A cycling club is a society for cyclists. Clubs tend to be mostly local, and can be general or specialised. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Cyclists' Touring Club, (CTC) is a national cycling association; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those over 40, are specialist clubs. Members of specialist or national groups often also belong to local clubs.
Lord's Cycling Club in Houston, Texas (1897)
The Atalanta Ladies' Cycling Club (ca. 1892)
Old CTC sign on display at the National Museum of Scotland
Cycling UK is a trading name of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), which is a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use. Cycling UK is registered at Companies House as "Cyclists’ Touring Club", and is covered by company law. It works at a national and local level to lobby for cyclists' needs and wants, provides services to members, and organises local groups for local activism and those interested in recreational cycling. The original Cyclists' Touring Club began in the nineteenth century with a focus on amateur road cycling but these days has a much broader sphere of interest encompassing everyday transport, commuting and many forms of recreational cycling. Prior to April 2016, the organisation operated under the brand "CTC, the national cycling charity". As of February 2020, the organisation's president is the newsreader Jon Snow.
Old CTC sign on display at the National Museum of Scotland
CTC plaque on the wall of a guest house in Ingleton, North Yorkshire
1895 cartoon contrasting the bicycle suit (left) vs. conventional feminine attire (right)