Who Are We?

Welcome to the Birkenhead North End CC! The North End was founded on the 14th January 1901, and we are the oldest (continually-running) cycling club on the Wirral (Merseyside, UK), with over 100 members.

We have a long and distinguished history of champion riders, and have frequently discovered talented riders who have gone on to success at higher levels. This includes two riders who represented Great Britain at the 2004 Olympic Games: Rachel Heal and Silver medallist Steve Cummings.

In 1999 Steve (left) won the National Junior Road Race and the Eddie Soens Memorial Handicap race, becoming the first junior to win that event. Since 2001 he has been a part of the Great Britain team pursuit squad, winning medals at Commonwealth and World level, before being involved in every round of the 2004 Athens Team Pursuit competition, winning the silver medal and being a part of the first British team to go under 4 minutes for the event!

In 2000 Rachel took the season-long Jo Bruton series whilst riding for the North End. She was invited onto the National Squad for 2001, and got the bronze medal (right) in the Commonwealth Games road race in a seven-up sprint. In Athens she rode a solid race in support of Nicole Cooke, taking 22nd place (in the peloton) in the Women's Road Race.

But it's not just these two - the club has consistently been highly-placed in the Isle of Man International Cycling Week, with two victories: in 1999 and 2000. This involves commitment from enough club members to race and marshal at the events, and is no small achievement.

What Do We Do?

We participate in most disciplines of cycle sport:-

Time trialling - the solo rider against the watch. Races are held over fixed distances  from 10 miles up to 100, and also for fixed periods (12 or 24 hours). This is the easiest way to get into organised cycle sport: no licence is required to race, just pay the money and await your start time. You don't even have to be a member of a club to race this way, although it can be difficult to track the races down unless you know someone!
Road racing - originally called "massed start racing" as opposed to the solo time trial. Held over distances ranging from 60 miles to anything up to 200 for the real elite. You need a licence from the organisation involved (e.g. the British Cycling Federation or The League International) to enter these races.
Track racing - racing takes place on a banked oval track, such as the Indoor Velodrome at Manchester, where the North End is having monthly racing sessions throughout the winter. Track bikes use fixed gears and no brakes, which is scary at first but you get used to it! Track races vary greatly, from short-distance time trials (500m or 1km) through pursuit races (3 or 4km) to 40km-long 'points' or 'scratch' races.
The North End also organises the very popular off-road Flintshire Challenge rides, in conjunction with Flintshire County Council. Held every October, riders are sent on a demanding route through scenic areas of North Wales. Several hundred people take part, which means that the course gets pretty clogged up towards the end!

Where Do We Meet?

Club runs start are held every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, starting from the Eureka café, Two Mills, Chester, starting about 9:30am. This is located about 50 yards south of the Two Mills junction of the A540 Chester Road. Click here for a map. We do trips into Wales, Cheshire, or Shropshire. The Eureka (or simply "The Mills") is a mecca for cyclists from Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. Established in 1928, it caters especially for cyclists, and is a chance to hob-nob with the stars, as even Chris Boardman occasionally pops in for a cuppa!

Alternatively, club meetings take place at the Pensby Community Centre, Fishers Lane, Pensby (see map), every Thursday, from 8:30 onwards. Our monthly committee meetings are always on the second Thursday of the month. Pop down to find out about upcoming club activities, or to chat to members.

But if you can't make that, or just want to get in touch, then either email myself or the club secretary, Andy Templeman. However, if you've already decided you want to join, then you can get an application form from the Entry Forms page