Watt is Cycling?
Put simply, Mountain Biking is the act of riding bikes offroad – but it’s far more than that. For us its about being out in the countryside, riding some of the best trails that Scotland has to offer and having a good laugh with your mates.
Road cycling is about pushing your physical limits, chasing those KOMs and taking in as much scenery as one can in a day.
Each semester there is an away trip, previously descending on such locations as Aviemore, Fort William, Inverness, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Ffestiniog.
What does a typical season involve?
Mountain Biking
We usually have fortnightly mountain bike rides to the world class locations we have nearby, with transport provided by the University.
Riding locations include: Glentress, Innerlithen, Golfie, Cademuire, Thornilee, Aberfoyle, Aberfeldy, Comrie Croft, Mambos, Ballo, Dunkeld, Ae, Laggan.
We also have at least one weekend residential trip per semester to further afield locations. In the past this has included Fort William, Aviemore, the Lake District and Wales.
Road & Track
We have a new road secretary and are really pushing the road biking side of the club this year. We hope to have a full calendar of rides on the excellent lanes at our doorstep in addition to joint rides with other universities and track sessions.
Previously members have travelled to the UCI road world championships in Yorkshire and this year we hope to attend some British Cycling races as well as BUCS.
Competitions
Our main event of the year is the student championships (BUCS), which is a friendly weekend event comprising of at least a downhill race, often with a few fun extra races as well.
Another annual highlight is SUBS, our riding and social weekend with our friends and counterparts from other Scottish Universities, previously we have travelled to Dundee for this as well as hosting the event in Edinburgh.
The level of riding in our club is super high at the moment – with two riders in the top three at the Scottish student champs last year!
Riding in a group is a great way to stay motivated during the winter. High quality chat during coffee breaks is possible but not guaranteed.
Please get in touch if you are interested in joining.
Coaches
Findlay Young
Committee 24/25
