Icknield Road Club
COMPOMOTIVE WHEELS

Early Days

The Icknield Road Club is long established and pleased to have celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2003. The Club was formed in 1933 as a racing offshoot of the Bedfordshire District Association of the Cyclist Touring Club (CTC). It relinquished its formal ties with the CTC in 1959 to widen its objects to provide cycle racing, touring and social facilities for its members.

Why Icknield?

The Club’s name is derived from a prehistoric track, the Icknield Way. This is the oldest road in Britain and passes through six counties, including Bedfordshire, in its 278 miles route from Avebury ring in Wiltshire to Cromer on the Norfolk coast. The whole of the Icknield Way was reopened in our 60th Anniversary year, 1993. It includes some good cycling terrain – one stretch is used in our early-season 'Hilly' Time Trial and others on Club Runs, whilst there are also green lane sections away from other traffic.

What we do now

The Club, which has been sponsored by Compomotive Wheels of Wolverhampton since 1988 through the generosity of Bill and Barbara Dixon, is foremost amongst leading clubs in the area. We cater for all cycling interests,’ including Time Trialling, Road Racing, Club runs and Youth Hostel Tours. We also enjoy a very strong social side, with a lively weekly Clubroom meeting at Silsoe and a number of other events, including a very popular Annual Dinner. A News Letter is published about 5 times a year, in addition to the Handbook. A special feature in the last few years has been strong support for the Club juvenile riders from age under 10 years and upwards, who have ridden with great enthusiasm and success in the Mobil cycling Challenge at the Milton Keynes Bowl.

Past Club honours have included providing the winners for the GHS Schools 10 miles Championship on the one hand to the National 24 hour title on the other, and have also seen the Club represented in the top twelve in the BBAR and the Vets BAR.

The Icknield is the leading promoter of Open events in London North district, currently running five Time Trials, including a BBAR 100 and The National Championship 12 hour event, together with an Open Road Race. The end of season Charity 10 mile events, which the Club has run for over 35 years, have produced several thousand pounds for local charity with a total of over £1300 in the past three years.