'The gravel scene in our club is the common ground for a lot of riders now': How becoming truly multi-disciplinary has helped one Scottish cycling club thrive in 2024

This feature originally appeared in Cycling Weekly magazine on 5th December 2024. Subscribe now and never miss an issue.

If Peebles Cycling Club’s kit makes you nostalgic for the early 2000s, you’re not alone. The white, black and red getup bears a striking resemblance to the Team CSC gear that Fränk Schleck wore to stage-winning glory in the Tour de France. According to club chairman Garth Pearson, the resemblance, though often remarked upon, was not deliberate – Peebles CC’s jersey was designed to represent community and inclusion, two pillars of the modern club’s identity.

Founded more than 25 years ago in a Peebles bike shop, the club expanded steadily and now has a membership of 216. This growth has been the result of regular outreach work in the local community, culminating in Peebles CC being crowned Cycling Weekly’s Club of the Year for 2024.

According to Pearson, the club’s reluctance to focus solely on one discipline has helped attract ever more members. “We are unique in the [Tweed] valley, in that we are genuinely the only multi-disciplinary cycling club in the area,” he explains. “We are the only club where you can come and go for a road ride, gravel ride, have a track day and go mountain biking as well – we offer all of that to the community.”

Getting firmly involved with gravel’s rise in popularity in Scotland has made Peebles CC an attractive proposition to potential newcomers in the Tweed valley. Off-road adventurers Mark Beaumont and Markus Stitz have both visited Peebles for talks at the local theatre to help encourage the new-found enthusiasm in the area.

“I think our members see gravel as a real opportunity to get out and ride over the winter months in a much safer environment,” says Pearson. “Local folk have just migrated to gravel of late. The variety is really immense; we have a wealth of good routes available.” There is no longer a divide between on- and off-road riders, he adds. “The gravel scene in our club has really helped, as that's the common ground for a lot of riders now. It has really helped bring the club together.”

Community outreach

Circling back to the club’s outreach programme, Pearson explains how the project continues to build the club’s visibility. As well as supporting local charities, volunteers have been instrumental in ensuring that various events can regularly take place throughout the year.

“For the last two years, we've run a club jumble sale where we've basically just taken over one of the town halls for a Saturday and encouraged people to bring along bike bits and pieces to sell,” he says.

“It's really helped to open up cycling to passers-by, who come and see what's going on and maybe have a browse and pick something up. We have also been supporting a charity called Cycling Without Age this year,” he adds, “which is all about taking elderly folk out on tricycles. We just try to get involved in as wide a range of activities locally as we can.”

One-third of the membership are women and the club is working to get the ratio closer to 50/50. This includes regular Tuesday evening women-only rides for non-members in order to help bridge the gap into the sport.

“We've really tried to be more inclusive and open,” says Pearson, "because if you look at a club’s website and you just see lots of blokes pedalling hard, it can be quite off-putting. We started a regular women’s ride early in the spring, which have been really popular, and continued all summer.”

Sniffiness about equipment is actively avoided. “You can bring whatever bike you want to come along,” he adds. “It's what we need to do to keep the club vibrant and fresh.”

Scottish Cycling club of the year

Pearson can’t help but show his sense of pride in the club as he explains that, on top of the CW nomination, Peebles have also received word that they’re in the running for Club of the Year at Scottish Cycling’s annual awards. The biggest prize, though, is earning a place at the heart of the local cycling community while continuing to grow and thrive – thanks to the work of Pearson, his colleagues and friends.

“It's been so nice to see people rocking up at our events this year and having a good time,” he concludes. “That's ultimately what a club is about, and that's the essence of it all, to give people the opportunity to make new friends, build relationships, and experience new parts of the valley together.”