Page 9 - DLNfeb2018-1027

after elevenses at Sunbury. The diary says raining practically all the time so

maybe the run was abandoned. Several weeks were to elapse and on the 16 th
February I apparently rode with my work mate and Alan ( not Mr Rowe, more
likely Alan Hales), met the club at a cafe somewhere and rode with them to
Chobham and saw Bert Collins win the race (‘mass start’ says my diary) 60
miles ridden. By that Sunday I had gullibly entered the Kentish Wheelers
Novices ‘25’ on the
‘invitation’ of Fred
Peachey at the cost
of 3/1d.

Sunday 23 rd March,
met 3.30am Brixton
Town Hall, rode down
to the G9 (Brighton
Road) was pushed
off at the 21 st London
milestone on
Earlswood Common
into the misty un-
known and was
turned at the ‘Cherry Tree’ and continued until I saw a chequered flag. It was
over but, I don’t remember saying never again. Mudguards back on, and over
to Green Street Green, Dartford where Denis Tarr was to win the road race.
90 miles were ridden that day according to the diary(checked this estimate
out of interest, 98 miles, according to the AA route planner) The following
week saw me riding the club ‘25’ again on the G9, and afterwards to Chobham
for a second time, diary says it was raining. No record of who won that day
(this time I recorded 100 miles in my diary, so fairly accurate).

Little did I realise how hooked with this insane obsession of time trialing I
would become. So here we are 60 years on having ridden ‘10’s, 25’s,
‘15’s, ‘30’s, ‘50’s, ‘100’s, ’12 hours.

9