From L to R me, Tony Jarrow, Dave Minion and Dave Riddell at the first Club 25
Bob Bright (now still in Australia I believe) finishing the 25 1:13:23 and on joint scratch handicap. It was a very hard day!
Note the difference in clothing and bikes - and not a helmet in sight (we didn't have them then).
My current winter bike weighs less than my racing bike then.
Also note the complete absence of cars in any of these photos. Sunday’s were very quiet in the days before Sunday shopping.
and we used to start earlier in the morning by Bob's shadow the sun was still low in the sky.
Generally we did start earlier, but this was 17 March so the sun would have been low. From memory I thinks it was probably a 9.00 a.m. start.
Certainly cars were fewer - imagine finishing an event on the A612 near the Stoke Lane junction and doing U-turns at on the A6097 and at Thurgarton!
You are quite right the sun at that time of year would still be quite low but nevertheless when I rode T Ts with the Redhill CC IN THE SUMMER I we did in some cases start at 6am(mostly 7am) I sometimes got back home before the rest of the kids in the street were out and about.
Look at Bobs bike what a picture not only were they works of art they were individual and special to you.i was only thinking about this as I marshalled the club open 10 probably 80% of the bikes looked the same.Thanks for the memory Ed.-------wing nut
Certainly we had early starts in the summer especially for Club 50s. This meant we could get a club ride in afterwards.
Looking in the background (a bit blurred) I think the rider on the left was Paul Gutteridge in the white with blue and yellow bands. This was the jersey of Trent Valley RC a racing offshoot of the CTC. It folded in 1965 and Paul, Pat Gutteridge and I moved to Sherwood along with my brother Rob and Roger Codling.
I was reading through an old diary the other day. It was quite usual to do the time trial and then go on a club run afterwards. Not unusual to end up with a 100 mile day. 50's started at Whatton, so you'd ride out for a warm up too. Or the original 50 course that had dead turns in Newark, at Mabel Grove in West Bridgford and the Bowls Club on Manor Road.
Quite so, but Bowls Club was on Conway Road. Just picked up an old diary for 1981 - Club 50 Champs on 23/8/81 7.30 a.m., start. Dave Smith won in 2:12, I was 2nd 2:14. After tea at Little Chef, East Bridgford (gone now), then Melton Mowbray (lunch) then Tilton on the Hill, Scraptoft, Thrussington, Broughton Lodge. 132 miles in total.
The next week was our Open 50 - 2:06 for me, Jon Burnham won in 1:52. I went in my car to the start at Whatton, then afterwards Croxton Kerrial for lunch, back via Colsterworth, Harrowby and Grantham. A mere 96 miles.
I was tapering, as the following Sunday I did the Oldbury 12 hour TT 245 miles, Phil Griffiths won.
This was all normal (for me anyway) in those days!