About Us

CLITHEROE CLARION CYCLING CLUB

Clitheroe Clarion Cycling Club

Formed in 1923, Clitheroe Clarion is the oldest cycling club in Clitheroe. In 2017, following a period of inactivity since the 1990’s, a few former and long standing members along with some new members decided to reboot the club. We now have over 30 active members and are growing all the time.

Situated in the heart of the beautiful Ribble Valley, Clitheroe is the perfect place to start a ride. With the dramatic Forest of Bowland on our doorstep and beyond that the stunning Yorkshire Dales, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to fantastic rides with breathtaking views.

We meet every weekend at the Castle Gates at the top of Moor Lane in Clitheroe for our Social ride, on a Sunday every weekend of the month except one weekend of the month where we meet on a Saturday instead. The rides depart at 9am. (Please contact the club via email or Facebook Messenger to find out when we are riding that particular week).

There is always a cafe and lunch stop so please bring money (unless you have brought your own food). Those who prefer a shorter ride may wish to ride to the first cafe stop and return home.

We are a friendly and sociable club who never, under any circumstances, leave a rider behind on any of our rides. Anyone is welcome to join us for a few rides but please consider becoming a member if you are thinking of riding with us regularly.

National Clarion C.C.

Clitheroe Clarion Cycling Club are a section of the National Clarion Cycling Club. The National Clarion grew during the early 1900’s with 8000+ members at one time and with sections all over the UK. Working class people were getting their freedom on bikes in the countryside and the Clarion was spreading the word and the newspaper to industrial towns and villages. In those days before most people could own a car, the bike gave freedom and fellowship…the Clarion thrived.

The National Clarion cycling club now has almost 2,000 members across the country which makes us one of the larger cycling clubs in the country.

The Clarion has had its fair share of success over the years. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Calder Clarion’s Barry Hoban enjoyed 8 Tour de France stage wins. In 1963, Clitheroe Clarion’s Alan Ramsbottom came 16th overall in the Tour de France. In more recent times Bury Clarion members Adam and Simon Yates who ride for UCI world teams INEOS and Team BikeExchange respectively, had great success at a young age, including a Grand Tour win at La Vuelta de Espana 2018 from Simon and 4th place in General Classification and best young rider in the 2016 Tour de France from Adam.

You can visit the National Clarion website by clicking here.