Featherstone Road Club

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About Us

 

 

Featherstone Road Club (FRC) is a traditional cycling club catering for all ages and abilities. We have approximately 70 members with some involved in road racing and time-trialling, although the real strength of the club lies in the general club riding. There is a club run every Sunday (supported by, on average, 20 members), an evening time-trial league, twice weekly training runs and an annual dinner/prize presentation. In addition, the club promotes one open time-trial and one open road race each year.

 

Featherstone Road Club

A Brief History:

 

The Featherstone Road Club was founded in 1929 by a group of cyclists from the then village of Featherstone. The club catered for a wide variety of cycling activities with a hard riders section for the fitter riders and a social section for families and easy riders both young and old, the activities of the club included Sunday rides, Touring, Time trials and Grass track racing.

Through the 1930’s the membership grew with long distance tours being done by riders, Sunday club runs had thirty to forty riders turning out regularly on solo & tandems as the attendance prize was keenly contested. On the Time trial front Featherstone riders did well in open events and Castleford & Pontefract district events.

During the Second World War the club activities were scaled down due to riders called into the armed forces. But with Miners, Farm workers and people in exempt occupations the club the club was able to carry on. After the war the club membership grew again, with thirty plus riders turning out on Sunday rides and riders competed in open and club events again.

In the nineteen fifty’s the club promoted the open Hilly 30 mile time trial and in the mid fifty’s the club promoted the ‘Tour of the Alps ‘cyclo cross event, with riders from all over England competing, the course going around the colliery spoil heaps ‘hence the Alps’ around Featherstone, Ackton & Loscoe.

In 1961 the club won the team prize in the National championship Hill climb, then in the late sixty’s Road racing was included in our activities with open events promoted around Ledston & Fairburn. The club enjoyed success on the Grass track with riders winning divisional and national championships.

Later on the club had to change the 30mile time trial to a 25mile event due to road changes, this became known as Paddy’s race in memory of Jim (Paddy) Travis who organised the original Hilly 30. Also we promoted open Road races on the Rothwell & Methley circuit. Later a 90mile road race based on Pontefract/Ackworth/Barnsdale, later called Pete’s race in memory of Peter Chapman who was the main organiser of this event.

The club is still thriving in the present time with a healthy membership.

Author:- Bill Ross 13/02/2011

 

 Left to right Jim Keenan, Mo Marsh and Jack Paver, taken in the early 50's

 

 

Ex secretarys of FRC any ideas who.  

The club kit from Kendell's in Castleford
Our club kit (above) is available from Kendell Cycles on Oxford Street Castleford.