The wheels were, quite literally, put in motion that led to cycling’s increased popularity at the start of the millennium but they were accelerated by the 2012 London Olympics.

That is the belief of Cheltenham & County Cycling Club chairman Robin Mainwaring, who himself has spent a lot more time on his bike over the past 10 years or so.

A desire to lead more active lives initially encouraged more people to get on their bicycles and Great Britain’s unprecedented success in London five years ago encouraged even more people to take up the sport.

“It’s not just a spectator sport,” said Mainwaring. “It’s a big participation sport as well which is not just about competing. Obviously, competition can be a big part of what we do as a club but the majority of events we run are designed to appeal to more social riders.”

Mainwaring, 52, is one of those social riders who will meet regularly on a Saturday and/or Sunday.

“We’ve got about 300 members and on a Saturday we can get as many as 100 meeting at Pittville Pump Rooms at 9am ready for a ride,” he said.

“If it’s a horrible November morning we may only get 30 to 40 but that’s still a pretty decent number.

“We’ll cycle about 50 miles in rain, wind or shine on a Saturday, and even more on Sundays!”

Mainwaring was brought up in Somerset before moving to Cheltenham nearly 35 years ago.

He used to be a keen footballer and as a youngster would cycle to games. That began his love affair with bicycles and when he finished playing football the cycling took over.

His enthusiasm for the sport has increased as the years have gone by. These days he cycles up to 200 miles a week and thinks little of heading off to Coventry for a 100-mile ride.

Of course, the beautiful countryside around Cheltenham and in the Cotswolds makes cycling a very attractive sport and that is shown by the number of clubs in the area.

As well as Cheltenham, there’s Velo Club Montpellier; Dames, a women’s only club that has a Cheltenham branch; Cycling UK, a national organisation with a strong Cheltenham section; Cheltenham Tewkesbury and Winchcombe Young Cyclists; Woodmancote Cycling Club and Winchcombe Cycling Club.

“Quite a lot of our members are also members of other clubs so there is no real rivalry,” Mainwaring said. “And we’ll all come together when the Tour of Britain comes through Gloucestershire on Saturday 9th September for what will be a local celebration of cycling.”

There may be an absence of the rivalry between clubs that characterises sports such as football and rugby but there is still a desire to perform well in competition and Cheltenham & County Cycling Club is no different to any other club in that respect.

“Thursday nights are our competition nights,” said Mainwaring, “when we hold our time trials around Tredington and Toddington. They are open events which mean cyclists from other clubs can compete. We normally get about 20 to 30 taking part.”

Cheltenham, of course, is well represented and Mainwaring is delighted that the future of the club looks to be in safe hands.

“We’ve got a very strong young riders section,” he said. “Sam Smith, who is 16, and 15-year-old Henry Johnson both competed in the national cyclo-cross championships earlier in the year and recorded creditable results.

“Then we’ve got Ross Holland, who’s 19, and Will Swarbrick, 18, who are both fantastic young road/TT riders. They have all come through the club from an early age and have got great futures ahead of them.”

The club also boasts a very strong mountain bike riding section and helps Winchcombe Cycling Club to organise the annual Hell of the North Cotswolds Ride, an event that attracts up to 2,000 riders and visitors into the area every April.

It’s not a formal race but more an enjoyable test of endurance across mixed terrain.

As it prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2021, Cheltenham & County Cycling Club can certainly claim to have passed its own test of endurance – and it is continuing to thrive.