Riding to the Acid House beat
Inside the club with a strong community spirit, that combines the members' love for cycling and dance music.
Whilst people were bashing their pots and pans for those on the front line or regretfully buzzing their hair off during lockdown, an inclusive cycling group formed from a love for music.
Acid House Cycling Club (AHCC) was created in June 2020 and combines the music genre of acid house and cycling, and it is connecting people across the country who share the love of the two. And what initially started as a bit of fun on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a bona fide club, with dedicated merch, events, meetups and a Strava group.
Now there is a strong community aspect amongst the group, where members post their cycling routes onto Strava - a service that tracks physical exercise and incorporates social network features - whilst listening to Acid House. Members receive encouragement from like-minded people and recommended tracks to play when pedalling.
When people could only exercise by themselves, a community on Twitter was slowly growing in numbers to fuse the love of the music genre and cycling. With nearly 300 members now in the Strava group, AHCC has grown into a fully-fledged club.
Mick Jarmain, a member of the AHCC who created the Strava group said: “The concept is crackers, but lots of fun. If it had been for lockdown, none of this would have happened. I'm grateful that I didn't lose anybody during COVID-19 that was close to me, but at the same time, I'm also thankful that I met great people and made lifelong friends from that group.”
And while the lockdown measures are long gone, the activity amongst the group is still as active as it was three years ago. the members rarely meet up for a group ride, which is something saved for the club nights. Cyclists within AHCC post their routes on Strava. Fellow members can comment and interact with their rides, amplifying that strong community spirit.
When speaking to Mancunian Matters, AHCC founder Danny Kelly spoke about the benefit that community spirit has on the group. He said: “We meet every couple of months, it's just a lovely community,” said Danny, an electrician from Buckinghamshire. “Twitter was a great way to speak to people to find like-minded souls, and we just clicked straight away, and now we're firm friends.”
DJs who are part of the group create mixes for the rest of the community to play whilst they are cycling, with one of the driving members behind that is the founder Danny Kelly, who consistently reposts mixes and playlists on his Twitter account that he has been listening to on his cross trainer, for others to enjoy whilst riding too.
One of the routes that an AHCC member has posted on Strava.
One of the routes that an AHCC member has posted on Strava.
The logo that AHCC uses. Combining the synonymous Manchester yellow and black colours with cycle tracks.
The logo that AHCC uses. Combining the synonymous Manchester yellow and black colours with cycle tracks.
AHCC released merch alongside 1 of 100 and designed by Dean Marsh, there pink tee boasts the name and logo for the club.
AHCC released merch alongside 1 of 100 and designed by Dean Marsh, there pink tee boasts the name and logo for the club.
Acid House and cycling?
For the founder Danny, the two harmoniously go hand in hand, he said: “The acid house is just as important as cycling. I wouldn't have one without the other. During lockdown, I was cycling on my own, and I put my phone on my handlebars to play music, which was the light bulb moment for me. The Smiths aren’t getting the pedals going, so I was finding the more up-tempo music worked better for me, and 125 BPM is that sweet spot.
“I would post the music on Twitter that I was listening to that day saying ‘This did the business, it got the legs going.’ But I found that a lot of middle-aged guys who went to the Hacienda like cycling because it's easy on the legs, so the two of them clicked together. The love of music and a love of cycling.
“It was just a bit of nonsense during lockdown, and it's taken off, it's a lovely thing.”
And taken off it has. AHCC has worked with the clothing brand 1 of 100 to produce merchandise for the club, including T-shirts, lycra cycling tops and slip mats, which were all designed by the highly experienced DJ, House Music aficionado and graphic designer, Dean Marsh. This has seen the legendary Hacienda DJ Graeme Park don the club's apparel. The founder of 1 of 100, Richie Hume, set up a challenge for the group to reach 100 miles in January, something that has happened for the past three years. It aims to inspire the group to keep active during the bleak period after Christmas.
“Richie getting involved has made the club have a physical presence, rather than people on Twitter,” added Danny. “The challenge he sets is a brilliant incentive, as I wouldn't have pushed myself to do that, and it encourages other people. It's the New Year, and everyone is a bit down, it's dark and wet, but let's get out there and push ourselves. I tend to do it in the gym, with earphones in, and I’m getting fitter whilst listening to music. So it's a win-win.
“But it was my good friend, Mick Jarmain who gave the cycling aspect legs,” Danny concluded.
Mick started the Strava group, which gave members another network to connect. Whilst heavily involved with DJing, Mick is one of the more serious cyclists in the group and refrains from listening to music whilst out on his bike. “I'm concentrating on riding and not getting killed,” he said. “I don't tend to give them a hard time for that, I'll let them find out for themselves.
“We're not discipline-specific, we don't have a clubhouse or any rules, but there is no snobbery, it's just a bunch of people that have an appreciation of music. That falls into the acid house ideology where almost anything goes," Mick continued.
"And now we've got 295 people on there now. They're not huge numbers, but considering it came from nothing is incredible.”
"That falls into the acid house ideology where almost anything goes."
A snapshot of the members in the AHCC, which shows the rise of the group with its national reach.
Outside of cycling, Mick is fully invested in the music side of the club. Whilst creating online mixes, he controls the decks when they meet up in person, with their most recent meetup being in Chester, where he played a three-hour set. “I felt like a superstar because 50 people were getting down to the music, and we're pulling out loads of old disco rarities, edits or some older house stuff, and there are all these old geezers jumping up and down at the times of their lives.”
But the most important aspect of the group is the community spirit. “The group is more of a motivational tool, and members take a sense of pride when they've done a ride, no matter how small it is. They may mention within their post that they may have been struggling to get out, and once they've got out, they feel really good, and that's nice to see.”
Members of the AHCC are continuing to track their miles on Strava, and Danny pledged to keep up 100 miles a month since January. Whilst there have been no concrete plans for a group cycle, members will keep on grooving to the Acid House beats, reminiscent of the Hacienda times.
“There is no arrogance in the club, it's always encouraging, everyone is like-minded, very kind, helpful and considerate, and I hope it continues,” Mick concluded.
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