“Look, Mum – no hands!”
The thrill and the excitement we’ve all felt when we first started to ride a bike is something that stays with us, no matter our age or speed! The fact you could also ride with your friends just added to that sense of excitement.
That thrill combined with the freedom cycling offers us and the camaraderie that is created when riding with others are three very important aspects which inspired the formation of Moonglu Cycling Club and which have been the engine behind the success of the club since it was first established in 2016. No matter your age or speed ability, the club exists to help encourage and enable members to ride their bikes across as many disciplines as possible!
The club has a very strong social ethic where members are encouraged to meet up for mid-ride/end ride café stops. The mission is to create a social cycling hub where we can enjoy riding bikes and make the most of the fantastic countryside in North Yorkshire
Join the Club
Annual individual membership for 2025 is £15 and family membership is £30, but if you just want to try us out, you’re welcome to 3 free club rides before committing to membership.
Once paid up, you can join any guided club ride and attend social events, as well as receive special club offers at Moonglu Independent Bike Shop.
If you would like to join Moonglu Cycling Club the application form is available online via the link below.
We would also make you aware that we also have Club Rules to abide by, please read these before making your application.
Moonglu Cycling Club Rules
Moonglu Cycling Club Youth and Junior Road Riding Policy
MCC Youth Consent Form
MCC Social Media Policy
MCC Group Riding Rules
Club History
The Birth of the Social Cycling Hub
Whilst Moonglu Cycling Club now boasts around 200 members, the beginning of the club was a much smaller affair. Back in 2009, the seeds were sown when Dave Fell and Neil Dunkley started to ride once a week after work on a Thursday during winter. This was a very informal affair, and it was also here that the ‘Club route’ was adopted as the default ‘test’ and it remains the Club’s signature Thursday evening ride to this day. As time went by word spread and the group expanded to around 15 riders who met often but without the structure or commitment of being a cycling club.
Change came in Spring 2016 when two members proposed that we formalise the existing Thursday night riding group into a British Cycling affiliated club, allowing members to ride, enter sportives and compete under the Moonglu banner. Word quickly spread with increasing demand for an official club. A Committee was rapidly formed, and Chairman appointed, along with the establishment of a constitution and ride programme. Affiliations were organised, bank account set up, policies agreed, and Moonglu CC was born!
Creation of the club would trigger additional major developments such as; paid membership, club kit, a dedicated website, larger riding groups, more frequent and better-organised rides, and a range of social events. The appetite for the club was established in the first year with 100 members joining during that first 12-month period.
The club has grown at a sustainable rate and the support and activities that the club can offer has expanded accordingly. In addition to the well-established Thursday and Sunday rides, there are off-road rides, Moonzwift virtual group rides, velodrome trips, annual 100 Mile Club Social ride, Reliability Rides, Cyclo-cross racing and bespoke trips arranged between members to events such as Paris-Roubaix or Mallorca.
The Club exists to provide a social cycling hub for riders of all abilities and for as many different forms of cycling as there is demand for. The success of the club since its inception has been based on these foundations and will continue to focus on developing both the social element along with as wide a variety of events as there is demand for.
Club Committee
The club committe consists of:
Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chairman, Kit Secretary, the Safeguarding Officer, and the Gravel/Mountain Bike Secretary.
Chairman
Simon Beeson
Skier, cyclist, and socialite.
Having recovered from a long term back injury, a beer, and a good chat with my best mate at a swimming pool bar in Menorca, led me to take the plunge and acquire a road bike in 2011. Since then my passion for cycling has become obsessive!
Joined MCC at its inception in 2015 and have seen it grow into the fantastic club it is today, both on and off the road.
Building on the solid foundations of former Chairman, Gary Nuttall, with the support of the committee I’m looking to expand the club to be as inclusive and diverse as possible in serving the cycling community of Ripon.
Always up for a ride; on or off road; social or fast: especially when they finish at the coffee shop, or better still, the bar.
Secretary
Neil Dunkley
Neil Dunkley is the owner of Moonglu Bike Shop, founder of Moonglu Cycling Club and current club secretary. Born, bred and educated in Ripon, he became owner at Moonglu in 2003 after a Geology Degree and short career in Environmental Engineering. Married with 2 children, Neil now splits his time between family, the shop and riding his bike.
Neil started his bike related adventures riding and racing mountain bikes as a junior across the north of England but more recently has turned his attention to the road. A fan of most sports, Neil’s true passion is bikes, whether it’s riding, tinkering or watching it on TV there is a fascination of the bicycle that drives him.
Treasurer
Shaun Puttock
Hi, I’m Shaun Puttock and I joined the committee in 2021 as Treasurer. I moved to Ripon in 1992 where I met my wife Julie and we have never left.
After saying I was retiring from football in 2008 and making more comebacks than a boomerang, my ankles finally told me I had to stop. I flirted with several sports, none of which I really enjoyed. I knew I needed to get active again so I decided to commute the 6 miles to work in 2014 and went to Moonglu to get the cheapest bike I could. That is where the addiction to cycling started. I joined Moonglu Cycling Club in 2016, a year that saw me cycle my first 100 mile ride and I have never looked back. Moonglu Cycling Club gives me that buzz I was missing from playing competitive football.
Vice-Chairman
Peter Lancaster
My passion for cycling started with the 1980’s BMX craze trying to emulate Andy Ruffell and Bob Haro. This then evolved into mountain biking in the 90’s with the occasional low level race thrown in as an excuse for boozy weekend away. Despite riding for almost 50 years, Moonglu is the only club I’ve joined, with my wife paying my first subs as a gift in 2017.
What I love about Moonglu is the accessibility to riders of all abilities and all disciplines. During my membership I have competed in time-trials, cyclo-cross and mountain bike events but more important are the social rides both on, and off road, with great company and some fantastic routes.
New to the committee in 2025 I am looking forward to helping the club develop and continue to offer something for all cyclists.
Kit Secretary
Roger Clarke
I have lived in Ripon since 2015 and have been obsessed with bikes and bike racing from an early age! Joining Moonglu CC has been a great experience where I was warmly welcomed and have made many good friends. The club has been incredibly successful over a short period of time and I hope and expect the club to continue to grow both in numbers but also in the activities that are offered to members. In an act of what can only be described as self-harm, I volunteered to manage the club kit. We plan to open the shop 2-3 times a year and believe we have sourced a great partner in Tactic Sports.
Safeguarding Officer
Peter Young
I Live in Ripon with my wife and two sons. I’ve been riding bikes since childhood. I enjoy road riding, occasional mountain biking and take part in the Yorkshire Cyclocross association summer and winter series.
Gravel/Mountain Bike Secretary
Peter Swanborough
Made of More
I have been associated with Ripon since 1981 married to Liz with son, Steve.
My cycling started as a youth in 70’s Hull with the combative sport of cycle speedway (which probably explains my ‘elbows out’ style) I also did some cycle touring, before moving onto many years of riding motorcycle enduro and trials. Looking for a new challenge in the late 90s I left the wheels behind and headed to the mountains to become an obsessive paraglider pilot and snowboarder.
Back down to Earth, I returned to cycling in 2010 with mountain bike orienteering, which combined riding with my love of maps. This encouraged me to go route planning with an OS map exploring the hidden gems of Yorkshire, Cumbria and beyond.
As a part time road rider, I became involved with Moonglu CC from day one and have always tried to promote and encourage off road riding, which is now a thriving part of the club. I joined the Committee in 2021 as the offroad representative.
I am a recent enthusiastic convert to gravel riding, I may also occasionally be spotted on a road bike however, the draw of the mountain remains strong so i will always remain a mountain biker at heart.