Page 24 - PBCMarch2016

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Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 13 No.1 March 2016

Front Cover Illustration………

In Chapter XL, Mr Pickwick followed the tipstaff into the prison, through an open
door and past the turnkey into the interior of the prison. Here they stopped while the
tipstaff delivered his papers; and here Mr Pickwick was appraised that he would remain,
until he had undergone the ceremony known to the initiated as “ sitting for your
portrait.” “Sitting for my portrait!” said Mr Pickwick. “Having your likeness taken, sir,”
replied the turnkey. “we’re capital hands at likenesses here. Take ‘em in no time, and
always exact. Walk in, sir, and make yourself at home.”
Mr Pickwick complied with the invitation and sat himself down; when Mr Weller, who
stationed himself at the back of the chair, whispered that the sitting was merely
another term for undergoing an inspection by the different turnkeys, in order that
they might know prisoners from visitors. “Well, Sam,” said Mr Pickwick, “then I wish the
artists would come. This is rather a public place.”

Back Cover Picture - courtesy of Peter Magnus

The Giro of 1914 and after……………

As most of you are aware, the Giro d’Italia ranks second of the Grand Tours, but the
1914 was the 6th running of the event, and the last before the Great War. It also ranks
as the hardest Grand Tour of them all - before and since. It was the first to be decided
on time classification rather than points. At 3162km long it is reputedly the longest
(although the 1909 course may have been 100km longer), it included five stages of over
400km, with the longest from Milan to Cuneo at 420km. There were 98 entries and it was
a Tour of attrition with only 8 riders completing the course. And there was worse - with a
number of tack attacks- tacks thrown in the road, but not from rivalry, but locals who
objected to the race passing their door.
These tactics(!) were not a one off - the attacks on riders continued in various forms
right up until the late 1980’s. Vin Denson recalled having leftover food thrown at him
from balconies as punishment for joining a group of foreign riders chasing down the
Italian favourite. “Tomatoes,spaghetti, anything including a dustbin full as I entered the
hotel.” In 1987 Robert Millar suffered, when having secured the KOM title and second
place overall he was subjected to a “ rolling food fight when riding alongside Stephen
Roche. Roche was leading the Tour having deposed Italian Visentini from the lead, who
was later fined 3million lira for threatening to knock out Roche. They threw wine, steak
and punches at us” .Fortunately by the time Mark Cavendish started winning sprints this
type of violence had ceased.
More on the 1914 event in the next issue.