Members of Wielervereniging Urk in their green and black club kit, standing with their bikes on a heathland plateau.

Club Spotlight: Wielervereniging Urk

Every now and then we put one of our clubs in the spotlight. This time we spoke to Wielervereniging Urk, a growing club in the Dutch province of Flevoland that celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year with a race for polder points and a buffet for everyone.

About Wielervereniging Urk

Wielervereniging Urk now has 132 members and is still growing. The club turned twenty this year. To mark it, they organised the Race om de Polderpunten, a light-hearted race where sportsmanship and good company mattered more than the result. The day ended with everyone sitting down to a buffet together.

Through the season there are training sessions and a weekly tour ride, for riders of different levels. On top of that, the club runs a number of larger activities and events every year.

Four members of Wielervereniging Urk riding together along a cycle path through the Dutch polders, with the sun low over the fields.

Riding at your own level, and a drink together afterwards

Wielervereniging Urk is about cycling, but the good company and the sense of belonging count for just as much. Riders go out in several groups at different levels, so most members find a group that suits them.

Alongside the training sessions, the club rides a tour together every week. This year it is organising the annual Tulpen Classic for the eighteenth time, and a group of members regularly heads off on a cycling holiday, to Italy or France for example. It is that mix of sport and sociability that makes the club what it is.

What the club gives its members and its volunteers

The social side matters a great deal here. Riding together keeps people moving and healthy, but the friendships that come out of it are worth just as much. After a training session or a tour ride the group often stays on for a drink, and through the year there are social activities too, a barbecue among them.

That makes the club more than a place to train. It is a place to meet each other.

How Wielervereniging Urk found Cyql

The club is a member of the NTFU, the Dutch cycling tourism federation, and came across Cyql through them.

What the club likes most about Cyql

A member of Wielervereniging Urk climbing alone along a forest path between tall trees.

Because rides and a lot of other club information are shared through Cyql, nearly every member uses the platform. It has become a central part of how the club communicates.

What they value most is the overview. Members can see at a glance what is coming up, and the platform is straightforward for members and administrators alike. The biggest gain is the structure: a message in a WhatsApp group soon disappears under everything else, while information in Cyql stays organised and easy to find again.

For Wielervereniging Urk it is above all the combination that works: planning rides, sharing information and keeping an overview, all in one place.

What the club would still like to see

They would like to add other club activities as full events alongside the rides, a barbecue or a members' meeting for instance. That would make Cyql even more the central place for the whole club. It is exactly the kind of request we like to hear, and we are taking it with us.

Why other clubs should consider Cyql

Asked why other clubs or organisations should choose Cyql, the club keeps it short.

“Cyql is an interactive platform for cycling clubs that puts the rides at the centre while giving you overview and structure at the same time. For Wielervereniging Urk, Cyql has become so natural that we would not really want to be without it!”