THE PEDAL CLUB
The 80/80 Register
The 80/80 Register
Chris Lovibond
Seventy miles in a day at seventy is hardly worth talking about, ninety at ninety would be a big ask, but eighty at eighty is attainable, at least for a lucky few.
How frequently 80/80 has been done in the past is unknown – my own first encounter with the idea was our club mate, Ron Richardson (b.1925) who, as a sprightly new octogenarian, did his ride in August 2005.
At the moment I have three other names for the list:
John Pound (De Laune),
Ron Jones (De Laune/ Hounslow) and
Jeff Marshall (Hounslow), but I’m sure there must be many more.
If all goes well, I hope to add my name next summer.
The Pedal Club has agreed to keep a register of riders who have achieved 80/80 and this will be published on the Pedal Club’s web site. An entry on the register should include a short account of the rider’s career, the ride itself and photographs. Although it appears that the 80/80 concept is a Hounslow idea, since the register is open to anyone it seems appropriate that it should be curated by a more ‘general’ organisation than our local club, but I think we can be proud that our idea has spread its wings and gone national.
With the nation’s ageing population and the fact the next batch of new eighty year olds will be baby boomers (famous for not admitting they are too old for anything), I believe this project will have an interest for club members and quite possibly for the general public. It could produce good publicity for any club associated with it and for the health benefits of cycling generally.
One important point which could be obscured by our current entries is that the possibility of achieving 80/80 is not restricted to elite riders. Part of the purpose of the register should be to show what can be done with a bike, and that its scope is not limited to the young, or even those in the prime of life. John Pound and Jeff Marshall could well be described as elite, since they both enjoyed successful racing careers, but fortunately we have Ron Richardson, a solid club rider who would have a go at any distance up to and including twelve hours, but not someone who aspired to international honours. If I am spared long enough to have a go at the distance this summer, my name will be another whose racing achievements and aspirations were pretty limited, but I hope to be someone whose efforts will demonstrate the benefits and the potential of the bike for ordinary mortals of all ages.
The Rules
There should be as few rules as possible, but:
1. Proof There is no financial reward for achieving 80/80, so since the whole enterprise is a matter of honour there seems no point in demanding elaborate proof. In general a rider’s word should be enough, but accounts from witnesses or photographs may well add interest. The Pedal Club’s registrar does, however, reserve the right to disallow any claim which does not seem credible.
2. ‘In a day’ This should be taken to mean ‘in a single session’ although this can include normal cafe stops. It would not be acceptable to spread a ride over two ‘sessions’ within 24 hours. That is to say, you can’t ride 40 miles one afternoon, go to bed and then ride another 40 miles the next morning.
3. ‘Eighty’ An applicant should have reached his or her eightieth birthday. It is not necessary to do the ride on the birthday or even to be in one’s eighty first year (that is, the first year of being an octogenarian). Any time after the eightieth birthday is acceptable.
4. Course This is entirely up to the rider. Not many octogenarians would choose to do eighty miles which include three alpine passes, but if some one wants to try, good luck to them. On the other hand many laps of Regents Park would be acceptable, even though the major test would be to the rider’s sanity.
5. Pacing Many will choose to do their ride in a group; following a wheel, even for the whole eighty miles is acceptable. Motor pacing is not permitted.
6. Machines Typically a standard solo bike. Trikes may be used, but there is no discount for that extra wheel. Tandems must have both riders as octogenarians. Electrical assistance is not permitted.
The Register
Will be held by the Pedal Club and will be published on their club website.
Applicants for inclusion should provide the following information: date of birth, date of ride, a brief route plan with distance covered and names of any companions. Also a short summary of the rider’s cycling career and club membership.
Ron Richardson (1925 – 2016)
Born 1925
Ride completed in August 2005.
An account will come shortly from Martyn Roach, who was there on the day.
Clu:bs: Calleva Road Club, Hounslow & District Wheelers.
Ron was an ideal clubman and was dedicated to club cycling; his life was full of organising at race promotion
level, down to helping out in small ways. His racing career might be described as ‘steady’ – he was prepared to have a go at any distance up to twelve hours, but it never seemed likely that he would achieve national honours. This is the attitude, to enjoy taking part without the expectation of glory, that has
made club level sport so resilient over many decades.
Chris Lovibond writes … For over eighty years Ron’s enthusiasm for cycling, especially club cycling, was a passion which sustained a long and remarkable life. He recalled his first interest being sparked at the age of ten, when he watched riders returning from Sunday club rides along the then new Great West Road near his parental home in Hounslow.
Here are his own words: “ The first thing that interested me was the bikes themselves and although there was a stream that seemed like thousands of riders, it was the bikes that held my attention. They were so varied: some quite ordinary, some battered wrecks, some polished jewels, just like a boy might dream of owning one day.”
it was another couple of years before he did much riding, but from the age of twelve, like many others, he began to use his bike for fishing trips, first to local gravel pits then further afield to places such as Cookham and Boulter’s Lock. This developed into a desire to travel further and by 1941 he was touring in Wales.
At this point there was a ‘dalliance’ with a rival interest – motorbikes. However, by1942 Ron had joined the Calleva Road Club and was set on a road he would follow for more than seventy years. The Calleva was then a leading racing club, but it seems to have instilled a deep love of all aspects of the bike game in most of its members. For Ron this meant time trialling and many long weekend rides, including the ‘Sutton Benger Ride’ which involved about 180 miles on a Sunday. Ron
recalled getting home at 10 pm in a stunned condition and only just managing to get to work the next morning.
This activity was interrupted by National Service in 1944 when, as a telephone engineer he was sent to Portsmouth to work at D Day HQ on, among other things, the ‘plotting tables’.
After the war he returned to the Calleva and his racing career continued with them until the club folded up in the late nineteen fifties when he joined the Hounslow and District Wheelers.
It can be said that it was with the Hounslow that he really came into his own. Not so much as a rider, but as an event organiser, committee man and, perhaps most important of all, as a mentor to aspiring racing men. Like all those who had been through the Calleva mill he had a deep knowledge of all things cycling, and this came with a natural ability to solve mechanical problems – a combination which was of great benefit to many Hounslow members.
Now, in 2017, it has become hard to find anyone prepared to organise cycling events; this is one more reason to remember Ron’s presence with gratitude. Apart from continual low profile but vital work on every sort of club activity, Ron was the
promoter of thirteen Hounslow 100’s (1966-70,72,73, 85,86 and 2004-7) and six Hounslow road races.
Although cycling was important for Ron, it was only part of a long life rich in other activities. Sixty-three years of successful marriage to Jan produced Caroline, Kate and Rob who have all benefitted from parental knowledge, but to give just one example: Sam, his grandson has spoken movingly about how much he learnt from Ron restoring the pre-war BSA 250 motorbike which had lived for decades in a tea chest. This is the passing on of ‘intellectual capital’ which every parent (and grandparent) should hope to do.
He was always happier when giving rather than taking, and while not a great champion as a competitor, he was a true champion clubman. Ron, who died Tuesday, 27th September 2016, is survived by Jan, their three children, and grandchildren Jamie, Sam, Ellen and Luke.
Jeff Marshall
Born 1941.
Ride completed June 2024 in Scotland, 20th June 2024
It was part of the Land’s End to John O’Groats ride on an 'interesting' 1025 mile route avoiding main roads wherever possible, and ascending to over 1000 ft 14 times, which he did in the company of two ‘younger’ clubmates who were a mere 70 and 65 years old. This inevitably inspired Martyn to christen them Compo, Foggy & Clegg.
It was on day 17 of the 18 day ride and took place on the 83.6 'interesting' miles between Dingwall and Bettyhill which involved 3750 ft of ascent, 932 miles from Lands End and with only 52 miles left to reach John O’Groats.
Jeff’s ride seems outstanding, since he did 83 miles (by chance, his age at the time) but was towards the finish of his end-to-end, so he already had many miles in his legs from the preceding days.
Jeff was a successful competitor both on the road and in time trials with many victories, the last win coming in 2011 in The Redmon Grand Prix des Gentlemen.
Ron Jones
Born 1937
John Pound
Born 1931
Ride completed in 2011. Home (Knaphill, Surrey) to Winchester and back with three companions. John enjoyed a glittering road race career in the 1950s with two rides in the Peace Race and the Tour of Britain, and many victories at home.
His first club was the Meersbrook CC and more recently the De Laune CC. Even now (2024) John is still riding and aims to do at least ten miles most days.
thepedalclub1941@gmail.com