A year later, at 9.30am every Sunday morning some 20 to 40 cyclists meet in a railway station car park and choose from a selection of rides: short, which are 10-15 miles; medium, usually 20-25 miles; and long, anything from 35 to around 55 miles. Typical speeds vary from 7mph on the short ride, to 12mph on the longer routes. In addition, the club holds Wednesday evening rides from May to September, 'all day' midweek rides of 70 miles or more, 'away days' when members take a few cars loaded with bikes to cycle in a nearby part of Yorkshire, and occasional 'speedy' rides for fitter cyclists. There are 11 committee members, about 20 ride leaders, 75 members who have paid their £3 annual subscription, and a mailing list of almost 150.

There are plans to expand membership into three figures this year, and to start Wheel Easy! groups in other towns and cities in the UK, encouraging more people to enjoy the many benefits of cycling.

Harrogate Wheel Easy! was founded by Malcolm and Gia Margolis shortly after retiring from their sports retail business. We asked Malcolm to tell us more about the club and its progress over the last 12 months.

Q. Why did you decide to set up Wheel Easy!?

MM. Gia and I have always enjoyed cycling in the countryside and saw that while there were many clubs for athletic cyclists and mountain biking there was very little for people like us who pedal at a slower pace. We thought a club for gentle cycling would have wide appeal, be great fun for all involved, and an ideal way to discover new areas and meet new people, and get a bit fitter at the same time. To say that it has surpassed our early expectations is a huge understatement.

Q. Was it a success right from the start?

MM. Well the first ride attracted 35 cyclists, although this included friends, family and some fast cyclists who came just to make sure the launch wasn’t a flop. Early on we had awful weather, but this didn’t seem to put people off.

From day one several others were as enthusiastic as we were and formed a committee to share the work and help sort out routes and ride leaders. We are on it and my main job is to make sure the website, www.wheel-easy.org.uk, is up to date, but our Chairman, Dave Preston, is an experienced cyclist and CTC (Cyclists Touring Club) member, and all committee officers and members make a considerable contribution to our success. Since October, Wheel Easy! has been the Harrogate 'Section' (branch) of the CTC which is valuable for a number of reasons, not least with regard to insurance. Many members have joined the CTC in recent months. It's worth saying that while we give top priority to safety, those who cycle with us all ride at their own risk.

We were trying to appeal to a very broad church including young families, but found that for various reasons Wheel Easy! didn’t generally work for younger children or teenagers who soon tended to drop out. The age range of our regular riders now is from the mid 20's to mid 70's. The only reason all of us keep turning up is because we are having such a lovely time!

It may be that we can include younger cyclists more successfully in future. This should become much simpler to organise as the local provision of cycle paths improves, and when and if cycling on the Stray becomes legal. The path which will make the biggest difference of all is the proposed Sustrans route on the former railway line over the Nidd Viaduct linking Harrogate to Ripley which will enable cyclists and others to reach the Dales safely for the first time. Together with others, I'm working hard to make this happen. Crucially, we now have the strong support of Harrogate Council and if all goes well, it could be ready next year. We also need a similar path south of Harrogate to link up with Sustrans route 66 from Spofforth to Wetherby.

Q. Do you need to be quite fit to cycle with Wheel Easy!?

MM. No, you don’t need to get fit first; you cycle with us to get fit! You just don’t attempt big hills and long distances until you (and your bike) are ready for them. Obviously anyone with a medical condition which might make cycling unsuitable or who are overweight should check first with their doctor. Many people are worried they won’t be able to keep up with us if they haven’t been doing much exercise, but our short and slow ride is manageable by any normally healthy adult.

Q. You've talked about why Wheel Easy! appeals to budding cyclists, but do you think there is anything particular which makes it different from other cycling groups? After all, there are rides organised all around the UK which cater for the leisure cyclist.

MM. Yes, you're right, and one of the best examples is our sister club Ripon Loiterers, who have been going for about six years and initially concentrated on easy weekly rides for family cycling. We learned a lot from their example. Many leisure bike rides elsewhere are run on an occasional basis but we believe that weekly rides are essential, so that they become a habit for our members. For many of us, Wheel Easy! is what we do on a Sunday! We also want to start weekly rides on another day as, whether for church, sport or other reasons, Sundays don’t suit everyone.

Another key principle is always to offer the short and easy ride. Invariably, regular cyclists rapidly get fitter and find they want to tackle longer distances, so it's tempting to forget the 10 mile beginners' ride, which I call the 'Wheel Easy! Classic.' But in fact this is the life-blood of the club, attracting a good proportion of new members. At the same time, the wide variety of distances and levels we offer means that Wheel Easy! caters for almost all adults who want to do non-competitive cycling on lanes and cycleways, using busy roads only when unavoidable.

We have done almost no 'marketing' except for putting posters in bike shops, but the local newspaper prints our ride report almost every week, and next week's ride is always included in the 'What's On' section, and this has been very important in raising awareness of the club. Our excellent website, designed by a local company, is also tremendously useful and well used by members, and the modern miracle of email is indispensable.

Q. Where does Wheel Easy! go from here?

MM. I feel very confident that there is huge potential for Wheel Easy! and clubs run on similar lines. In my experience most cyclists and clubs have a narrow interest focussed on doing plenty of cycling. I want to do that too, but to me it’s much more important that we maximise cycle use as a society, and avoid motorised transport where possible. In this respect we can learn from Holland and other European countries which give cycling proper priority and investment. I have no time for the usual comment that they cycle in Holland because it’s flat. We have lots of flat in the UK, and for the rest we have great views. Cycling could and should be just as popular here, which would make it safer and more enjoyable for all of us.

There must be many thousands of rarely used bicycles rusting in garages all around the country, and my dream is to encourage as many as possible of their owners to rescue them and put them to good use. The bicycle is all they need to enjoy one of life's greatest pleasures, and make a real difference to their lives! To me, cycling is one of man's finest inventions, the best form of sustainable transport and together with walking the only way I've found to enjoy getting fit while exploring our wonderful countryside. Cycling gives a wonderful sense of freedom and it takes a lot to beat the tremendous satisfaction when you conquer hills for the first time without having to get off and push.

I strongly believe that the membership we've achieved in Harrogate is barely scratching the surface. Even for people who don’t want to ride in groups, Wheel Easy! can be of value - some of us like to chat and others prefer to keep themselves to themselves. As I said we are a broad church!

What I would love to see is a network of Wheel Easy! groups, with members from one place riding with the local club when visiting another part of the UK. You only need one or two people committed to establishing a group in their area, and because the idea works it almost seems to run itself.

I've recently taken part in several Wheel Easy! type rides in Chester as a result of a good response to an article I put in a residents newsletter there, and this should soon evolve into a second group. We are also publicising the concept in other publications and through major cycling organisations. A number of cyclists visiting Harrogate have ridden with us, all saying they wish there was a club like Wheel Easy! where they live. We hope many of them will be inspired to make sure that there soon is one.

For further details on Harrogate Wheel Easy!, or if you are interested in starting a Wheel Easy! group in your area, visit www.wheel-easy.org.uk, email info@wheel-easy.org.uk or phone 07711 294265.