The Volunteer Diaries: Harry Bunnell

I joined the club back in the golden year of 2012, having got into road cycling a couple of years earlier. Joining the Wheelers was partly inspired by the Tour success of Wiggins and Cavendish (coined the “Wiggo effect” on the forum by Chris Wright) and a desire to give bike racing a go. Through the racing scene I quickly discovered how much the grassroots scene is supported by volunteers and how important it is for the cycling scene as a whole for local clubs like ours to contribute to the sport. 

I picked up track cycling at Herne Hill Velodrome around 2017 and when I heard they were looking for a local club to help promote one of the Open Season races I threw my hat in the ring, as it felt like something we should be involved with. It was a fairly daunting experience as I’d never run an event like that before, but with the support of Herne Hill Velodrome and British Cycling, it was a great experience and I ran four editions from 2018 to 2022. I stepped away when I got busy with family life, but it’s great to see it live on as a club event with HHV regular and coach, Dave Shelton, taking the lead.

More recently I helped support the club with our Centenary celebrations last year. I work in the creative industry and actually find the club is a great outlet for interesting projects. We’ve been friends with Frankie and Josh at The Park Brewery in Kingston for many years; they’ve hosted club events at their taproom and always supply the beer for our audax events. So it felt natural to do a collaboration beer with them to mark our Centenary. We co-created “Century Lap” pale ale and with the brewing underway, I then figured we needed a party to test the beer, and why not throw in a gravel ride too. It escalated quickly. 

We are now organising the second edition of Trails’n’Ales this year, 100km in Surrey finishing back at the taproom. We’re using the event to fundraise for a local bike project, Full Cycle in New Malden, whose mission is that every person, from all walks of life, should have access to their own affordable bike. I’ve always been a big supporter of small businesses and social enterprise, so it feels good to use the club’s platform to give back to the local community.

One of the great things about the club is that it’s self-run by an amazing group of volunteers, all of whom are super passionate about giving back to the sport. If you have an idea for a project and initiative and are willing to put in the time to make it come to life, you can basically just run with it. 

For any newer members or people looking to join a club, I think the most rewarding part is the chance to shape the culture of the club and add to its 100 plus year legacy. It really is true that the more you put in, the more you get out of it. And if it helps more people enjoy this great sport of ours, then it’s a win all round. 

See you at the next race with a flag in hand!