On Sunday 1st March 2020, riders from Burnley and Pendle CTC and Barnoldswick Clarion met at the Esse Cafe in Barnoldswick for a joint ride to Earby for a very special occasion.
One of our members, David Wilkinson, was celebrating his 90th Birthday, and his daughter, Margaret (who rides most weekends with the club) had arranged a special day for him, meeting family and friends from a lifetime of cycling.
Whilst planning the party, we also discovered that David had been a member of our club for 50 years, so in addition to celebrating his birthday, David was presented with a commemorative certificate by our club president, Jim Duerden.
The photos show some of the riders on their way to the party, David (in his younger years, on the left), and other shots form the day.
Here's what Margaret had to say about her dad's cycling life.
"Dad lived in Foulridge until 1947, he moved to Earby along with his widowed mother and siblings. After his fathers in death in 1943 his maternal uncle Jimmy encouraged him to take up cycling, he took him out and showed him the ropes. In 1947 after they moved to Earby Dad joined Barnoldswick Clarion Cycling Club, this being the nearest cycling club to his home. Where, he met Mum, who lived in Barnoldswick and had joined the Clarion in 1946. They started courting soon after. They enjoyed cycling together happily ever after.
Mum and Dad were both very fit and were hard riders regularly riding 80 – 100 miles each Sunday on the club runs. In those early days the roads were quiet as there was still petrol rationing so they could ride hard and fast on the main roads to the Lakes and Dales. The Clarion runs also took on tracks and footpaths, taking their bikes over high passes and moors. They were young and fit so this was no great problem they enjoyed the challenge and experience of being out in the wild areas. They have many stories of being lost on moors, caught in snowstorms, breakdowns and long, long days in the saddle, with great characters and friendships. The club also held cycle races and hill climbs both Mum and Dad competed in these, both winning club medals.
Not long after the war ended Dad wanted to upgrade his bike to improve his “speed” he needed new light weight wheels, but these were is short supply and the only ones he could find were in Newcastle, so he cycled there on a Saturday bought the wheels, put them onto a train to deliver them to Earby station. He stayed overnight in the Youth Hostel, then cycled home again on the Sunday. When he was conscripted into the Army for his National Service he would try to cycle home whenever he had any leave. Mum recalls that she would have plans for the weekend, then would receive a letter from Dad to say he was coming home and for her to meet him part way, she would then be met by a hot sweaty Dad having ridden hard all the way from Stoke on Trent, where he was stationed. When he was posted to Germany his brother joked “well that will stop you pedaling home”. He eventually managed to buy a pre-war “Curlyback” Hetchins bike, and when they got engaged he also bought one for Mum, the family joke is that mum didn’t get an engagement ring she got a Hetchins bike, Dad always the practical one.
I have memories of cycling holidays as a child my first holiday was when only 3 months old (I don’t remember that one), I rode in a side car on Dads bike, when my brother and then sister arrived the single sidecar was joined by child seats, then 2 tandems with raised pedals at the rear and a child seat,. We even went to the Isle of Man with the tandems, catching the train from Earby to Fleetwood, with the tandems loaded with all the baggage a family of 5 would require for a weeks’ holiday. Sadly when Anne my sister was too big for the child seat and I was not yet old enough to ride my own bike, the family cycling had to stop and we took up hiking as a family.
Dad still continued cycling when he could but Mum gave up it being too difficult to combine cycling with family life. Life was busy with a growing family and a business to run.
In 1970 Dad joined Burnley and Pendle CTC, and after a few years Mum took up cycling again riding her “engagement” Hetchins. They had so many happy club run outings and holidays. They also took their bikes on many holidays too, first in a Bedford camper van then a trailer tent then finally the comfort of a caravan. The Hetchins were replaced by modern bikes and they were retired to the garage rafters.
Sadly Mum had to give up cycling when she was in her late 70’s, due to poor health, but Dad carried on until he was 85 in 2015. I restarted cycling and joined the CTC in 2006 and had some enjoyable rides out with them, Dad always had a great encyclopaedic knowledge of roads, routes and cycling stories, so was always a great companion on a ride.
Now Dad is 90 and Mum 87 their cycling is all about the memories. Their bikes are still in the garage, lovingly wrapped and oiled. The Hetchins are still there too, but sadly no longer rideable, Dad just didn’t get around to finishing the rebuilds before age and declining health stopped him.
They both have lived a long and happy life’s with lots of adventures and friendships, all through starting cycling in their early teens."
David would like to pass on a big "Thank-You" to every one who came to celebrate, and for all the people who sent cards, he was really touched by how many people came.
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The most closely fought competition in recent years actually started out with us thinking this years quiz might not even happen. A confusion over the booking left our four eager quiz teams stood out in the cold after finding our usual venue was, in fact, closed.
Not to be deterred, our Quiz organiser, lept into action, and secured us an alternate venue for the night in the Red Lion, just a short walk down the road. We forgive them for having their function room decked out for a Baby Shower, given that they made the room available for us with only 5 minutes notice. Our heartfelt thanks go our to the proprietors at the Red Lion for coming to our rescue.
Getting down to business, with Blackburn & District CTC settings this years questions (a dubious honour always extended to last years winners). competition was fierce. We had six rounds of general knowledge questions, along with two picture rounds and a music round. An interesting addition this year, was an Only-Connect inspired "Link" round where we had to identify the link between the answers to four clues (Not as hard as the real Only Connect, we must admit).
As usual, proceedings were interrupted half way through with a Pie & Pea supper.
And the results were...
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | Barnoldswick Clarion | 71 |
| 3rd | Pendle Forrest | 76 ½ |
| 2nd | Blackburn & District | 77 |
| 1st | Burnley & Pendle | 77 ½ |
So congratulations this year goes to ourselves!, and a big well done to all those that took part.
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With snow falling overnight, only two riders turned out for our annual "Christmas Dinner Ride", and, deciding it really wasn't safe to ride, went for a walk along the canal bank instead.
We still had a good turn out for the Christmas Dinner itself, and presentation of awards at Rolls Royce Social Club in Barnoldswick.
Challenge Rides
After the meal, certificates were presented to those riders who had completed one or more of our five Challenge Rides, held throughout the year.
A special mention for John Ramsden, being the only member to complete the 50 mile Challenge Ride in appalling conditions.
| 25 mile | 50 km | 50 mile | 100 km | 100 mile |
|
John Ramsden |
Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Pamela Prenton Lesley Windsor David Tinker Harry Taylor Mary Chris Wallace |
John Ramsden |
Mark Clegg |
Mark Clegg John Ramsden Dorothy Altham Trevor Stansfield Jim Cooper Susn Whitehead |
Congrtulations to all...
Any members who were not able to attend the Christmas Dinner, and would like their certificates, should contact Jim Duerden.
Trophies
Next the Bill Heywood and Jack Harrison trophies were awarded to Mick Stone and Harry Taylor. These are presented based on merit / services to the club as decied by the committee. As Mick was unable to attend the Dinner, his trophy was accepted on his behalf by Sean Kirkwood who will ensure Mick receives it in the next day or so.
Congratulations to both...
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Five teams gathered in Boyces Barrel in Colne for this years annual quiz night.
As is tradition, last years winners had the enviable task of being this years question setters, and Pendle Forrest really gave us a challenging night, starting with a picture round, identifying famous people on their bikes - none of whom were actually cyclists!.
Then followed six question rounds, on various subjects: general knowledge, history, and a hidden connection round, where all the answers had a common theme.
Between the rounds, we were treated to a Pie and Pea supper, which always goes down well on our Quiz Nights.
And the final scores were...
| 1st Place | Team Dirk (Blackburn & District) | 58 points |
| 2nd Place | Under Pressure (Burnley & Pendle) | 54 points |
| 3rd Place | Barlick Clarion | 46 points |
| 4th | Blackburn Tea Bags (Blackburn & District) | 43 points |
| 5th | Magic Tricycle (Burnley & Pendle) | 38 points |
Well done to Blackburm & District - we look forward to you setting next years questions.
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With a damp start to the day only three riders turned out for our annual "Christmas Dinner Ride", but we still had a good turn out for the meal, and presentation of awards at Rolls Royce Social Club in Barnoldswick.
Challenge Rides
After the meal, certificates were presented to those riders who had completed one or more of our five Challenge Rides, held throughout the year.
| 25 mile | 50 km | 50 mile | 100 km | 100 mile |
|
John Ramsden |
Pete Holmes David Tinker Pamela Prenton Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Mrs S Stansfield Linda Rimmington Harry Taylor Margaret Brown |
Mark Clegg Mick Stone David Tinker Sandra Johnson Pete Holmes Trevor Standfield John Durkin |
Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Jim Cooper Mark Clegg John Durkin Pete Holmes David Tinker Eve Davies Heywood |
Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Mark Clegg |
Congrtulations to all...
Trophies
Next the Bill Heywood and Jack Harrison trophies were awarded to Mark Clegg and Jackie Duerden. These are presented based on merit / services to the club as decied by the committee and vote at our AGM.
Congratulations to both...
Special Award
Finally a special presentation glass tankard was awarded to Ian Lowcock for 50 years loyal service on the clubs committee.
Well done Ian - Outstanding!.
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Our annual inter-club Quiz Night has become somewhat of a tradition in recent years, with seven teams gathering at Boyce's Barrel in Colne for this years fiercely contested competition.
As with previous years, last years winners were tasked with setting the questions, and the "honour" this year fell upon Blackburn & District CTC.
We started the evening with a Photo round, identifying noteworthy events from 2017, ranging from President Trump's inauguration in January to the Strictly Come Dancing final in December.
Following that, were three question rounds on general knowledge - including, surprise, surprise, some cycling related questions (shamefully, we weren't very good at those!)
We then took a short interlude for our favourite part of the evening - Pie & Pea supper, before continuing with a second picture round, themed around the Winter Olympics, and two more question rounds, including one on "British Citizenship" questions (we won't mention how we did on that!, other than to say we can all stay in the country. - Just!)
And the final scores were...
| 1st Place | 82 points | The Dopey Pedallers (Pendle Forrest) |
| 2nd Place | 77 points | Round the Barrel (Burnley & Pendle CTC) |
| 3rd Place | 76 points | Barlic Clarion |
| 4th | 75 points | The Dim Wits |
| 5th | 72 points | Blackburn & District CTC |
| 72 points | Hot Sarsaparilla (Burnley & Pendle CTC) | |
| 7th | 66 points | The Four Seas (Clitheroe Clarion) |
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Sunday 3rd December 2017 was our annual Christmas Diiner ride.
This year we had once again booked into the Rolls Royce Social Club in Barnoldswick, where we set of for a short ride at 10am to work up an appetite for our meal at 3pm.
Twelve riders rode out today, heading through Barnoldswick to Paythorne and on to Hellifield for toasted teacakes and coffee. We then headed on to Airton, returning via Gargrave. It was quite a mild day, with plenty of sunshine putting us in a good mood for our dinner.
As is traditional, some riders decorated their bikes with tinsel, and others decorated themselves...
After the ride, other members joined us for our annual Christmas Diiner...
To round off a great day day, awards were presented to those that had completed our four challenge rides which were held earlier in the year.
| 50km Challenge | 50mile Challenge | 100km Challenge | 100mile Challenge |
|
Harry Taylor |
Harry Taylor Pamela Prenton Lesley Windsor David Tinker Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Margaret Brown Andy Evenson Mark Clegg Mick Stone Jim Cooper Sandra Johnson |
Hary Taylor Mark Clegg Jim Duerden Jackie Duerden Mick Stone Jim Cooper Dorothy Altham David Tinker |
Mark Clegg Mick Stone Jim Cooper Pete Bradford John Yardley |
Finally, the Bill Heywood trophy was awarded to Pamela Prenton for her determination to continue earlier in the year, and the Jack Harrison trophy was awarded to Mick Stone for being the only rider to complete all four of our challenge rides.
Congratulations to all our prize winners.
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