History

Edinburgh RC is one of the oldest cycling clubs in Scotland with a history dating back to 1925. it was founded on 9 November 1925 in a Mr Mccaw’s house in Morningside by CTC members who objected to racing on Sundays. until 1933 it was open to CTC members only, but thereafter went ‘open’ although it has maintained close links with the CTC ever since.

Around that time there were approximately 100 cycling clubs in the Edinburgh and Midlothian area and ERC is one of only four still in existence. In these early years the Road Club was preeminent in the field of road records and in the period up to the Second World War, 4 British and 20 Scottish road records were established in Road Club colours.

After the Second World War, the club was split twice by cycling political factions and in 1951 lost its clubroom in St Bernards Row. It then returned to being a racing offshoot of the Lothians CTC and continued as such, mainly with time trials and Scottish Record attempts, until 1966 when it again became an open club embracing road racing. Having lost its main recruitment source, it eventually folded in 1968.

It was not until 1973 that the club was reformed by Jack Murdoch and Richard Russell, members of the Lothians DA, as a racing
offshoot. Jack Murdoch became the Club President, a position he held until 2000. Over that time the club has gone from strength to strength, embracing and encouraging most branches of the sport including trailquest, mountain biking and multi-sports such as triathlon and duathlon.

In order to attract younger members, a Juniors section was created in late 2007. It offers the chance for 8-16 year olds to have fun on bikes and also provide an introduction to cyclesport. There is a strong emphasis on safety by mostly using off-road venues and preplanned sessions under the British Cycling Go-Ride scheme.

The club has produced numerous Scottish and British medallists in the fields of time trialling, road racing, track, triathlon and duathlon. Riders such as Richard Moore, Ross Muir, Kate Cullen and Alex Coutts have enjoyed success with the club before going on to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. This list was extended further in 2010 with (alongside Kate Cullen) Pippa Handley, Anne Ewing and Claire Thomas all representing Scotland at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, and more recently Ellie Richardson in Glasgow 2014.

The membership went through an unprecedented growth spurt from 2007 - 2013 and remains at just over 600, with 25% of these female and all categories well represented. More details can be viewed in the membership section of the club website.

Backed by a growing number of coaches and club equipment, the club offers numerous training activities. It also promotes a large number of events including time trials, road races, the Ingliston Criterium Series and triathlons.