9 hours ago
David Scarlet
SANGRE GRANDE has a new club in town and is interested in building community through fun and exercise.
The Ride Out Cycling Club, formed in July 2021, provides an outlet for the people of Sangre Grande and surrounding areas to ride bicycles recreationally and enhance their lifestyle.
Club co-founder Marcell Thomas spoke to Newsday on Wednesday about the club’s history and goals.
“It started out recreationally,” he said. “My neighbor and I started biking around the area, and my uncle then got interested and joined us. He was a former cyclist with experience through his Scout group. They used to tour all over the country.
“Unfortunately, on a trip in 2019, he suffered a stroke and passed away. That inspired me and my neighbor to put together something stronger that would have better measures to prevent such incidents in the future.”
He said he was also willing to provide something positive for his nephew, almost a teenager, to participate.
“There are other clubs in Sangre Grande, but their format is different from ours. Theirs is competitive, ours is more community based.”
However, Thomas intends to grow the club so that it becomes strong enough for competitive cycling and still cater to recreational riders.
Ride Out is currently not officially registered, but already has 30 active members, including members from other clubs who share their knowledge and ideas. They organize events both within and between clubs to keep their members active. Last December they held a Champion of the Loop event, covering a 3 mile loop through the streets of Grande. It involved other area clubs and riders received awards for fastest lap time, youngest rider and Champion of the Loop, the rider who completed the most laps in 30 minutes.
“This event was not run by the (Trinidad and Tobago Cycling) Federation,” said Thomas, “it was not possible as we would have had to be a registered club and pay subscriptions to cover insurance. But we intend to host more events as we get closer to the official record.”
His next event will be a recreational ride in Matelot from May 21 to 22.
Thomas’s aspirations for his club to become competitive and hopefully play a part in producing national riders.
In addition to the club’s current riders, he wants to recruit more young riders and help them develop and reach their potential. “We currently have two promising teenagers and the only way for them to get exposed and develop properly is to compete and ride outside of Grande.”
He said the main challenge is financial. “Competitive cycling is very expensive in terms of bikes, training and equipment. Our goal is to have bikes in the club for competitive use. A competitive bike can cost between $30,000 and $40,000.”
To help the club grow and get financial assistance, Thomas said they are closely affiliated with another club at Grande, whose coach used to race nationally. The plan is to work together with them to develop a youth program.
“They were there before us and we want to collaborate on what is best for training and financing. As it stands, we don’t have any sponsors. Our uniforms were purchased out of our own pockets, but we are currently planning how we can work on that.”
Road cycling can be a dangerous sport. Asked about the security aspect of the club, Thomas said: “To avoid what happened to my uncle last year, we assessed the routes we are about to travel and determined how much cover we need.
“We have an agreement with the eastern division of the ambulance service and we always have a vehicle following us when we travel. Almost every time we have someone trained in first aid, emergency contacts and we post the route before the trip so everyone knows where to go.” we are if something happens.
“We also have first aid kits, a mobile stretcher, helmets and lights. Elbow pads and knee pads can be extra protection, but they’re not required. We have five helmets for anyone (outside the club) to come on a single trip, together with extra bikes to rent.”
Addressing his goals for the club, he said that in the short term, they seek to complete the company’s registration with Legal Affairs, as well as registration with the Ministry of Community Development by the end of May. He said the goal is to fall under the umbrella of the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation.
Their long term goals include having members developing to compete in national and international competitions. He also wants to develop and expand the management of the club as most of the current team is new to the cycling fraternity.
“We have plans to make the club as big as possible. Watch out for us!” he said.
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