Tom Daltry is a keen cyclist. He is a member of Stroud Valleys Cycling Club and has recently taken on the role of secretary.

It’s a position he was happy to take up and he is keen to give something back to the club who have given him so much over the past few years.

“I joined the club in 2020 just before Covid,” said the retired solicitor, who moved to this part of the world in 2008.

And although lockdown was an inconvenience for many, it wasn’t so bad for Daltry.

“I’d already become part of the club and although we weren’t able to go on club rides, I was still able to go out as an individual,” he said.

“The weather during the first lockdown was very good and I did a lot of cycling.

“And there was no-one on the roads, it was great. I remember cycling up and down the A417, normally I wouldn’t go anywhere near it, it was ridiculous!”

But while Daltry obviously enjoyed the freedom of the roads, a big part of cycling – and Stroud Valleys Cycling Club in particular – is going out and about with like-minded people.

Stroud Valleys is a touring club, as opposed to a competitive club, and Daltry, who is 67, said: “It’s about getting out in the fresh air, exercising, enjoying the countryside and the social side.”

“We have rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and we have other rides too.

“Our club motto is, ‘No one is ever left behind!’ and there are plenty of experienced cyclists in the club to help new riders choose the most suitable rides.

“I usually go on the Tuesday ride which is about 35 miles, although for me it can be 40 to 50.”

Daltry, who is married to Helen, lives just outside Cranham, which is about eight miles from Stroud where the rides start and finish.

“It’s okay getting there because it’s mainly downhill to Stroud from where I live, but it’s harder getting back,” laughed Daltry.

So is he ever tempted to get a taxi back?

“No,” he said, “but I do very occasionally take the car in if I have to be somewhere when I get back.”

Stroud Valleys Cycling Club were formed way back in 1943 and are a member group of Cycling UK, a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use.

Daltry estimates the club has about 60 active members who range in age from 40 to 80-plus, but says that the club welcomes riders of all ages, including those on e-bikes.

“We’ve got a couple of riders in their 80s, one chap is absolutely amazing,” said Daltry. “I rode with him the other day, he was riding a fixie.”

For readers who may not know, a fixie is a bicycle with no gears, and Daltry continued: “You can’t free-wheel, the pedals go round all the time, he was going up hills like a young ’un.”

Daltry is talking about Pete Sharpe and he continued: “Pete is very modest but I know that before I joined the club he completed Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), which is held every four years and is the holy grail of Audax long distance cycling.

“He was 71 when he did this. In PBP you have to cycle 1,200 kilometres, which is 745 miles, in 90 hours and to enter you must successfully complete, within a fairly tight timescale, a 200km Audax, a 300, a 400 and a 600.

“To complete PBP successfully you need stamina, speed, excellent levels of organisation, the ability to deal with any mechanical problems which come your way and the willpower to press on when everything seems against you.

“Pete has also cycled all over the world.”

Daltry has cycled quite extensively in Europe – he’s ridden from Paris to London and also ridden up Mont Ventoux, a famous Tour de France climb – and closer to home both he and Sharpe clearly enjoy climbing the hills because there are plenty of them around Gloucestershire!

“We always try to find the lovely country lanes,” Daltry added. “When you’ve done a really big ride – sometimes we ride 80 to 90 miles – you really feel you’ve achieved something. With all the hills you get plenty of exercise.”

And the social side is very important too.

“We want to encourage more people to take up cycling,” continued Daltry. “As a club we like to experience things with each other rather than compete against each other.

“Depending on what time of day it is, we will always stop off for a coffee and cake, or lunch.”

Anyone wanting more information about the club should visit www.stroudvalleyscyclingclub.org.uk