Look Who’s Loving the Bike – February
As always, at the top of each month we like to feature the amazing stories and memories of people who are loving the bike. Please take a look at what our February 2011 lovers have to say. Hey…..and we’d love to hear from you as well….feel free to submit your “Look Who’s Loving the Bike” story to us at any time.
Cliff Wilson – Guildford, United Kingdom
“My first real cycling memory was seeing a tv programme about “non-mainstream” sports. They showed some old black and white stuff of the Giro and the Tour. On to the screen flowed Coppi (The Heron). I was transfixed. The flair, the style, the panache. He was just clearly in a different league. Such metronomic perfection. The show included material on Anquetil, Louison Bobet and others, and finally, Tom Simpson in that unforgettable black and white checker Peugeot jersey.
From that moment on I was absolutely, totally, utterly hooked! It was all so foreign and different and exciting. The first time I travelled to France to follow the Tour I nearly died with excitement. I came home, saved for a year and bought my first bike – a Bob Jackson Reynolds 531 frame – kitted out with parts from the likes of Mavic, Campagnolo, Cinelli, Christophe, Hutchison – Gawd, pure magic……”
Gerry Korzi – Atlanta, GA
“Most likely seeing someone in town with one of those ‘English racers’. I wanted one with a passion. 40 years later I still lust after new models. I still miss the days when I didn’t have to change close to ride my bike, the tires never needed air and the chain didn’t rust.
Oh, and trying to figure out why someone wouldn’t mind being nicknamed “Cannibal”. Bikes have and always will represent a certain kind a freedom known only to those that ride.
Think back when you were a kid. See, you remember.”
Sheena Aikman – London, United Kingdom
“Riding around the block to see my friends. I was about 8. It was in Blackpool and the freedom was amazing. I still cycle now and the sense of freedom and excitement never goes away. I love cycling!”
Alan Huntley – Doncaster, United Kingdom
“A 3.5 mile time trial when I was 14 organised by the UK womens Lands-end-to John o’Groates record holder (847 miles). Janet Tebbut. She introduced me to cycling all those years ago. I’m 48 now. Thank you Janet.”
Peter Heerland – Amsterdam, Netherlands
“My father was a professional a long time ago and i still remember him falling, always falling on the road, always wounds and he said to me – ‘no cycling for you.’ Then when i got too old to play soccer, I started cycling and now I am riding about 14,000 km per year.
I am 51 years old now and too old to be world champion road cycling, but riding with the other old guys in the Ardennen, I feel like Frederico Bahamontes.”
