Page 18 - PBCOctober2016

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 13 No.2 October 2016 18
By the sheer force of his enthusiasm for bicycling, David Duffield became a best-
loved television cycling commentator, as for so many I found there was much more to
Him than that: very much the complete bicycling friend, he would never try to two-wheel
you, David was so knowledgeable, so sincere and so very loyal to his sport. Yet he was
tough, too, very tough when riding. .
Amongst his many place-to-place records, David rode two End-to-End rides in record
time. The first in 1957 when he defied tradition by riding from a top of Scotland start,
to Lands End. This happened at about the time I was secretary of an Essex cycling club,
avidly reading of his exploits quite without any inkling that a couple of decades later I’d
be so lucky to be able to so happily share time with him. We've shared news and often
between us taken counsel on what the bicycling world was doing with itself today. Like so
many, from David I gained so much, so many prizes of helpful advice gifted to me by a
man who became so much more than a Friend.
God bless Fella, the world of bicycling has had one hell of a lead out from your back
wheel.

Peter Lumley, September 2016.

Instead of a Letters Page in this issue, I have chosen to include here a letter from Tom
Martin (aka Cedric Chicken) in memory of his friend David:

“Sir,
It was a wonderful surprise to see David looking so well at the President’s Luncheon
last year, following a patch of poor health. We would always remind one another of the
shenanigans of past years. The most memorable stories revolved around the Centenary
Club weekend runs. Senior members of the bicycle industry looked on in a bemused
fashion, remembering the days when they were equally badly behaved. Pinching David’s
saddle, with a 12mile ride back to base still ahead of him, would have created a serious
humour failure in anyone else! His presence on the Milk Race was epic. The wider picture
was his forte as a commentator. His sporting nature a source of everlasting fun. Drinking
with David at the end of the day was always likely to cause trouble. When he introduced
me to a Freddy Fudd Pucker I thought it a bit too strong. He said a Fanny Fudd Pucker
was for girls, so I stuck it out, waking with a terrible hangover. Later that morning I was
in hospital having written off my car whilst racing to the start line in York. And who was
the first person to come and see me?
Of course it was David. He was such a fine friend.
Pickiwickian Greetings from Cedric”