The CTC’s image, and membership, has taken a well earned boost in recent years after the organisation initiated a number of high profile campaigns, fighting for the rights of cyclists.

Over 10,000 people have in the last year joined the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation, CTC, boosting its membership to 55,516 – the organisation’s highest recorded membership since 1899.

You may not be involved directly with the CTC, but their actions affect all cyclists, from taking your bike on aeroplanes to giving you more rights on Britain’s somewhat ‘hairy’ roads (and that means we can all put that bicycle number plate lunacy to rest too.)

The figures mark a particularly successful year for CTC. The use of a cardboard bike to highlight rail bike bans, the successful overturning of a bike ban by Easyjet, the huge response to proposed changes to the Highway Code, support for the cyclist prosecuted for ‘discourteous cycling’, Daniel Cadden, and the successful argument made against Ken Livingstone’s proposal for bicycle number plates were among the campaigns led by CTC which galvanised cyclists across the country.

Matt Mallinder, CTC’s Membership Development Manager says “People are joining CTC as much for our grass routes campaigning and high-profile government lobbying as our range of excellent member benefits. The really good news is that the more people join us, the greater our campaigning punch becomes.”

As well as its growth in membership, CTC has secured more money for cycling projects through its Charitable Trust and completed a move to a new national office in Guildford.

CTC Director, Kevin Mayne, said: “This has been an exceptionally good year all round for CTC – it’s a testament to the hard work of our staff and thousands of volunteers and a sign of things to come.”