I joined the Festival in 1954 and my first race was a 25 mile on the G10 on my Eileen Hamilton bike dressed in shorts and tee shirt. I then supported Neil Fisher at a couple of events after he came out of the forces and although he got down to an O for a 25 that was not good enough for him and then he decided to retire.
I managed to buy his blue and red Carpenter track iron #4474 and that got me started on proper time trials but unlike him, my best for a 25 was only 1.2.26 i think .
I did many 25s 30s 50s and 100 time trials and then when I bought my gear iron #5045 I progressed with several 12 hour rides.
I also bought a tandem with John Rowlands which we raced and on one occasion with Alan Ball (now decessed) – I think John was not available. John and I went on to hold 4 club records which stood for a few years and in fact our Tolworth to Ifield and back still stands, because with the change of roads and Gatwick Airport you can not ride down their runway. We all did marshalling and helped with other people’s races plus riding track at Reading and Herne hill. For training, living at West Ewell, I cycled to work at South Wimbledon but then went down to Guildford and back to West Ewell.
We all turned out when Jim Wheeler did another 12 hour ride trying to get his average up for the BBAR which unfortunately he did not manage to win but at the Albert Hall he was called on stage and he and the club got a mention.
This was nearly the end of my cycling days, although I did go out a couple of times for the Festival Open 25 which my wife and I had put a Cup up for. I then sold my bikes to Richard Deayton but have kept in touch with the club and still have breaks with several old members and we also went to the club dinners.
