Oxford University Cycling Club
Encyclopedia
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| Founded: | 1873 |
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| Membership: | 100-150 |
| Website: | http://groupspaces.com/oxforduniversitycc/ |
Oxford University Cycling Club (OUCC) was founded in 1873, making it one of the oldest cycling clubs in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Cycling is a discretionary full blue sport at Oxford University, with half blues awarded to the three riders comprising the fastest Oxford team in the Varsity Match
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
against Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, as well as three full blues awarded at the captain's discretion.
Early
The OUCC was founded in 1873, by Edmund Robert Bartley DennissEdmund Bartley-Denniss
Sir Edmund Robert Bartley Bartley-Denniss KC , born Edmund Robert Bartley Denniss, was a barrister, prominent Freemason and Conservative Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
(Hertford College), as the Oxford University Bicycle Club. Cycling was then an uncommon sport in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The CTC
CTC
-Government bodies:* Calcutta Tramways Company* California Commission on Teacher Credentialing* Canadian Tourism Commission* Counter-Terrorism Committee * Counterterrorism Center or CTIC-Educational institutes:* Central Texas College...
was still young, and owning a bike was a financial undertaking. According to OUCC records, there was a paid attendant to keep members' machines clean. It is believed that the original name of OUCC was the Dark Blue Cycling Club, now a club for OUCC alumni.
The growth of motoring in the 20th Century caused a lack of interest in cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, which became more downmarket and considered by some a vulgar form of transport. By the Brideshead era of the 1920s, ownership of a well-maintained specialist bike in Oxford would have been considered unusual or eccentric. Undergraduates used and continue to use decrepit town bikes, often with a wicker basket on the front and, in most cases, use of bicycles stopped there. At home, the family car would represent the primary means of transport, and consequently cycling became the transport of the working man.
Modern
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
Term of 1957 the club was restarted by Peter Hopkins, Jim Thompson and Bill Speck. From this point the OUCC has continued to thrive. Sunday club-runs were well supported and extra training runs established. In 1958 the first Varsity Match
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
was organised on the H23 course. The club was affiliated to the break-away British League of Racing Cyclists
British League of Racing Cyclists
The British League of Racing Cyclists was an association formed in 1942 to promote road bicycle racing in Great Britain. It operated in competition with the National Cyclists' Union, a rivalry which lasted until the two merged in 1959 to form the British Cycling Federation.-Background:The National...
for road racing
Road racing
Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
. Touring flourished after the club was re-established in the 1950s, with the first touring weekend during the Christmas vacation of 1957–58. Touring weekend continuesto be popular.
Achievements
Over the past decade, OUCC has been a successful club. Most notably, for a university club, successes include BUCS titles in all disciplines of racing.Notable alumni
- Jim Henderson (1994–1998)
- Mike Cubison (1997–2001)
- OUCC Alumni Page