win a trophy and cash prize for being Pointless, which he did with his daughter.
Simon Cox
Simon is an outdoor enthusiast, whether it’s on a road bike, mountain bike, or out for a walk. He enjoys relaxed rides with coffee and cake stops, a bit of friendly competition, and the challenge of the occasional event.
You’ll often find him vying for minor placings in the monthly Strava competition, getting dropped on Fast Tuesday, and showing up at various events that may end in success or failure.
Ewan Johnston (he / him)
A legend in the club, Ewan has been running the monthly segment competition since 2013. He also puts together the yearly charity ride which takes in all of the hills from the monthly competition in one go.
Ewan is also in the club of BSCC authors and has written a brilliant book on Cycling with MS. You’ll also often find Ewan at the top of the club Strava distance leaderboard each week!
Mark Bradley
Mark is responsible for making sure new members can join the best club in the south west, and then get access to the ‘best club kit’ there is!
Famed for doing a cycle tour around all of Bristol dropping kit off, and some blisteringly quick TT times, Mark is a big part of BSCC. He’s turned his hand to most disciplines; TT, road, track, audax, gravel, and tandem TT.
Justin Desyllas (he / him)
Although I’ve ridden bikes all my life I didn’t really get into doing it just for the sake of it until my early 40s. Since then bikes have taken over more and more of my time to the point I now spend a as much of my time fixing them as I do riding them.
Photo galleries
The Club’s activities have been well documented in photos over the years. Here is a flavour of some of them but feel free to explore the Club’s galleries by clicking on one of the links.
Early Days
Club TTs
Bristol GP 2017
