spin cycle magazine

SpinCYCLE MAGAZINE ISSUE 001 //

Return of theMcEvoy

5

3 Welcome to the velodromeA look at Huyton’s new £1.4m outdoortrack

10 The Wheel MakerInterview with master

wheelbuilder and local legend PeteMatthews

18 Killer hillTime to shift into the bottom gear

ready for the first of our local ‘Killer Hills’ -Shaley Brow

22 Café cultureThe birth of Pâtisserie Cyclisme

with creator Louise Mullagh

29 Clubbing sceneWe catch up with one of

Merseyside’s newest clubs, Palefish

34 Diamond geezerExclusive interview with Onix

Bikes’ founder, Craig Middleton

40 Making my own wayJunior rider Josh Townson

reflects on his highs and lows of theseason

45 Book reviewFind out all about Tyler

Hamilton’s book, The Secret Race

48 Kirkby CC SupplementPhoto special of Kirkby CC’s

glory days

SpinCYCLE MAGAZINE

Cover photo by: Dan Kenyon, TheWheel Maker: Pete Matthews

This issue’s thanks go to: HelenGibbons, Johnny McEvoy, MarkMcNally, Craig Middleton, Liver-pool Post & Echo (in particular thephoto dept & Chris Walker) andeveryone else who encouraged uswith this project. A big, sincerethanks to you all.

SPIN

www.spincyclemag.com2

Copyright remains with the Publishers. Nopart of this journal may be copied orreproduced without the written consent ofboth the publisher and the contributor.

© 2012 www.spincyclemag.com

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All information contained in Spin CycleMagazine is for information purposes onlyand is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of going to press. Spin CycleMagazine cannot accept any responsibilityfor errors or inaccuracies that occur. Readersare advised to contact manufacturers andretailers directly with regard to the price ofproducts/services referred to in this magazine.If you submit unsolicited materal to us, youautomatically grant Spin Cycle Magazine alicence to publish your submission in wholeor in part in all editions of the magazine,including all licensed editions worldwide andin any physical or digital format throughoutthe world. Any material you submit is sent atyour risk and, although every care is taken,neither Spin Cycle Magazine nor its staff,agents or subcontractors shall be liable forloss or damage.In relation to any medical queries, the a dvicegiven is in no way intended to replaceprofessional medical care or attention by aqualified practitioner and we strongly adviseall readers with health problems to consult adoctor.

// LEGAL STUFF

EditorJames Maloney

[email protected]

Managing EditorDan Kenyon

[email protected]

Le Team Chris Keller-Jackson, Chris White,John Bilsborrow, Louise Mullagh.

// EDITORIAL

mailto:[email protected]


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WELCOME TO THEVELODROME

Words & Photography by James Maloney

WHEN Kirkby Stadium'soutdoor track was torn downmore than five years ago,

there was an outcry from the region'scycling fraternity who felt that a pieceof history had been lost forever.After all, the 485-metre asphalt trackhad nurtured the talents of many keencyclists for nearly half a century and, inits heyday, hosted a renownedWednesday night track league thatproduced many of this country’schampion racers, including the likes ofChris Boardman.Boardman even used the outdoor arenato test ride his ground-breaking LotusType 108 Olympic Pursuit bike, whichhe rode in the 1992 Barcelona Olympicsto win Britain’s first cycling gold medalin 72 years.Built at a cost of £250,000 and opened

by the Prime Minister, Mr HaroldWilson, in 1964, the construction ofKirkby stadium was controversial to saythe least with those against the projectinsisting it would be a “white elephant”and a “waste of public money”.Embarrassingly an outdoor dry ski-slope was later built the wrong wayround and then soon pulled down tomake way for the M57 Motorway.

Despite the stadium's mixedbeginnings, there was great uproaramong nearby cycling clubs when it wasleft to fall in such a sorry state of repairsthat the bulldozers had to be called inone August morning back in 2007.Ken Matthews, chairman of KirkbyCycling Club, was quoted in theLiverpool Echo at the time as saying:“We are losing a real piece of history.”Indeed, ask anyone who ever rode on

the track and they will be able to reel offat least a dozen stories – everythingfrom kids hitting golf balls into thebunch to fire crews running across thetrack during races to douse the flames ofathletic equipment being set alight byyet more unruly youngsters. One thing that does stand out above allelse was the laughter and good times hadby all involved with the track league andKirkby CC, who boasted some of the bignames of the day such as Doug Dailey,as well as visits from the likes of RegHarris and Dave Lloyd, who were bothroped into cutting the ribbon on the verysame newly-resurfaced track a fewmonths apart.Many believed the stadium would neverbe replaced - nor would the atmosphereof those Wednesday nights from longago ever make a comeback in the same

One thing that doesstand out above all elsewas the laughter andgood times had by allinvolved with the trackleague and KirkbyCycling Club

SPIN Velodrome


vein as the riders who graced its surface, surging fromout of the pack to take the race on the finishing line.Doreen Mallinson, who was the track league’s

secretary, said: “It was a very pleasant, if sad, occasion.People who had been involved with the track throughthe years came. Everybody used to love going toKirkby. It was a real family track and there were somegreat rides there.”But like a cliché phoenix from the flames, Knowsleyhas finally replaced the heart of its cycling communitywith a new £1.4m outdoor velodrome – albeit based acouple of miles down the motorway at KnowsleyLeisure and Culture Park in Longview Drive, Huyton.Luckily, that sense of history was not lost on thepowers-that-be at Knowsley Council and a great dealof consultation with Liverpool Century, Prescot Eaglesand Knowsley BMX Club went into the design of thenew facility under the guidance of British Cycling.Phil Garton-Pope, track coach at Liverpool Century,said: “You've got to credit Knowsley for thinking alongthose lines [bringing the track back to the area after theclosure of the track at Kirkby in 2007] and includingthis in their leisure strategy.”There is even a touch of the Wiggo-effect put into thedesign of the facility thanks to non-other than Bradley'sfather-in-law, Dave Cockram, who is national facilitiesofficer at British Cycling. Dave, who hinted his Tour de France winning son-in-law might just pop down and try it out one afternoon,said: “Planning for this started nine years ago. I diddesign the tracks but it was a team effort. We likecoming to Knowsley and the council have certainlydelivered.“The cross-fertilisation of track cycling and BMX isunique to the UK and we wanted to have a communalatmosphere with one strong cycling club instead of twoseparate ones.”"British Cycling is very pleased with the new facility,and as well as the velodrome, a much needed nationalstandard BMX track is available for Knowsley and thewider Merseyside and West Lancashire Region.“It has been a pleasure to work with Knowsley Counciland partners over the last five years to make the projecta reality, and we look forward to developing aprogramme of cycling activity that will benefit the localcommunity.”Ensuring there was a link between the past and presentat the official opening was one of the old Kirkby track’s

SPIN Velodrome


Like a cliché phoenix from the flames, Knowsley has finallyreplaced the heart of its cycling community with a new £1.4moutdoor velodrome – albeit based a couple of miles down themotorway in Huyton

former stars, Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman,who was the guest of honour at the Knowsley Leisureand Culture Park on September 27.Boardman, who met some of the centre’s users andunveiled a plaque to officially mark the occasion, said:“This is a really fantastic facility, not just for Knowsleybut for the whole region. To have a world classvelodrome here in the North West can only be a greatboost for the sport of cycling.“Having looked around the facility, you cannot fail tobe inspired by it – and I am sure a whole generation ofcyclists in this region will be eager to get on the trackand get racing.”More than 10,000 users are expected to visit the centreevery year, which will host a range of local, regional andnational events, as well as providing coaching, trainingand competition opportunities for top performingathletes and beginners thanks to – here is the boring bit– funding from NHS Knowsley, Sport England andBritish Cycling.Brian Farrington, from Prescot Eagles, said: “Our cluband all keen cyclists on Merseyside are delighted withthis new facility. It is a wonderful addition to cyclingand a great amenity for the area that can be put to gooduse for many years to come”.With track bikes available for hire and training for trackaccreditation, the velodrome coaching programme willstart in spring 2013, while the BMX track already hasopen sessions for riders with appropriate equipment.Knowsley BMX Club will use the track for Tuesday

night sessions for everyone from beginners to nationalchampions like father and son team Pete and JakePower, from Walton.Pete said: “It’s a fantastic track and for it to be so closeis a bonus. Jake will still have to travel up to Manchesterfor some of his training with British Cycling, but to havesomething like this so close to home will definitely saveon petrol.”Meanwhile, Liverpool Century were the first road

cycling club to christen the new velodrome and havealready started to host weekly track nights everyWednesday in the same tradition as the old stadium atKirkby.Phil added: “For the last three or four years, we havebeen working with Knowsley Council – ever since theidea for the outdoor velodrome was first talked about.“We have been working with them under a kind ofumbrella basis, a sort of Knowsley Cycling

SPIN Velodrome


More than 10,000 users are expected to visit the centre everyyear, which will host a range of local, regional and national

events, as well as providing coaching, training andcompetition opportunities for top performing athletes and

beginners

SPIN Velodrome


Development Group, for at least two-and-a-half tears,steering towards when the velodrome would be built.“The hope is that it will produce a hub for cycling for theclub, where all our members will have a place to go andtake advantage of the fantastic cycling facilities for thetrack, but it will also act as a place for members to meetup, swap stories, ideas and bring the club together more.“In the long term, the facility provides a safe andcontrolled environment to train and develop people in theright direction. The size of the facility means that we'renot just limited to track bikes. Although it does offer that,it can also be used as a controlled environment, so it's notjust limited to track. “We have run four of five sessions on the track so far andare averaging 25-27 riders per night. They’re going reallywell and we have got a good core set of riders, who seemto be having a great time. The feedback from them is greatand they keep turning up.“Being able to have access to a facility like this gives usan area where we can coach people safely and pass on theexperience of our successful riders to new cyclists. Youjust cannot do that safely on the road, which means afacility like this is great.“We have the likes of Tommy Murphy, who is one of thebest time-trialists in the North West. He is coaching withmyself now, so to be able to pass on that knowledge in acontrolled environment, where you're able to stop peopleand talk to them, is just priceless.“The velodrome itself, when they finalise the hubbuildings and connect that in with the track, will be anawesome facility. It's probably a better facility than, say a200m velodrome, because it opens itself up to all otheraspects.“With it being a bit larger and not having as steeperbanking, it opens itself up for recreational riders to be ableto use it as a development or training facility and gives thetrack a much broader appeal.“Merseyside is great for cycling at the minute. Not onlyhave you got ourself and Prescot Eagles based at thisfantastic new facility, you've also got the likes ofLiverpool Mercury based at their track in Litherland. It'sgreat news for the three of the main clubs in Liverpool.Knowsley is a nice place to be, as well. We are alreadyfinding that there is a nice atmosphere developing roundthe track and it's a genuinely nice place to spend time.”

BMX and Velodrome Facility contact details:[email protected] or 0151 443 2200

SPIN Title



THE WHEELMAKER

Words & Photography by Dan Kenyon

IN THE good old days, wheels were as personalas a tailored suit. You bought them made on siteat the shop you bought your bike from and, if

you raced, you had a pair of race wheels made by thelocal expert.Then in the late 90s, factory built wheels took overwith their integrated spokes, hubs and rims and theart of building and truing wheels started to die out.Luckily, wheel building never completelydisappeared.It was an craft still valued by some pros anddedicated amateur racers and, now with the boom inroad cycling, good wheel builders are celebrating arenaissance as more riders realise that they need thepersonal touch - someone who can service theirwheels each season and run quick repairs withoutthem having to send the wheel away. Pete Matthews is based in North Liverpool and iswell-known as a master wheel builder. A racinglegend in the North West, Pete has won more than300 races in a 52 year amateur career and 20 nationaltitles - including Amateur National Road RaceChampion in 1968.He still races and, along with his son Lee - no sloucheither in the racing stakes - the duo have increasedproduction of bespoke hand-built wheels andrecently designed a new range of frames throughPete's Italian company Pianni - a venture he startedin the late 70s. One autumn afternoon , we went to visit Pete in theworkshop in the North Liverpool suburb of Waterlooand enjoyed drinking a nice mug of tea as he built awheel and listened to his views on spokes, rims, hubsand frames.

DK: So Pete. Why did you start wheel building?PM: It was a necessity. I've always done my ownrepairs. I started building my own bikes at the age of14. Almost as soon as I started racing in 1960, I hadto start building my own wheels as I was havingproblems with local shop bought wheels. 'Anybodycan build a wheel' was the theory, wasn't it? And theyjust had 'anybody' building them. Some of the shopowners could build frames - and wheels - but theyemployed jack-of-all-trades who did repairs on breadand butter bikes and would be expected to build apair of wheels for a racing guy - which needed acraftsman. I mean you wouldn't let these guys lose

SPIN Title


with a welding torch to build a frame - so why letthem lose on building wheels for guys competingat international level?DK: What was available in the early 1960swheel-wise?PM: It was always pretty restricted in terms ofhubs and rims. The serious racing bike shops didCampagnolo hubs with Fiamme rims and 99% ofpeople used those. They were 36 spoke pairs or32/40 pairs. Wheels did go as low as 28 spokewheels - but they were seen as time trial wheels.They wouldn't stay true for jumping about inraces. I was only a junior and eight-stone soakingwet. I thought 'I can get away with a pair of 28's’,so I ordered them. I remember riding a junior raceon Holcombe and was in the break, came arounda corner, kicked, and the back wheeldisintegrated. One of the guys in the break, DaveRostrum, who I'm still good mates with now after50 years, said someone in the break shouted“Matthew's got trouble” and the whole break putthe hammer do wn and left me. Out on the moors

in the rain. That was the end of my 28’s.DK: So that's when you taught yourself?PM: Well, I couldn't get wheels fixed on aSaturday night down a shop, so I learnt to do itmyself for Sunday morning racing. I made a fewmistakes, but there you go. You learnt. You wereaway racing all the time - down south, in Irelandand such like - so it gave you confidence if youcould repair your own wheels and true them up. Ibecame sort of a team mechanic, which set me ingood stead when I set up the shop.DK: Then you went to work at Harry Quinn'sshop in Everton Valley?PM: That was in 1966. I learnt a lot from Harry.He taught me about fork and frame building andI started experimenting with 28 spoke wheels.People would say ‘You can't use those for racing’but the ones that I made were turning out fineeven for big guys - racing and everything. But asI couldn't convince everyone, I went further andstarted making 24 spokes wheels as well. 24spoke wheels were the lowest spoke count

SPIN The Wheel Maker


I couldn't get wheels fixed on aSaturday night down a shop, so I learntto do it myself for Sunday morningracing. I made a few mistakes, but thereyou go. You learnt.

production wheels in those days - only be used for timetrial and the track . I wanted to explode the myth that youcouldn't use 24 spoke wheels and below for racing. Theonly way to do that was to build a pair. It was trail-and-error in one respect, as everyone wanted light alloy spokenipples. These would sometimes break after three or fouryears, but people would bring the wheels back to berebuilt and say they had still run true with a spoke gone,so I knew that I was on the right track. I rebuilt using brassnipples and off they went.DK: Was the reduction in spokes you were aiming forjust to decrease the weight?PM: For weight and for aerodynamics. I came up withmy own bladed spokes as well. A friend at an engineeringcompany made a jig and I used to go over to the factoryand make my own bladed spokes. We made wheelsbladed spokes for Sean Yates and Tony Doyle, who wereriding the individual pursuit in the 1980 Olympic Games.No-one else in the country had them and only the EastGermans and the Russians had them for the games.DK: How did the 18 spoke wheels come about?PM: I'd taken over my own shop from Jim Soens in 1972.I was already building 24's at this point and I had a few18 hole rims made - just for the front. They were radialsbut you couldn't have a radial back wheel, so I thought‘Right we'll have to have 16/20's’. I used 32 hole fronthubs and rims and laced every other hole to make a 16-spoked front wheel. I then made a 20 spoke back wheelusing 40 hole hubs and rims on the back wheel. I builtone of each and sent them off to Gerald Donovan at theRaleigh Specialist Division at Ilkeston and said ‘test themto destruction’. They had a machine that was basically amotorised barrel with great big cobble stones on theoutside every 10 cm. They would run the wheel on thatuntil it broke. Gerald came back to me and said ‘thewheels lasted an hour’ - and I said ‘that'll do for me’. Itwas like the wheel doing four Paris Roubaix's. What wasreally encouraging was that Graham told me the rim hadbroken where there wasn't a spoke supporting a hole, soI knew then that we could invest in 16 and 20 hole rimsand they would be strong enough for racing. The rest ishistory.DK: What about the hubs?PM: The first company to build me 16, 18 and 20 holehubs was Royce. I met the people from Royce in Milanin 1979 when I started the Pianni company up. Roycewere involved with John Woodburn who was going forthe Lands End - John O'Groats time record. I built some





light wheels for John - who was reluctant to useeven 24's at first. He was a cautious fella and if I'doffered him anything less he'd have had a coronary.But he broke the record using 20 hole wheels with23mm rims and was very happy with them. DK: And you built some wheels for Robert Millaras well?PM: We were racing in the Isle of Man in ourrespective races and he asked me to build someespecially light wheels for climbing in the Tour. Heused my wheels in the late 1980s until he retired. Itled to commissions from other riders like SeanYates, Sid Barras and, more recently, Jeremy Hunt,Michael Hutchinson and Wendy Houvenaghel. I'mstill in touch now and again with Robert. He ridesmotorbikes these days. He doesn't like to bebothered but apparently he was watching some ofthe Tour of Britain on route this year. No-onenoticed as he wears a full face helmet so he's indisguise.DK: What's changed in wheel building since youstarted?PM: Lots, but the main principles and benefits ofbespoke wheels remain. I make strong, light andeasily repairable wheels. In the old days, any steelframe would take any weight. These days, withtighter tolerances, lighter metals and lug-less welds,more breaks are happening. Wheels are the same.Some of those carbon-spoked, carbon-rimmedwheels are a small fortune to repair - if you canrepair them at all. There always been a fixation withequipment weight, but it's become silly in recentyears. I have guys coming to me for wheels saying‘can you knock 50gms off them to match theseproduction wheels that are £300 dearer’. These aresportive guys who could do with losing a stone ortwo, so it doesn't make sense to me. I have a pairof carbon rims with razor spokes and I've snappeda couple of spokes myself - and I weigh nine stone.It's to do with both the spokes and rims being veryrigid, so something has to give. It's all aboutcompliance.DK: How does your wheel building service work.Is there a set range to choose from?PM: It's totally bespoke. I take height and weightinto consideration and also what tyres are to be usedand we then have a chat about what the wheels aregoing to be used for: touring; TT; road racing;



general training; hill climb; track; whatever. Ageis a factor as well. I advise from there. Lee and Ido bladed spokes, 16-32 spoke wheels, differentcolours. We still use Royce hubs and, with thefashion for black hubs these days, plenty ofpeople seem to like the shiny Royce hubs better.We also have some carbon frames coming out ofItaly now under my Pianni label, which can bebuilt up with wheels to match. We are looking atmaking titanium frames in the future as well.DK: Does the frame material make difference

in wheel building?PM: No. It's the angles, geometry, and the forksthat make a bike - not the material. I won one ofmy nationals on a titanium bike. Over the yearsI've ridden: 531; 631; 753; 853; titanium, alloy,carbon; alloy with carbon front and back. I can'ttell the difference. I can tell the difference if thetyre pressure is different or if it's a stiffer wheelfor racing, but these people who write inmagazines, I marvel at the adjectives theyconcoct. There's only so many adjectives you

can use to describe a bike.DK: They say things like "The high tensile rearend vibration is stronger than the front.." Howdo they measure that - through their bumcheeks? PM: [Laughs] It's cobblers. I've read someabsolute crap. They're test riding a frame andsaying ‘oh this bike is very responsive but verystiff’. But the bike in the photo has a radial 16-spoke front wheel - so rigid it's shaking thefillings out of their teeth. They're discussing the

ride as if it's the frame that's giving them thefeeling.DK: So can I have a pair of those nice bluerims with Royce hubs 18/24 for free?PM: No. But you can have a free cup of tea.

Pete and Lee Matthews can be reached at0151 924 9311. Prices and wheels can be

found at www.petematthews.comThe film: Road Racer - The Pete Matthews

Story by Velocipede Films comes out in 2013.

www.petematthews.com

SPIN CYCLE MAGAZINE PRESENTSA Hammer Bottom Gear Production of...

KILLER HILL!

No#1: Shaley Brow

SPIN Killer hill


DISTANCE: 1.0milesAVG GRADE: 6.7%MAX GRADE: 28.6%LOWEST ELEV: 252ftHIGHEST ELEV: 357ft.POPULARITY: Ridden 1,298 times by 259 people

I still don't mention to'the club' that I climbShaley Brow on aregular basis. It's asdisrespectful to clubtradition as shouting'MacBeth' in DameJudi's Dench's ear

IHAD joined 'the club' the year before - all bright legged andready to work and learn. Cold eyes squinted from under £120helmets, as my new clubmates assessed me and my bike.

It was like being Billy Crystal at the beginning of City Slickers- facing a silent group of thin-lipped Jack Palance's of the road.If a gobbet of chewing baccy had hit my front tyre, I wouldn'thave been surprised. Never mind, they kindly let me tag along.Soon, the hills and vales of Lancashire were revealed in all theirglory to my eager wheels.I'd lived in London, but the mighty peaks of Hertfordshire ander...Norfolk on the weekends weren't the same as Lancashire.We went off for 60-miles each week, always battering the last10 miles. It was a shock and took me a month to keep up. Thenanother month to both keep up and still have enough breath leftto talk to them.Not that they were making conversation. This was, after all, anorthern cycle club - no reason for bonhomie and soft southernchatter.Summer arrived and we went further afield. Even tackling somedistant climbs - but then the club went back to puttering over thesmaller hills when the clocks went back.After a year, I realised there was something missing. Where wasthe killer hill in the local area? The nasty sharp shock. Maybe itdidn't exist, as surely these grizzled vets would have shown it to

me by now?Quite often on rides with long established clubs, you'll pass whatlooks like an agreeable lane and ask "Why do we never go downthere?"Sometimes it's because it's muddy in winter or sandy in summer- maybe it meets a main road - then other times it's because "noone's been down there since 1980".Little did I realise each week that we were swerving a hiddenhill sat slap bang in the middle of club territory, which - oddly -none of them ever ventured close to and never, ever mentioned.One Sunday, plodding along in the pack and wondering whichsteady climb we'd be pootling up that day, I asked the question.There was a faint whisper from an old club regular ridingalongside me: "It's Shaley you need..."Maybe I'd mis-heard."Shakey? What's that denim clad 1980s crooner have to do withcycling?""No. S-H-A-L-E-Y. Shaley Brow," spat The Old Timer, glancingaround in fear. We were travelling in noisy motor traffic for a100 yards. None of the surrounding riders had heard us.

This where we cue the Morgan Freeman voice. Full of gravitasand weary acceptance of fate

http://www.strava.com/segments/shaley-brow-705525

How I wish now that I hadn't heard that Old Timer's words...HowI wish my winter training rides and my summer Sundays hadn'tbeen blighted by the knowledge shared with me that golden sunlitafternoon in October 2007.But it was too late. The old timer had suffered, been almost brokenby his battle with a beast and now, in time honoured tradition, hewas passing on the suffering to a new generation.I took in his secret directions and the next week on a quietafternoon I set out alone to seek...gulp...Shaley Brow [Cue crashof lightning].From a distance of a mile, I could see no problems. Shaley Browsits between Rainford and Up Holland, a modest looking hillockcovered with trees with a couple of antennas on top and a golfcourse.Now, we all know antennas are never a good sign - but a golfcourse? If those superb athletes, those giants of the swing and putt,could get up there with clubs and dinky bags on wheels - surely Icould too?The approach road from Rainford takes you up a very gradualincline and past a lovely poplar lined drive on your right beforeturning your thoughts to those misty France rural roads you see inposters.Around a couple of corners, there's a nice stone house on the leftwith white balls on gate posts. If, like me, you keep a record ofpersonal best times, this is the time to zero the stopwatch and startthe clock ticking. You can still ride the big ring here, but let mewarn you, getting out of the saddle to make up time would befoolish.Past more houses on your left, usually a sheep or two smirkingon the right, and it's already time to mimic a steady seatedCavendish pace right now - not under any circumstances attemptthe 'dancing Froomedog'.You come around a gentle right hander, see the golf club entranceahead 100 yards on your right and then realise that the road pastthe golf club has been closed. Obviously shut by some stupidhighways department with what looks to be...How odd is that? Avertical tarmac wall."Why on earth would they Tarmac a wall?" you think. Then yourealise, as you get nearer and the perspective shifts, it's not a wallbut the road itself shooting up through the trees.It's worth keeping quiet with anyone who hasn't done Shaley justto see their face when they see what I've just described. Cueconfusion followed by realisation and then followed by a whimper- all in half a second. There's a sign saying 14%, but that's theaverage not the maximum and it's not a long hill so the pressure ison.If you haven't engaged bottom cog by the time you reach the golfclub driveway, then a nasty crunching of gears will ensue.

Local pro riders Johnny McEvoy, left, and Mark McNally make their way up Shaley Brownear Billinge, St Helens

SPIN Killer hill


SPIN Killer hill


I'm surprised the residents of the house just atthat point in the road haven't installed doubleglazing to block out the constant noise ofgrinding cogs - it's like the re-christened'F**king Hell' Corner at the bottom of the BlackHill out at Pendle.At this point, do not attempt to retain any dignityby leaving the old ace up the sleeve. Believe me- showboating with a gear to spare is not the bestway to introduce yourself to Shaley. The hill willstir from slumber, clock a spare gear as firsttimer impudence and crush you down into thewretched bottom cog anyway. The good news isthat the surface is smooth and the climb is steadyup and around the first bend then on around thenext.In summer, you get a whiff of wild garlic off tothe left as you relish the cool shadows - and a

chance to admire the annually dumped brokenfridge.The next corner gets steeper. At this point,you're trapped between a sitting and standing, aswell as the realisation that with no relief in sight- and your front wheel lifting slightly - standingup is only going to be a very short term solution.But the gradient slackens ever so slightly andyou can grind on up in the saddle over somerough patches.There is a sweet little patch of false summitaround the last right hander, where the road easesso you can hear the blood thumping behind theears rather than your ragged breathing. Alas,there is then another kick to the top past the golfclub sign on your right. As you stop your stop-watch you might be rewarded with a glimpse ofa fellow athlete - teeing off to your right.

Shaley Brow. You made it. You also hated it. Butif you're like me, you've unfortunately found justwhat you need.It isn't a major climb, but it always stings. It'sthe perfect hill for me as it's a warmup ride awayfrom home - a no excuses destination that givesme a litmus test of fitness against myself andothers. It's pretty quiet with more people comingdown it than up it [funny that] and it seems toalways whack you somehow - even when you'rein the best summer shape ever.I still don't mention to 'the club' that I climbShaley Brow on a regular basis. It's asdisrespectful to club tradition as shouting'MacBeth' in Dame Judi's Dench's ear.Sitting at the top this summer, a small group ofus waited for the laboured arrival of a Spin Cyclecontributor that shall remain nameless.

"Christ," he panted, pulling up to the group andstopping. "That never gets any easier. No wonderthe local pros won't touch it. Even Wigginsdoesn't like it."We contemplated this amazing 'fact' silently.Wiggins, frightened of Shaley? The conquerorof the worst tour climbs, shivering under hisduvet of a Sunday morning at the thought of thesnow-capped summit of Shaley?Anyway...for mortals, it's definitely worthincluding Shaley in your training run twice amonth - just to know you are still pushingyourself and to pay homage to the true athletesof Shaley Brow - the golfers.Shaley Brow can be found on the aptly namedCrank Lane between Rainford and Up Holland.Please provide a doctor's note and do make sureyou can engage bottom gear before setting out.

MY MOTHER informed me recently that Ihave always had an obsession with cafés,one which has never really left me.

In fact, my earliest memories are either of visitingcafés or riding bikes. Then I worked in various cafésto fund my studies, so I suppose I was destined toone day combine the two and indulge my lifelongobsessions.Pâtisserie Cyclisme was born on a bitterly cold Jan-uary afternoon in 2010, on a short ride that hadhelped me get out of the house during a rather darkphase of my life. My gradual return to cycling wasorganised around café stops, as it meant there was apurpose to go out and I could get warmed up afterriding in the freezing cold of the north Lancashirefells.It wasn’t really an outstanding “Eureka” moment,but more of a “Hmmmm I wonder if a websitewhere cyclists could post reviews of their favouritestops would work?” sort of thing.When I got home I floated this concept via Twitterand it was met with a great response, as I had tappedinto something held very dear to many cyclists. It allstarted with a really basic blog, where folk couldemail me quick reviews of their favourite cafés, witha little information about the quality, its location andany features that would be handy to know about.A website always needs a name, so I once again gotsome ideas from folk online and Pâtisserie Cyclismewas brought into existence.

Words by Louise Mullagh & Main image by Dan Kenyon

My Life in Cafés: The birthof Pâtisserie Cyclisme

SPIN Café culture


Café culture

http://www.patisseriecyclisme.com/

Within a couple of months, I had received a lot of reviewsand it was getting a little tricky to organise them all so setup a better site and a specific form cyclists could fill in andsubmit.Again, the reviews piled in, which was brilliant, but it gotto the stage were the site couldn’t be used all that well forsearching for locations, so it was time to make it all a littlemore professional.I’m lucky to know some very talented people and it wasone of them who designed the stunning logo and the newwebsite. My aim all along was to have an easy to use sitethat looked very lovely, where it would be easy to searchfor and post reviews and to work well on a mobile.The logo went down a storm and immediately PâtisserieCyclisme started to get known about. Soon, I was ap-proached by Al from Polocini to work on a joint event thatturned out to be the ‘Let them Eat Cake’ ride back in June.We had just under 300 people and a nice day for a really

lovely ride around the Cheshire lanes, out to Eureka (theoldest cycling café in England) followed by cake at theend.This gave me the opportunity to get a new website de-signed, as it was time for a really functional site that folkcould use on the move. We launched in July, with a sitethat looks fantastic and works really well - whether fromhome or on the move.Earlier this year, we launched our own cycling kit and weare just about to put in another order ready for Christmas,which has been hugely exciting and it is amazing to seepeople riding round in my own kit.There is a very close relationship between cyclists andtheir café stops, one which I am determined to get to thebottom of one day. Cyclists tell me their main reasons forvisiting cafes on rides is for the banter, the camaraderie andof course for something sweet to eat and a coffee kick aftera long ride. My own view is that it is usually for shelter, es-

Creator of PâtisserieCyclisme Louise Mullagh,centre, together with someof her friends andcustomers during thelaunch of her very owncycling kit

SPIN Café culture


There is a very closerelationship betweencyclists and their caféstops, one which I amdetermined to get to thebottom of one day

pecially up north, the chance to sit and warm your hands after a wet rideor just to escape the wind.I have tried to tease deep and meaningful reasons from many a cyclistover the last year, but the overwhelming response has been “for the so-cial aspect” or “because a steaming coffee and a piece of cake is a mar-vellous reward for a good ride”.Part of the allure of the cycling café is often the unique collections ofmemorabilia they display, often built up over many years by the owners.The photos of famous local riders and jerseys add, not only to the at-mosphere, but are hugely important in recording the history of Britishcycling.It makes us cyclists feel at home and inspired when surrounded by ourheroes while being able to indulge in cake and a steaming mug of cof-fee. Cafés are increasingly showing live racing and organising events,capitalising on the increasing popularity of our sport in the UK aftersuch an amazing year in 2012.For instance, Bikebeans is a new venture located close to Boxhill, homeof the 2012 Olympic road race course. They show live racing, as well asorganising regular rides and events.Another example is ‘Look Mum No Hands’ in London, leading the wayin cafés where you can go to see an exhibition or for a book preview or,of course, to watch live racing.Up north we have Eureka, run by Anne Peek, which is the UK’s oldestcycling café and is regularly packed out by local cycling clubs with theirfamous beans on toast and a spare.A newer venture opening soon is the Polocini café, run by Al and hispartner Claire, which promises to be a hub for cyclists in the NorthWest. They’re planning to show races live while cyclists watch and eatsome homemade cake or, more importantly, perhaps, a very well madecoffee.There are far too many cafés to mention here. We now have 235 re-views from all over the world and some iconic examples ranging fromthe Tourmalet Café to a serve yourself and leave some pennies in thehonesty box place in Cumbria. My interest in the culture of cycling andthe cycling café has led to some really interesting articles being writtenfor the site too and this is something I am really keen to develop further.I don’t have a master plan as such for the site right now, as I have juststarted a PhD, which is, of course, cycling related. But it has meant thatI have met some really fantastic people so far, all of whom are just aspassionate as I am about cycling, coffee and cake.It would be wonderful to one day produce a book of the world’s bestcycling cafés, but until then, I hope to develop the site further, add morearticles and of course get lots more people riding around in my beautifulkit.

For more information about your local café stops or to submit a re-view, visit www.patisseriecyclisme.com

SPIN Café culture




Returnof theMcEvoy


LIKEABLE doesn’t even beginto describe St Helen’s JonnyMcEvoy. This chirpy, cheerful

chap is a bundle of energy –especially on the road – so it’s nowonder that his services have beenretained under the guise of the newlyamalgamated NetApp-Endura for2013.The 23-year-old has enjoyed one ofhis best seasons yet, starting off witha great win in the Premier Calendarat the Tour DoonHame beforefinishing second on a stage of theTour of Normandy. After that, a top10 in the British Road RaceChampionships followed and then hewon his fight to be selected for theEndura squad in the Tour of Britain.We meet at the foot of the renownedShaley Brow in Billinge, a few milesfrom Johnny’s home in St Helens.Instantly, his upbeat and cheerfulpersona shines through. Laughingand joking during photos at theroadside with his training partner forthe day, Mark McNally from An Post.With the photos done and dusted,McEvoy accepts the offer of one ofmy home-made breakfast bars, so toodoes McNally, before the duo agreesto stop at the top of this local ‘killer

hill’ to continue the interview.Driving past the two on the way tothe summit, I spot Johnny trying tomake McNally laugh by attempting awheelie up the steep incline towardsthe top of Shaley. That’s no easy feat– especially for mere mortals like me,who have suffered on this hill with its14 per cent incline (and then some).At the top, both seize the chance tograb a flask of coffee to keep warm inthe cool yet bright autumn sunshine.McNally looks on with a boyishsmirk as Jonny begins to tell meabout his season this year.“I was third in the Tour du Finistère,which is a 1.1 class race in France,”explains McEvoy. “It’s a really goodrace. Julien Simon won and SamuelDumoulin from Cofidis finishedsecond, so to get on the podium forthat, as it's quite tough, was prettygood for a pro race and it was a toughfinish as well.“I have had a really good season withEndura and really enjoyed it.Sometimes you want to do the biggerroad races, but it's good to get stuckin there and come out the other end.”During the Tour of Britain, McEvoywas always prominent force at thefront of the peloton and could

I’ve had a really good season withEndura. Sometimes you want to do thebigger road races, but it's good to getstuck in there and come out the other end

SPIN Title


constantly be seen working unselfishly hard tocontrol the race for his team leader, Jon Tiernan-Locke – a clear sign that Johnny, know previouslyfor winning in bunch kicks, isn’t just a one trickpony.“One of my highlights of the year was helpingJohn Tiernan-Locke win the Tour of Britain,”added McEvoy. “He said at the start of the seasonthat he could win it after he won the Tour du HautVar and I had a bit of job to get selected for theteam.“Thankfully, I got the call to do it. We knew thatTieran-Locke was that good, so we all worked forhim over the eight days. It got tough towards theend, but we all put the efforts in and Jon got thejob done.”Despite basking in the shared glory of helpingTiernan-Locke become the first home winner ofa Tour of Britain since 1989, Stage 2 held aspecial place in Johnny’s heart with many familyand friends cheering him on at the finish inKnowsley Safari Park.“Finishing Stage Two of the Tour of Britain inKnowsley was brilliant,” smiled McEvoy. “Allmy family and friends, as well as club membersand old school mates were there cheering me on,so that was class. Then, at the finishing, on someof the roads where I normally train, you could seeWiggins on the road. They're still there now. It’sgreat to see how popular cycling has become.”Having put in such a commanding performanceduring Britain’s own version of the GrandeBoucle, which attracted an average of 382,000viewers across the eight days of the race, Jonnywas hopeful that he would have done enough tosecure his place in the newly-merged Pro-Continental team, NetApp Endura.

Luckily, the former Great Britain Cycling TeamAcademy rider had just done that and next seasonwill link up with team-mates Iker Camano, ZakDempster, Russell Downing, Erick Rowsell, ScottThwaites, Paul Voss and Alexander Wetterhallunder the guidance of manager Brian Smith.“I rode with most of the lads last year,” revealsMcEvoy. “So I am definitely looking forward toracing with good lads again. Next year will bebigger again, so I reckon that we will do a GrandTour, so I'll be trying to put myself in a positionfor that.“Luckily, I had done enough over the last coupleof season that, when the teams merged, I got myplace on the new team.”Not bad for a lad from St Helens, who firststarted out in cycling with Liverpool Centurybefore moving onto the Great Britain CyclingTeam Academy with the likes of McNally.“I first got into cycling through one of mymates,” says McEvoy. “He doesn't ride anymore– the Pugh family – two brothers and a dad, whosaid 'do you want a go?' and I have never lookedback since then and that was when I was 14.“Liverpool Century got me started off withschoolboy racing with the likes of Macca and Ijust progressed from there, really. There wereplenty of funny times with the club, riding overto Wales with all the mad Scousers.“I was on the academy in Italy with Macca andthen I rode for Motorpoint for a year and now I'llbe going to Pro Continental next year.“Merseyside is good place for producing decentcyclists because there are good roads and goodclubs, as well as people's attitudes to just get onwith it.“There is a bit of history as well and good

Liverpool Century got me started. There were plenty of funny timeswith the club, riding over to Wales with all the mad Scousers

SPIN Johnny McEvoy


SPIN Johnny McEvoy


chances if you want to do well and want to race,like if you're a young lad then you've got a lot ofhelp like at the Century, Mercury and St Helenscycling club. There are enough people to help youand enough going on, that you can just enjoy it. It'ssomething that's hard and if you don't want to do it,then you won't do well.”Speaking of hard work, I touch on the subject ofwinter training and how it’s progressing so far.Jonny reveals that his prepara tion will consist ofbuilding on a block of cyclo-cross races and thenheading off for an unofficial training campsomewhere warmer before linking up with NetApp-Endura in January. Though, he is keen not todismiss the hard training ground to be found on hisdoorstep in Merseyside and West Lancs.“I usually train in the winter with Macca, but notwith him during the summer,” explains McEvoy.“There is Ian Bibby that I do a bit of riding with aswell. Normally, I'll just ride round the lanes by StHelens, as that's where I live.“I have climbed up Shaley Brow and AshurstBeacon a stupid amount of times as well. Probablymore than anyone. I have no idea what my fastesttime up them is. I'll have to get myself on thatStrava.“I enjoy coming round here doing a little route, aswell as a four hour ride round this way too. In thesummer, I'd normally link up with a few of the otherlads and ride into Wales.“I have not started proper yet with my wintertraining. I am going to do a bit of cyclo-cross andthen get a good winter. I have got a team wintertraining camp in January in Spain. Before that,there are like two of us go for like a week to do abit of training, stay there do a bit of riding and havea laugh.“I have just looked at the calendar up until Mayand, it's not definite yet, but hopefully I'll start theseason in Argentina.“I have not even discuss my programme for nextseason properly yet and I have got an idea of whatI'll be doing up until May, but I just want to do goodand had a consistent year. Whenever the chancecomes to get a result and it's a winner, thenhopefully I'll do that.”

Merseyside is good place for producing decent cyclistsbecause there are good roads and good clubs, as well as

people's attitudes to just get on with it

WITH the ‘Wiggo-effect’ in full swing and the quietcountry lanes now flooded with cyclists, it is fairto say that sport is most definitely undergoing a

renaissance in the UK.Exactly how long newbies or returning mamils (middle-agedmen in Lycra) will stay is dependent on how they fit into thetraditional style of cycling club. Most are friendly enoughand welcome new members with open arms, offeringencouragement to those interested and keen to attract bothadults and junior riders alike – male and female.Though, there are some clubs that seem determinate to staystuck in the Dark Ages and operate on an almost magic circlebasis, where only the initiated or ordained are allow in thecircle of trust. Even then, you still have to earn your spursbefore you are given any sort of respect.Therefore, joining a cycling club can be a bit of a leap offaith. Common questions often asked before going for yourfirst test ride are usually along the lines of ‘Am I fast

enough?’, ‘will I be able to unclip at the lights?’ or ‘can Iactually climb that hill?’.Most people starting out with a new club often findthemselves stuck with the beginner’s group, which is usuallymade up of newcomers, youngsters and the elderly membersof the club, who still like to turn a gear or too but just can’tkeep up with the pace of the big-hitters.Next up is normally the middle group, which is formed bythose who have stepped up from the beginner’s group andthose who, again, can’t quite hack the pace of the big hitters.Lastly, it’s the big hitters. These fellows are the ones whoare very race focused and batter themselves around the lanesin all weather, turning the pedals at such a pace that it wouldleave most beginners wishing they’d taken up another sportinstead.The biggest problem with this hierarchy is that everyone isnormally geared towards moving up to the top tier and thatdoesn’t leave much room for those who want to just enjoy

Some cycling clubsoperate on an almostmagic circle basis,where only theinitiated or ordainedare allow into the fold

SPIN Title


Words by Chris White & Photography by James Maloney

CLUBBING SCENE

the sport. Luckily, there is an alternative to the raceorientated club.Back in 2011, a new bike shop opened on the Wirral, VitaCycles. It wasn’t long before regular group rides startedfrom the shop, led by the jovially-named The WirralMamils Cycling Club.Eventually, the ranks soon started to swell with those notwishing to sign up to the racing-based ethic of other clubsand, instead, focus more on enjoying a spin on a Saturdaymorning.Vita Cycles soon announced the UK’s first undergroundtime-trial in the form of the ‘Ten Minutes of Hell’, whichwas a through and back race held in the QueenswayTunnel and eventually won by Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett.However, the lure of taking part in a small-scale event ontheir doorstep proved too much for the Mamils and soonall the riders from the club– many of whom had neverpinned on a race number before - signed up for the event.Training took the form of riding out to the tunnel everySunday, a couple of runs through to Liverpool and backbefore taking in a loop of Wirral round the coast and thenheading for a well-earned brew to the famous Eureka Cafe.With the time-trial event over, there was now a bit of asplit in the club – those still keen to race and those whowanted to go back to just enjoying a ride on a weekend.For a time, the club stayed as one unit, but when newmembers started getting dropped on club-runs a decisionwas soon made for the two factions to go their separateways.In the beginning, there were only four lads – Chris, Paul,Tim and Ade – who decided to continue meandering roundthe lanes with a cafe stop half way through. The pace wasa much more sociable and the miles certainly flew past -even in the rain.Over the following weeks, the fab four began going forevening rides on a Tuesday and Thursday as the nightsbecame lighter and less cold. There were regularly 10riders and, as the weekend rides became popular, some ofthe old crew - as well as lots of new faces – would meetup at the 12th Man pub in Greasby before heading out intoCheshire and Wales. Some of the riders would either goout towards Delamere station Cafe, home of the bestBakewell tart according to one of the riders, Ken, whilethe others would usually end up at the Ponderosa cafe onthe top of the Horseshoe Pass.Obviously, coffee and cake were huge motivationalfactors in planning the weekend route and one ride inparticular took that ethos to a whole new level when a

SPIN Clubbing scene


SPIN Clubbing scene


route was devised to ride across the water – notliterally, of course - to a new cafe in Kelsallcalled the Greedy Pig.Eight of the riders ventured through the

Birkenhead tunnel during the early hours of themorning before taking a more interesting routethe along the waterfront to Widnes and over theRuncorn Bridge, then towards to Kelsall viaFrodsham and Delamere.At this point, the group decided that they neededan identity of their own and it was agreed that ifa club was to be started, it had to be inclusive.New riders would be made to feel welcomewhatever their ability and support would alwaysbe given to the slower riders to ensure thateveryone finished together.Chris White, one of the key people involvedwith setting up the initial group before the bigsplit had been writing an online journal about his

experiences trying to get fit through cycling –The Palefish Blog.It was a name he had come up with some yearsbefore, when the dream of opening his own bikeshop with one of his friends almost came tofruition. Neither of their surnames was suitableto go above the door of a bike shop, so they useda little imagination and an amalgamation of theirsurnames to come up with Pale Fish Bikes.Alas, the shop didn’t happen. But when the ladsdecided to start a club, it was unanimous that itshould be used and Palefish Cycling Club wasborn.It didn’t take long for the club to becomeestablish and, at the height of summer, therewere more than 17 people out for a club ride. Starting out with just 17 members, the fledglingclub soon grew to a whopping 45 riders regularlyheading out on clubruns every week during the

height of the summer. One thing the lads dodifferently at Palefish is the use of social media– and in a big way. Not only do they have theirown Facebook page, but they also log theirStrava rides to prospective members details onall their riders rides. Twitter even comes intoplay for arranging weekday rides by using thehash tag ‘#730atthe12th’. Despite the fitness andability of the members increasing as themembership grows, everyone involved hasvowed to stick to the basic principle thatwhenever a new rider joins a ride, the pace is setat their ability and they are made welcome. Eventhough some of the members have improved toan extent where they are now competing intriathlon races and marathons, there is nointention for the club to start a race team of itsown though. Not yet, anyway.But the adventures don’t stop just there. A

number of those involved have tackled the likesof The Etape Du Tour – Act II, Lands End toJohn O’Groats, The Alps, Cycling the PennineWay and From Loch Lomond to Loch Leven inScotland – all the time flying the Palefish flag. And what does the future hold for Palefish?Well, it’s simple really - help people who wantto take up cycling (or get back into it) feelcomfortable and welcome; maybe improve theirfitness and riding technique or enter sportives,but – more importantly - have fun.

If you would like to join the club for a spin allyou need to do is turn up at the 12th Man inGreasby at19.30 on any Tuesday or Thursdaynight. For further information visitwww.palefish.co.uk

SPIN Clubbing scene


www.palefish.co.uk

Diamondgeezer


FROM small beginnings come great things, so goes theproverb. Never could that saying be more suited thanto the founder of Onix Bikes, Craig Middleton.

Don’t worry if you’ve not heard of him before – you soonwill.He has just sold the small acorn that is Onix Bikes to aninvestor, who is planning to make the brand a householdname across the UK and Europe.Life wasn’t always so good to Craig. He openly admits thathis ‘journey’, as he calls it, has had its fair share of ups-and-downs – more so the latter – but just when divine interventionwas needed, he’d have it in bucket loads.If ever there was a guy to stand next to at a casino, the father-of-two definitely is your man. Lady Luck will be smilingdown if you stick with him.That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some extremely lowsover the three years since he founded Onix. At one point, heeven resorted to selling bric-a-brac out of his garage to putfood on the table for his family – all in the name of trying to

keep his dream alive of owning a bike brand.“There was one month in particular, I went into the familybank account and all the money had gone across to pay thebills,” revealed Craig. “There was only £90 left in the accountto pay for my family for the next month. I was just like 'ohmy God' and 'I have no money to feed my family'.“It's amazing how resourceful you become when you've gotto do it. I remember the wife came in and asked me was itfine for her to use the card to go shopping to Asda, which Ialways asked her to do even though I wasn't sure whether itwould be refused or not.“So I kind of just said 'here' and handed her a load of cashfrom my back pocket. While she was out, I went into thegarage and pulled everything out that I could sell on eBay. Ijust about managed to get enough money from that to putfood on the table that month.“Yes, it was pretty hardcore at times, but when you're startinga business up on your own, with no help from anyone orwithout any financial clout, then that's the reality of it.

I went into the familybank account andthere was only £90 leftin the account to payfor my family for thenext month. I was justlike 'oh my God' and 'Ihave no money to feedmy family'

SPIN Craig Middleton


Whatever you decide to do, it's going to be hard.Looking back, it was harder than I originally thought.”Having been a printer for 22 years since he left school,Craig had grown tired of his job despite earning acomfortable living. Call it a mid-life crisis or whateveryou like. He’d had enough.Craig had played golf to a high level and almost wentpro, but just couldn’t push that little bit further.Planning for his future, he had always assumed thathe’d teach golf somewhere but, again, that never reallyworked out and so he ended up in the printing industryfor the next two decades until 2009.“I sort of got to a breaking point when my shift workreally started to impact on my family life,” explainedCraig. “At this point, I had two little girls and wasdoing nights and late shifts, but hardly spending anytime with my family. The thought of doing that foranother 26 years just horrified me, so I decided that Iwould have to change my job.“I couldn't change my career because if I did that, thenit would mean basically starting on the bottom rung ofthe ladder and I'd then struggle to pay the bills.“Once I realised that I wasn't going to walk intoanother industry or start earning the same sort of moneyI was on previously, I just thought 'right, if I have to dothat then I might as well start my own business'.“If I was going to do that, then having had a job that Ihated for so long I was going to do the polar oppositeand do something that I absolutely loved. Cycling wasmy passion and that was my dream way of earning aliving, so I went for it.”Onix Bikes was born, but the next year-and-a-halfproved to be almost a breaking point and, at times,bankruptcy loomed round almost every corner. Craigwas trying to break his way into the cycling industrywithout any real financial backing or experience. Hewas naive to say the least. That said, he did have oneasset – determination and an almost indestructible self-belief.“When I made this decision, it all made perfect sensein my head,” added Craig. “Obviously, when I look atit now, I think what an absolutely crazy thing to do. Thefirst year-and-a-half was the toughest, but there weretimes in that period that I wasn't selling any bikes.Understandably, you're trying to get your product readyand a brand in place, so I just wasn't selling anythingat those points. It was all work in progress.“Despite all that, I still had this blinding belief that it



When I made this decision, it all made perfect sense in myhead. Obviously, when I look at it now, I think what an

absolutely crazy thing to do



would all eventually become a success. I can'thonestly explain where that came from. I had noprevious experience in the industry and I wasdoing all this on my own. When you look at allthat, there was no sense whatsoever for me tohave believed that it was ever going to be asuccess.”Desperate times call for desperate measures, sohe began almost stalking Eurosport commentatorDavid Harmon via Twitter. Eager to squeeze oilout of a grain of sand, Craig kept pesteringHarmon for any sort of publicity for Onix - eventhe briefest of name checks - throughout the firstweek of the 2010 edition of the Tour de France.Luckily, it paid off and it wasn’t long beforeMiddleton and Harmon had a chat about Onix.“Harmon was the first big break that I got,”explained Craig. “I just sent him the same tweetabout seven times during every stage, saying'give Onix Bikes a mention – they're a newBritish brand'. I got no reply and after about theseventh or eighth stage of doing this, I got adirect message of him. I was fully expecting thismessage to say 'look, will you just f-off sendingme those tweets'. Luckily, it didn't. It just said'your bikes look nice' – that was it, nothing else.

Obviously, I realised that he had gone on thewebsite and had a look.”However, the trail went cold for the next sixmonths and it was only after a luckless meetingat Cycling Weekly that Harmon once againreached out to Craig like some sort of fairy-godmother. Craig had been looking for publicityfrom one of the country’s top cyclingpublications, but he left with the words “'wedon't want people like you starting up a bikebrand” ringing in his ears on his way back fromLondon.“For me, this was going to be like the seminalpoint in the journey and it turned out to be, butfor completely the opposite reason,” revealedCraig. “I went down there all kind of bullish andthinking that because I had my two road bikes instock, they were going to take notice of me. Afterall, I was a new British bike brand with somenew shiny new handlebars, seat-posts and bottle-cages – I'll get a bike review.“As it turns out, as I know now, I wasn’t readyfor that meeting and it couldn't have gone anyworse. They just didn't take me seriouslybecause I just didn't have the experience in theindustry at that point and that was quite evident

in the meeting. Basically, they just said 'look, no,you're not going to get a bike review – just goaway'. “I got back in the car and tears were shed. I can'tremember the last time that I had cried beforethen, but I just thought 'if these guys won't takeme serious and I have no marketing budget, howI am going to even let people know the bikesexist'. I just thought that was it - the end. Everyother problem, I had managed to find a wayround, but this one I just couldn't see how I wasgoing to do it.“I got back in the car, drove home and as soonas I got Wi-Fi at the first service station, Itweeted out – having made a big deal about itbefore the meeting - that it didn't go very well,not sure where to go from here or somethingalong those lines. Then 40-miles down themotorway, my phone rang and it was anunrecognised number. I answered it and thisvoice said 'is that Craig Middleton – it’s DaveHarmon here'. He told me that he loved what Iwas doing and that he would arrange a meeting.”Less than a week later, Harmon was stood inCraig’s kitchen with Ken Jones from Bioracerand Dan Patten, a promising young pro rider

from Essex. A deal was struck that Harmonwould do some PR work for Onix if Craig couldprovide bikes for the Asfra Flanders Team riderto race on over in Belgium.This was a win-win situation for the businessand Craig. Not only would the bikes get the testof all tests riding across the infamous pavé,they’d also have the prestige of having a youngrider like Dan putting them through their pacesup climbs like the Koppenberg.“You can't sell performance bikes withouthaving someone out there to back it up,”explains Craig. “So to have Dan racing out inBelgium was great for us. He was racing thebikes hard. To have the bikes survive a wholeseason of racing over there showed how robustthe product was. If it wasn’t, it would break.And, importantly, they came through with flyingcolours.”Both the Azzuro and Aurious models of OnixBikes had survived the gruelling racingconditions of a full season in Belgium andhelped Dan to two wins, two podiums and 12top-10 placing, in addition to a two-day overallclassification victory, during 2011.“These bikes didn’t just survive the season -



they thrived,” beamed Pattern. “It has been apleasure to be involved with Onix in what wastheir real maiden year. To have a company thatis just starting out have confidence in my abilityas a cyclist and to provide me with theequipment I needed for a season in Belgium, wassomething I am truly grateful for. This againspeaks volumes about the quality of bike comingfrom Onix.”With a promising young pro like Dan giving thebikes the thumbs-up, Harmon knew that he wassafe to recommend another real top level classicsracer to Onix. Sadly, the rider in question couldnever be named, as he was contracted to anotherbike brand. However, he was able to give some

good feedback about the bikes that went intohelping steer the company towards the modelsfor 2012.“It was frustrating that we couldn't actually saywho it was,” explains Craig. “Then Dave rangme up round July. He said that he had just had achat with Rob Hayles, who was retiring at theend of that year.“Straight away, I realised that there was anopportunity to talk to him first. When I rang himup, it was a bit strange at first. Like most people,I'd stood at the side of the road and cheered himon in the Tour of Britain and stuff, so speakingto him on the phone and arranging a meeting wasa bit bizarre.

“About three days later, I arranged to meet Robin a coffee shop in Manchester. When I wasdriving there, I remember thinking 'how I amgoing to get Rob Hayles attached to my brandand I haven't got a penny to offer him'.“I literally didn't have any kind of financialreward to offer him whatsoever. When we metup, we got on straight away as he has got acouple of kids about the same age as mine. I justpitched it to Rob about the whole ethos andjourney of the company rather than the financialreward. I told him that I needed him to lookfurther down the road financially rather thanwhat I could offer him at that point, as I couldn'toffer him much there and then.

“The initial agreement was just for him to be ourtest rider and that we would pay him to test thebikes on a daily rate. Also, we would name himon our website and say that he tested the bikesand that's why they ride so well.“But, as the testing process went on and, I amnot blowing sunshine up my own backside here,he realised the lengths we were going to makesure the product was the best it could be.Eventually, it led to him telling me how good thebikes were, so I just said 'right, why don't youput your name to them then' and he replied 'okthen, I will'. That's how the Rob Hayles signaturebikes were born.”Having a three-time Olympic medallist and

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double track World Champion, as well as an ex-BritishNational Road Race Champ, onboard gave Onix somemajor kudos within the UK bike industry. It wasn’t longbefore cycling journalists across the country wanted toknow a bit more about this little-known bike company nearPreston.Full-length feature reviews in all the major cyclingmagazine soon followed – even the likes of CyclingWeekly dedicated two whole pages to Rob’s involvementwith the development of the 2012 RH and RH-Pro models– and there were even appearances on ITV4’s The CycleShow, where Hayles was a regular co-presenter. Lady Luckwas smiling once again on Craig.Throw into the mix the fact that Onix also supplied theRH-Pro to the Moutivation Cycling Academy Team, whichracked up a load of wins throughout the tear, includingJames Knoxx grabbing the National Junior Hill ClimbChampionships and it’s fair to say that it has been a goodyear for Onix.What will life hold for Craig in 2013? Despite selling thecompany to an investor, he remains the director and aimsmore to focus on the development of the brand than havingto worry about the day-to-day running of Onix.“He is a rich guy and has got money but more importantly,he has been a keen road cyclist for more than 30 years andhe gets the whole ethos of Onix,” mentions Craig.“Everything that we have always wanted to do, we cannow.“I can't tell you how frustrating it is when you've got aproduct as good as the RH and RH Pro in the way it ridesand the way it looks, plus the fact that you've got a doubleworld champion who is testing it and endorsing it, butyou've got no way or means to tell the world about it. It'sso frustrating. “The next thing literally is working on the new models fornext year, but it's all subject to Rob giving us the greenlight. If he doesn't say that it's good enough, then we won'tbe bringing it out.“That goes right back to our ethos before. We don't justwant to bring it out because we want to make some money.It will only come out if it's as good as we can make it. Putit this way, if we can't find what we are looking for then itprobably doesn't exist.”

For more information about Craig or Onix Bikes visit:www.onixbikes.co.uk

www.onixbikes.co.uk

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THIS year has been filled with ups and downs for oneyoung Southport CC rider, Josh Townson – and ithasn’t just been the courses he has raced on throughout

2012.The 17-year-old, who has just been picked up by DirtwheelsCycles Junior Race Team, has had his fair share of bad luck –slipping a chain in one race only to crash and ruin hisexpensive carbon machine in the next.That aside, he has shown true maturity in both his ability anddetermination – shrugging off each incident and bouncingback in his following races. He even racked up a decentnumber of top placings against stronger opponents and movedup to a second category junior – attracting the attention of hisnew team, Dirtwheels Cycles.Josh said: “My name had been given to them by a fellow

junior rider. I provided them with my cycling palmarès andafter further discussion, they welcomed me onboard.“I will be a part of a four-man race team competing in theJunior National Series, Isle of Man International Junior Tour,Junior Tour of Ireland and the Junior Tour of Wales. We willbe provided with team kit, nutritional support, coaching andfinancial support to help us compete in more major events.“I would like to say a big thank you to Dirtwheels Cycles forthis exciting opportunity, which will allow me to step-up to anew level in cycling.“However, it must also be said that even though I am notracing for Southport Cycling Club anymore, I will neverforget the help and support that they have given me over thepast three years - especially Ken Beck and Colin Baldwin.”But how did it all begin for Josh. Well, after starting out riding

Even though I am notracing for SouthportCycling Club anymore,I will never forget thehelp and support thatthey have given me -especially Ken Beck andColin Baldwin

Making my own wayWords & Photography by James Maloney

mountain bikes back in 2010, it wasn’t long before the lureof road racing soon beckoned and he took his first stepstowards competitive racing by competing in the 10-miletime-trials at Rainford.Enough of us telling you his story. Here, in his own words,is what happened for him throughout the last 12 months:I began in 2011 by competing in a few of the 10 mile TT'sat Rainford to try and build up some speed and stamina andduring 2011, I rode 30 events - mainly criterium races, butwith a few road races and got myself up to a Cat 3 as aresult. The winter of 2011/2012 meant at a lot of long trainingrides with the Southport. Usually, they’d be 60-90 mile ridesup towards Scorton and even Lancaster. All low pace buthelpful to build a bit of endurance.I was up against it with A-level revision the whole winter,so it was hard to find the training time as well, but I did thebest to get out on the bike in any spare time I had up untilChristmas.January brought the Wednesday night chain-gang at thePimbo industrial estate. It's a pretty quiet place in theevenings with just the faint aroma of biscuits from thefactories still lingering in the night air from the day's baking.Blessed with wide smooth roads and a long drag of a climb,it's a perfect way to build for the season ahead. I wasmanaging more-and-more each week to hang on with thegroup, who were all building for the season ahead like me.Interval training with them and prolonged efforts on a turbotrainer became the norm through to March. I was told bymany of the riders, as we sped around Pimbo under thesodium lights, that this year would by a big step up for me,a learning curve, and road racing at the higher level wouldgive me a different type of challenge. They weren’t wrong.On Saturday, March 3, it was time for the classic EddieSoens Memorial Race at Aintree Racecourse. Attracting thebest UK domestic professionals, I don't mind admitting thatit was a total shock to the system. Even though it was a wetfor the first few laps, the pace was still high. I sufferedthroughout and, with two-thirds of the race completed,enough-was-enough. I was exhausted and had to pull out.I was very disappointed - especially after all the work I'dput in, but I watched Russ Downing up on the podium andthought "at least I stuck in there with riders like him for awhile". 'Onwards and upwards', I thought and turned my attentionto my second race of the weekend - the first CDNW leagueevent at my training home turf of the glamorous Pimbo.After the epic effort on the Saturday, I held in but surprise-

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surprise - I had no energy left for the bunchsprint at the end. It was an enjoyable weekendof racing and a very hefty kick-start to myseason. The rest of March saw me racing in the secondCDNW league event at Saighton, followed byanother race at Pimbo organised by MerseysideWheelers.I was determined to improve my results frommy first weekend of racing. And in both races, Idid and with the curve was rising - finishing22nd out of 58 riders at Saighton and 18th out of80 riders at Pimbo.These results were pretty satisfying consideringthe competition and I was beginning to reach thekind of form where I could hang in the leadinggroup in a race for the duration. I just needed theextra energy and pace to contest the sprint.

My next race a tough hilly CDNW league eventat Capernwray on Sunday, April 1, brought medown to earth with a crunch. A crunch of chainlinks, to be exact. With just one lap left, my chain decided to derailand that was the end of my race. It was my firstcompetition 'mechanical' and far morefrustrating than chucking a chain on a trainingride after all the work I'd put in. All part of bikeracing, of course. But a miserable lesson inchance all the same.Onwards I went. Two more races followed. Thefirst was the The Lewis Balyckyi MemorialCriterium Race, a circuit race held over an hourat the Palatine Circuit in Blackpool. It broughtup the next problem for a newbie like me - howto read the break.The decisive move in Blackpool came at the

mid-point, when six riders broke clear. I attackedagain-and-again, but just couldn't bridge the gap.The good news was when I rolled in I wasgetting closer to a top 10 finish. And in a bunchsprint of 10 riders, you have a pretty goodchance to win or podium.A week later was the lumpy Aughton Road Raceorganised by Lune RCC. The race sprung intolife after 22-miles, with a group of five ridersescaping and working well together to pull awaygradually. Once again, I missed the break and was boxedin by others not eager to chase – costing mevaluable seconds. I didn't manage to bridge thegap and rolled in 14th out of 40 riders. I wasgetting frustrated with myself at this point – I’dmissed the decisive break two weeks in a row.However, I put this down to experience and

thought that I would eventually be able to sussout whether a breakaway was going to succeedor not. With two months of racing done, it wastime for a mid-season break. Well, a switch tomore work rather than a break - I had my AS-Level exams and therefore had to put all my timeinto preparing for them.With my exams finished, my next race was theHorwich Handicap Road Race. Having hardlytouched the bike in three weeks, I knew that Ihad inevitably lost some fitness (and it showed).When the E/1/2 group caught our group andcame powering through, the pace was suddenlytoo high for me and I soon dropped off the mainpeloton. Nevertheless, it was good to get theworkout and force some speed back into mylegs. After a two week break from weekend racing, it

SPIN Josh Townson


was time for the Horwich Festival of Racing and another newexperience - crashing. This time, the race started off at aferocious speed. My legs were not ready for the sudden andprolonged injection of pace. I remained at the back of thepeloton, suffering and just about hanging on lap-by-lap.On the last lap of the race, another rider crashed in front of me,causing me to be forced straight over my handlebars and ontothe tarmac. Lying there, the feeling of shock soon disappearedand I started checking my injuries, which weren't pretty - a de-gloved hand, which required stitches, and road rash on myelbows knees and lower back.Worse news followed when I checked my bike and found mybeloved Kuota KOM Evo frame was cracked in two places. Thiswas a definite low of my racing season, as I stood there drippingblood and wondering how I was to finish the rest of my seasonon my winter bike.Good luck came my way, though. Within a couple of days, I'dhad a phone call from Craig Middleton – managing director ofOnix Bikes, who had heard about my crash and very kindlyoffered me the chance to borrow an Onix Azzuro race bike.I couldn't limp over covered in road rash fast enough and I wasstraight back in action at the tenth CDNW league event at PimboIndustrial Estate. The bike felt great and despite the tightnessfrom the knocks and lack of fitness, again I managed to grit myteeth, do a lot of work - chasing and attacking, which I hopedwould still pay off later on in the season. Luckily, I managed tocome in the top 30 out of 55 riders.Two weeks later was the Birkenhead Park Handicap Road Race.Every five laps in this race, there was a prime 'sprint' lap. I liketo conserve energy and not contest these prime laps, but the shortsteep incline leading up to the finish line was the sort of climb Ilove.I wasn't sure if I could hang on for subsequent laps, so I tried tosurprise the group by going for the first prime sprint. I sat in andused lead riders up the incline and then came around them asthey lined up to contest the line and I won.Five laps later, the bell rung to signal the beginning of anotherprime 'sprint' lap. I thought that I may as well have anotherattempt and try and make it two prime lap wins. Unfortunately,I lost out by the smallest of margins to a second category rider.All the same, I was happy to have been able to battle for twosprint laps and I ended up taking 10th place out of 40 riders inthe bunch sprint, so I had arrived. I do not often win a lot of prizemoney, but I walked away from this race with £60 for a primelap win and, more importantly, the best placed third categoryrider!It's funny, but training with people you race against isn't thesame as racing itself. The Birkenhead handicap gave me proof Caption goes here

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that I was good enough to be at the front. Itseemed that I was finally coming into form andI carried this into the 12th CDNW league eventat Dolphinholme.It's a brutally hilly circuit on the edge of theTrough of Bowland and with strong winds itwas not long before a select group of ridersbroke away to create a lead group of 10 riders.I was learning to recognise certain riders andform. This time I had a good sense of the abilityof riders within the break away and realised thatit was going to stay away. So, although I'dmissed the break yet again (I have to work onthat one), I made the decision to join them.After relentlessly chasing for three miles, Ithankfully got up to them and had a little time torest before the final contest for the line - a lastminute sprint up a very deceiving hard incline. Ifound myself leading with 100 metres left to

race. At this point, my legs were screaming inpain and I had nothing left to give. The eventualwinner kicked past me with 20 yards to the finishline to take the win. Damn. Looking at itafterwards, I'd raced across to the break awayand I'd finished second out of 56 starters withonly 25 riders successfully finishing the race. Ihad never thought that I was capable ofachieving second place on what is considered tobe the hardest and most selective CDNW course.I was made up.The icing on the sticky bun was that I now hadenough British Cycling License Points to attainsecond category racing status. All the effort andperseverance through the hiccups of the crashand the DNF's had paid off.The last event in the CDNW Road League atBashall Eaves was to be my first E/1/2 race.Rolling out of race headquarters in wet weather

when you’re not in form doesn't put you in avery optimistic mood.It was also another level up for my young legs.I will openly admit I was in awe of some of the'big-hitters' in this race, which meant I was ahanging on with gritted teeth near the back of thebunch. Paul Fournel says in his book Vélo thatyou don't want to be at the front working - or atthe back getting knocked off - where you wantto be is safe in the middle. Unfortunately, that'sjust where everyone else is fighting to be.Spinning my legs on restricted junior gears at38mph was pretty gruelling and, as a result, Ionly managed to stay with the peloton for half alap before I got dropped. Despite feeling weak,I pushed on in the wet weather, but then apuncture put an end to my last road race of theseason.It was a bit of an anti-climax to end my racing

season that way, but there had been a lot to beproud of. At the Litherland Circuit League, I'dwon the third category junior league. Even moreprecious was that with all my results totted up,I'd also won the season-long Junior Star Trophy.I finished eighth out of 38 riders in the AshurstBeacon Inter-Club Hill Climb. I then finished the2012 racing season with a good result in theHarry Middleton CC Hill Climb Competition,finishing second out of 41 riders on the dreadedHunters Hill.It's been an eventful first season for me with amixture of success and failure - more successthan failure in the end. I plan to come back nextseason, stronger, fitter and capable of winning aroad race. Thankfully, the inevitable march oftime towards spring, where it all starts again, hasalready begun and so has the winter training.Roll on 2013.

IRONY. It's a funny ol' thing. Especially when TylerHamilton's book, The Secret Race, in which he blew thelid on doping at the US Postal Service team, has won the

2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award 12 yearsafter Lance Armstrong's It's Not About The Bike scooped thesame prize.If, like me, you watched Armstrong's last winner's speechfrom the TDF podium in 2005 - as he admonished the worldpress and all those that 'can't believe in miracles' - were youasking yourself the same question I was? 'Has he really beenriding clean and beaten a field of dopers for the past sevenyears in a row - or does he not recognise what he's done ascheating?'Seven years later and the answer is finally here. I've read afair few cycle books and biographies over the years and TheSecret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France:Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at al Costs (to give it its fulltitle) starts with the familiar gold lit groundwork: Hamilton'sapple pie childhood through his first junior races to becominga pro - but when our bright-eyed boy joins US Postal in 1995it becomes a very dark tale indeed.If, like me, you were still expecting a slightly cheesy "I wason a journey" routine and maybe a few self-servingrecollections of reluctant pill-popping at the back of the buswith the big boys I advise you to hold onto your handlebars.What you get is the best account yet of the whole rotten armsrace of drug taking that was pro cycling in the 1990's - andinto the new century.It's a well written description of what it took - or should I say'one took' - to compete in a sport where you had to assume thateveryone around you had an unfair advantage. To keep up with

It’s all about thedoping for Tyler

Review By Dan Kenyon

The Secret Race - TylerHamilton & Daniel CoylePrice: £18.99

SPIN Book review


http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Secret-Race-Cover-ups-Winning/dp/0593071735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354281242&sr=8-1

them you either joined them or got off thebike for good.Hamilton grew wise pretty quickly: "...Fora thousand days, I'd been cheated out of mylivelihood and there was no sign that thingswere going to get any better. So I did whatmany others had done before me. I joinedthe brotherhood".And did he ever. Hamilton's tale makesDavid Miller's couple of guilty EPOsessions seem like sharing a spliff behindthe bike sheds with Cindy from 5C.Hamilton gives you the whole pharmacy asit developed: how much a singletestosterone pill might boost yourperformance for the next day, how micro-doses of EPO over a stage race kept yourhematocrit levels below 50 to beat thetesters - and finally popping off to Valenciain a private jet with Lance and the boys tobank pints of blood in preparation for the2000 Tour.The science is nicely balanced with a littlefarce. The testers weren't just clueless aboutwhat was being taken and how - theyweren't even catching people at home.Avoiding a surprise test by lying on the flooras the tester knocked on the door was anoption, and that one tester would alwaysinnocently ring up a rider in Gerona thenight before to make sure there were enough

riders in the city to warrant him driving overnext morning.Cue Carry On Doper scenes as riders still'hot' with traces in their system hydratedfuriously to flush out the traces oftestosterone and EPO micro-dopingovernight - or popped out on the bike inplain kit next morning, not to come backuntil after teatime.Hamilton also recounts on one his shadowytrips to Spain - to bank blood with DrFuentes (of Operacion Puerto fame) -spotting Vinokourov sipping coffee in a cafenear the doctor's offices and the realisationthat he and Vino are using the same dodgydoctor.Of course, this book is as much aboutArmstrong as Hamilton - and to his creditHamilton holds up his hands for them both.When asked on 60 Minutes: "Why did youdope?" Hamilton replied: "What would youhave done?"What would any of us have done in thatsituation? It wasn't as if Armstrong couldreally have chosen to win clean in theclimate of the those times - especiallysomeone as competitive as Armstrong. Hewas a phenomenally aggressive and talentedrider.In a clean sport against a clean field ofriders, he may still have won a few Tours.

Armstrong took the decision that he didn'tbeat cancer and re-train for the Tour deFrance just to lose clean to dopers. His ownego and the growing scope of hisachievement took over from there.Hamilton says: "Lance would sooner diethan admit it, but being forced to tell thetruth might be the best thing that everhappened to him."I doubt Armstrong will ever come clean:having read this book I don't need him toany more.A few people I've talked to since Armstrongwas stripped of his titles by USADA in Junehave said: "Who cares? Let's move on."Armstrong has stated that he too is 'movingon'. The Secret Race moves us all on. Itdraws a line under the Armstrong era andreaffirms that doping hasn't gone away andit isn't going to stop evolving.Pro cycling's growing success is only goingto make the stakes higher. Let's hope thesport's governing body can employ the rightpeople in future to oversee it, improve itstesting to keep up with doping, and perhapsthe sport can move on as well.

VERDICT: An insightful, honest andcompelling insider's account of doping in

the pro-peloton.

An insightful, honest and compelling insider'saccount of drug-taking in pro peloton

SPIN Book Review


Club rider

No.1: The Grimpeur

...every club has ’em

“Is that a compact? We never had no compacts inmy day. It would be eight times over the Cat & Fid-dle with a 39/21 and then a sprint finish. We’d trainwith sand inside the seat tube - and with woollenshorts.The what? The Marmotte???!!! What do you wantto do that for? It’s rubbish. Just for those poncyLondon Raffia types with their £200 shorts.The Stelvio - now that’s what you should be doing.The Pirate - he could climb, even if he was onfunny juice. I beat him on the Gran Fondo oneyear.Ventoux? I did it from Bedoin in 46 minutes in1979 on me own...of course, this was long beforeyour fancy computers.The Tourmalet? That’s for amateurs, that is. Racedthat both ways in 1982 - in the snow - on nothingbut a bottle of pop...

by ‘Wheelsucker’

We take a look at the wonderfully muddy world of cyclocross

Next issueThanks for dropping by and see you on February 1st 2013

SPIN


// KIRKBY C.C. SUPPLEMENT

All photos courtesy of the Liverpool Post & Echo

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Ken Matthews, right, president of Kirkby Cycling Club, together with some of the riders whowill be taking part in the sports centre charity ride during May 1992

Taken on June 29, 1984, this photo shows, left to right, John Cavanagh, Doug Dailey, NigelSimpson

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Kirkby CyclingClub's Matthew

Middleton taken inMay 1992

A panoramic view of the new stadium under construction at Westvale taken on July 18, 1963

A.Boardman (Molyneux RC), second from left, won the greatest number of laps in the 10 laps course de primeat the Kirkby Grand Prix meeting back in August 1966

Kirkby-Puch riders Kenny Loughlin, Alan Tandy and Alan Bebby afterdominating the junior event during July 1981

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Kirkby-Puch Cycling Club's Nigel Simpson inaction near Fold End Bungalow in SineacreLane, Bickerstaffe. Simpson won the British

Junior Road Race Championships atRotheram on September 18, 1983

Members of the BCF at Kirkby stadium back in June 1966

Left to right: Nigel Simpson, John Cavanagh and DougDailey, who grabbed a unique treble for Kirkby CCback in June 1986.For the second week running, Merseyside was thescene of the top amateur road race in the country - there-vamped 50-mile Mersey Roads Club Circuit ofAshurst. Back to the normality of a six-strong field onthe open road. The revised course meant eight climbs ofthe tough Ashurst Beacon and a fast descent downBank Top, normally the stiffest climb on the course.Race HQ was at the Nye Beavan Pool in Skelmersdale.

Kevin Apter receives a victory kiss from Miss Golden Wonder,Maria Lynch, during the Golden Wonder Cycle Race back in

August 1974

SPIN Kirkby CC


In June 1984, DaveLloyd, Wirral's multiBritish track recordholder, may have beendue to retire afterannouncing the shocknews mid-season, but hewas in action - this timeon a ceremonial basis.Dave cut the ribbonacross the newly-laidKirkby Sports Centretrack to mark the start ofthe 1984 season. All thebig names turned out,with a fair share of prochamps such as Falconroad stars Phil Thomasand Bill Nickson, as wellas triple gold medalchamp Terry Tinsley.Thomas was in greatform, winning two seniorevents with Nickson alsoa winner, but theamateurs were not out ofit when the new sprintingstar Paul McHugh edgedhome to win a specialpro-am race

SPIN Kirkby CC


Kirkby Cycling Club enjoyed their best season on the track at their Kirkby Sports Centre base -landing three top titles back in September 1993. They finished as team champions to lift theBrooklands Trophy, while junior rider Michael Rumph topped the season-long points table -the first junior to achieve this honour. Five year rider Tom Murphy won the prestigious EchoEpic series based on the final distance race at each of the 15 meetings. Pictured, from left toright, are the winning team of Michael Rumph, Tom Murphy and Paul Whitelaw

Mr David Tempest, leader of Knowsley Borough Council, pictured with some of the recipientsat the annual prize-giving of Kirkby Cycling Club at the town's sports centre back in February1975

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Members of the BCF inaction at Kirkby stadium

during June 1966

During October 1991, the annual prize presentation of the Kirkby Cycling Club took place at the Kirkby Stadium. Pictured here are four of the main prize-winners - left to right areAndy Mills (Merseyside Road Race Champion), father and son team Mark and Howard Bolt, who won the A and B leagues in the Kirkby track season, and Ken Matthews with theBrooklands Trophy for the Kirkby Track League champion club, won by Kirkby Cycling Club

SPIN Kirkby CC


ABOVE: Mr Tom Pinnington (centre) chairman of the Liverpool MercuryClub, who was guest of honour at the Kirkby Cycling Club's annual dinnerand presentation back in November 1971, pictured with some of the Kirkbyclub's top prize winning riders. They are (left to right) Dave Lloyd, RitchieGregson, Billy Whiteside, Phil Thomas, John Cleworth, Dough Dailey,Phil Carnal, Alan Fairhurst and Dave Penketh

LEFT: Former British Champion and record holder Larry Ross, 78, centre, wasguest of honour at the Kirkby-Pugh Cycling Club's annual presentation eveningheld at the Bootle Sports Centre back in November 1983. Ross' long-standingrecord was broken when two of Kirkby's members received Championship trophies- the first time any club has done the 'double'. He presented Nigel Simpson,centre-left, with the British Road Race Junior Champions award, and JohnCavanagh, centre-right, received the British Senior Race Championships Trophy,along with the Echo Star award. With them are some of the club's members, whoreceived awards from the fifty trophies, which were presented along withcertificates

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Former World Champion cyclist Reg Harris cuts the tape with the help of the Mayor of Knowsley Cllr George Taylor at thenewly-re-surfaced Kirkby Stadium cycle track back in August 1984

ABOVE: Members of the BCF at Kirkby Stadium in action backin June 1966

LEFT: Winningteam in theInternational TeamTime Trial over50km in the Isle ofMan (June 1971) -Kirkby CC were theonly team to beatFrance, W.Germany,Holland in newrecord time of1hr10min40s

RIGHT: Dailey,Vose, Clewwarth,

Gregson during theCircuit of Ashurst

back in March 1973

SPIN Kirkby CC


KIRKBY STADIUM1964-2007

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