Two years ago, during our sophomore year, we founded the Cycling Club. A burning passion combined with a lack of community led to the formation of the club, bringing many students together and promoting cycling as a means of transportation and recreation.
We have always found cycling fascinating: it transforms the inefficient thud of the human foot against the pavement into a smooth rotation of a bicycle crankset. Founding the club, on the other hand, was both a challenge and a validation of our characters. Success meant acceptance; failure would label us as the bike-obsessed weirdos.
The initial months were rough. We kicked off the cycling club with a bang, attracting 39 members at the club fair, but few actually joined the weekend rides. Many good friends of ours made excuses to avoid attending our rides. A dwindling club and a busy junior year drained our optimism.
Things took a turn for the better with the start of senior year. We were determined to breathe new life into the club, implementing a bike borrowing system that allowed bikeless students to participate in rides. Our efforts in ride planning were greeted by an equally enthusiastic response, with now 50 members eager to participate and even pushing us to schedule the next ride. The club’s presence was noticed throughout social media as well as in the year’s first issue of The Little Hoya.
The magnus opus of the club’s activities was its participation in the DC Bike Ride, a charity ride that allowed cyclists from all over the DMV to cycle through the heart of DC. After collaborating with Dean Rod to fund tickets for the event, we geared up on the morning of September 30, 2023, and headed over to the starting line. As we raced through the streets of DC, we saw bikes of all types and riders of all backgrounds, all here to partake in the same fiery passion. After each of us passed through the finish line and met with the others in the shade of the capital’s monuments, having tried our hardest with each stroke, we felt like the club had truly come into its own.
With us heading off to college next year, Peter Lin, ’26 will lead the club next year. We sincerely hope that our legacy in cycling will leave a lasting impact on Prep through the Cycling Club.
