A FEMALE cyclist fed up with having no other women to ride with is now seeking new members to join the ladies only biking club she set up.

Chantal Everill, 42, of Consett, in County Durham, has created the Hamsterley Divas group.

Keen cyclist Mrs Everill and her husband Michael regularly rode round the North-East until Mr Everill fell ill with pleurisy and could not ride for a while.

Mrs Everill looked to join cycling clubs to fill the gap but did not feel comfortable in the mainly male dominated groups.

She said: “My husband fell poorly in September and I had no-one to ride with.

“I rode with some mostly male groups and while I wasn’t made to feel unwelcome I didn’t really feel made welcome either.

“I asked people via Facebook if they wanted to ride with me and I didn’t get anywhere.

“Then I noticed that Michelle Haigh who lived nearby liked riding and we spoke by Facebook and we started to ride together.

“It just happened from there and I created the group and we have now done two weekend meets and we have more than 100 members.

“I’m very surprised at how well the group is doing. We are there to ride with each other and to support each other.”

The group currently rides on weekends and an average the riders cover ten to 15 miles. Next year the length of rides will rise to 20 to 25 miles.

There will be rides after work on summer nights too from next year. Some of the riders are to enter national events next year too.

The bulk of the Divas’ riders are from the North-East but the group is open to all female riders.

Details can be found at the Hamsterley Divas Facebook page.