
Cycle Touring Clubs
Due to the growing craze in cycling, the first cycle touring club was named the Bicycle Touring Club and was founded in 1878 by an Edinburgh medical student, Stanley Cotterell. All eighty members were men, but women were allowed to join two years later.


In 1883 it changed its name to the Cyclists’ Touring Club with headquarters in Fleet Street. London. CTC members often rode in uniform and an official tailor was appointed. It consisted of a serge green (later grey) jacket, knickerbocker trousers and a peaked ‘Stanley’ helmet. Women also adapted their dress to make cycling easier, and this would be in the form of shortened trousers and a fitted jacket.
These clubs became popular in the early twentieth century and many would form themselves into affiliated groups, some with a political alliance, such as socialism. The CTC ‘three wings on a wheel’ symbol was often seen at hotels and restaurants who could offer good accommodation to cyclists. By the 1920s many plaques appeared on the walls of cafes and farm barns that were serving refreshments to cyclists.
The CTC is still active today, having over 70,000 members, and has been renamed Cycling UK.
