Page 5 - PBCOctober2018

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 15 No.2 October 2018 @5

What does Mr. Pickwick do at the weekend???

Gentlemen, my involvement in cycling stretches back to my first bike for Christmas at
the age of nine. A present from Santa on Christmas morning, straight out the door and I
rode the 10 miles to my grandmothers house without the knowledge of my parents. Needless
to say strong words were administered on my return, with the threat of my new
independence being denied for a period of time. Cycling consumed me in my youth, At school I
had a trade off with my French teacher; I was excused his set homework in exchange for
translations of Mirror des Cyclisme and other French cycling magazines I read, to better my
knowledge of the Continental scene. My sports teacher excused me cricket in the summer
months and permitted me cycle training rides during my school PE lessons.My sixth form
classmates stated with accuracy, that the only suit I owned was aTracksuit… They were
correct.

As a schoolboy and Junior I raced with limited success and enjoyed myself making great
friends and being eternally grateful to parents who transported me and my mates to races all
over the country and abroad. I joined a team that was professionally sponsored and was
sheltered from the cost of owning and maintaining a racing cycle. A big thank you to my coach
and mechanic for making life easier for a poor youngster. All good things come to an end…
The start of my working life, I joined a profession that was
not conducive to serious training, disruptive sleep
patterns,eating at the wrong time of the day and not enough
time to get quality training miles banked. Nothing to do with
females or alcohol !!!!

I have to express gratitude to a couple of members of
Pickwick Bicycle Club for my reintroduction to cycling after
many years of not competing. Firstly Stan Rose “Joe the
Fatboy” who saw me compete in a triathlon and suggested
that if I wasn’t interested in being competitive I should
consider becoming a cycle race referee (Commissaire), he Our President’s New Bike
introduced me to Charles Messenger, former organiser of
the Tour of Britain and a formidable commissaire in West
London. Charles was also a member of PBC and held the soubriquet “Smooch”. Chas took me
under his wing and gave me a good grounding in my early years as a commissaire. For all that
he did for me, his knowledge and guidance I will always be grateful…. I know a few riders who
fell foul of his policing races may not feel the same!!!