A NEW cycling club is encouraging people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the freedom of life on two wheels.

Winsford Wheelers started as a group of friends who enjoyed going out on bike rides and has snowballed into an official club in a matter of months.

Founder member Jeff Johnson said: “I only started cycling again five years ago.

“My wife has MS, so I decided I wanted to do something to raise money for the MS Society who have helped us a lot.

“I hadn’t been on a bike since I was a teenager, but decided to cycle from London to Paris for the MS Society – I wanted to do something out of the ordinary that I knew would be worth it.

“After I did the ride, I just carried on cycling, mainly on my own. I always wanted to join a club, but felt a bit intimidated and didn’t feel they catered for novices.

“I was out cycling with a couple of lads and said I was going to set up a club for Winsford. I set up a Facebook page called Winsford Wheelers, said ‘who wants to go out?’ and the next thing I knew there were more than 100 people on the page.”

Jeff said the club’s motto and ethos is ‘leave nobody behind’.

“It’s about getting people out on their bikes, whether they’re old, young, not that fit – it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Winsford Wheelers organises novice, intermediate and advanced rides and is currently working on official affiliation with a cycling body. Members range in age from teenagers to members in their 50s and the club is for men and women.

A team of 12 has just completed the club’s first charity challenge – a 113-mile ride to raise money for 3L Care, in Chapel Lane.

They left The Red Lion, in Winsford, in ice and sleet at 7am last Tuesday, cycling to both football grounds in Manchester and visiting the velodrome, before cycling from Manchester to Liverpool and eventually arriving back at Winsford at 6.15pm.

The challenge, organised by Joey Joy, looks set to have raised more than the club’s target of £2,000.