Life Stories and Personal Memories > Personal Memories

Cycling clubs in Kent

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Dave Smith:
CAT. I completely agree with your last sentence. I smiled at your reference to clocks, etc. To retain your amateur status, all prizes were "things", no money.The Bianchi would certainly be a collectors item now.

CAT:
Bare in mind, both he and his wife were totally cycling mad, with the grandfather logging ever mile he cycled throughout his day/week/month/year and life in a series of notebooks still retained by the inlaws. He would cycle at least 60-80 miles each day, weather permitting, and if not, the engineers at the Middlesbrough Bridge Yard, where he worked all his life, made him a stand with tensioners to increase friction for use in the kitchen. He was a committed participant in time trials and appeared to win almost every preWWII medal, trophy, clock etc. on offer, all of which now litter both my, and the inlaws houses. The Bianchi bike he won is still hanging in the rafters of the inlaws barn.

I'm sure it must have taken longer for the total journey, but still a mammoth journey done in very few days. 

Dave Smith:
CAT. Just had another read of your post & thought deeply about it. I'm sorry to say it but " shooting a line" - as we used to say- comes to mind! One word gives it away, " wife". HE may have been super fit, although I honestly doubt Canterbury to Middlesborough ( at least 330 miles) in a day- in time for tea! But with his wife, sorry but no way. "Gods own country" Yorkshire might be but how could he not be impressed by Canterbury Cathedral & Dover Castle? And if it was Spring time, all the miles of orchard blossom in Kent in those days- from my memory, it really was the "Garden of England".

AlanTH:

Amazing effort on their behalf CAT. Great county Yorkshire that I've spent a fair bit of time in but not sure I could ever have done that mileage even when young and fit. Although some of those young maidens in Scarborough I knew may have enticed me to better efforts. :)
Got to agree DS about Perth drivers, absolutely shocking with no skills or consideration.
And the worst time of day is..... school in and out time when mums take their horrid children to and from. One of the teachers at the local private Catholic school has the same sort of attitude and gave me the finger after I'd held back to allow him on his bike to negotiate a roundabout safely.
They pass that attitude to their pupils as many of the older ones drive their own "tank" to school and their behaviour to others is woeful.
I may well buy a electric bike but only for those cycle paths where the morons can't get to me. :)
AlanH.

Dave Smith:
CAT. That was some ride, but they were like that in those days. Slightly off thread, but I think interesting. When I was a Civilian Instructor in the ATC, an elderly chap joined us who'd been in the RAF during WW2. But, before that, he'd been an AA man based on the Great North Road at Grantham with a bicycle! His patch was 10 miles North & 10 miles South. All day, every day.

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