No slowing down on the bike for Mike!

He cycled 70 and 75 miles to celebrate other important half decades since retirement but as a concession to a bit of arthritis in the hips is now going metric alongside old friends Peter Hambley and Peter Swindon in the Trent Valley, near his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, plus son David, who is threatening to act as chaperone to three 80-year-old cycling enthusiasts.

It is a lovely story and we couldn’t resist the chance to fire a few questions at Mike before he set off.

Mike, thanks for chatting to us – how long have you been cycling?

“I cannot take all the credit for being a cyclist – I had the right genes passed down to me from two or three generations. My great uncle rode a Penny Farthing but had the misfortune to fall off and died as a result. My father was a very competitive racing cyclist in the Midlands in the 1920’s and he gave me a great deal of encouragement when I was old enough to ride a bike.

“I started cycling at the age of about six weeks, my wealthy godfather bought me a deluxe sidecar to fit to Mum and Dad’s tandem and we were soon on the road together and cycle-camping, even coming as far as St. David’s from Birmingham for one holiday.

“I learnt to ride a bike when I was about six, but had to wait until my eighth birthday before I got my first bike, and this opened a completely new world for me. I could go off for hours on relatively traffic free roads and no one would ever want to know where I had been.”

When did you start cycling competitively?

“We moved from the Midlands to N. Staffs in 1947 and Dad started Cheadle Cycling Club, (I think to encourage me to take up cycling seriously rather than going around with girls!). While with this club I rode my first 10 mile Time Trial in 1949 when I was 14, managing to finish with a time of 28m 45s – that was the start of a 10 year period of cycle racing.

“In 1952, I joined St. Christopher’s Catholic Cycling Club and started to race seriously. St. Christopher’s C.C.C. was a national club with sections from London to Scotland. By 1957, I had won the Senior Championship four times and won the National St. Christopher’s Best All Rounder competition over 25, 50 and 100miles with an average speed of 23.725 m.p.h.”

You told me once that you did take a short break from cycling so much – what happened there?

“In 1958, I met Chris, who was to become my wife three years later. She took up cycling and we had many happy cycling tours including one Easter tour in the Cirencester area. We rode 100 miles in the day to get back home in time for the regular dances that we attended, but after the ride I don’t think Chris was up to much dancing, but it was a great achievement.

“My racing career started to go downhill in 1958 and not just because I had met my future wife, I had bought a car when the Suez Crisis was on and learner drivers did not have to have an experienced driver with them. I bought a Singer 9 for £30 and drove it from Manchester to our home near Alton Towers, having never driven a car before.

“Having a car meant that I did not have to ride my bike everywhere and so did not get the training in that I should have done.”

But you eventually got back in the saddle seriously?

“In the July of that year, I, along with 120 of the fastest 25 milers in the country, was invited to ride in a special Empire Games 25m Time Trial near Cardiff.

"Never having been to South Wales in my life I had no idea how hilly the course would be and rode with a higher gear than I should have done, finishing with a time of 1hr. 3mins, some 6 minutes slower than the winning time. I had been doing 25 miles in less than one hour prior to this event, but my poor result was mainly due to lack of training, not being over geared.

“I should explain that everybody riding Time Trials in my days rode a single fixed gear, multiple gears were not thought necessary for Time Trials on relatively flat roads and of course, they were lighter than multiple gears.”

What caused you to step down from the competitive stuff?

“In 1959, I rode my last race almost 10 years after riding my first event. It was now time to give something back to the club and I became Racing Secretary for a number of years, organising Time Trials and Massed Start races in Derbyshire – sadist! Chris was also very active in the Club, organising social events and we won the Clubman of the Year trophy for our efforts.

“In 1961, Chris and I were married and it was’ all change’ with five children arriving between 1962 and 1969. We moved to Pembrokeshire in 1967 when I took up a job with the Pembrokeshire Water Board, as it was in those days. Cycling took a back seat until about 1977 when David was 12 and he and a schoolmate set off on their first tour of Pembrokeshire.”

How did ‘Mike’s Bikes’ come about then?

“I took retirement in 1990 and opened 'Mikes Bikes' in Prendergast, Haverfordwest. I knew nothing about retailing but I did know something about cycling and although I was warned that it was not a good time to be opening a shop in a recession, I went ahead and loved every minute. After 12 years I handed over to my son-in-law, Mark Rendall, who, with his son Shaun, expanded the business to what it is today – probably the leading cycle shop in Pembrokeshire.

“Soon after opening the cycle shop, I joined several others in founding the Pembrokeshire Freewheelers, which is now a thriving social cycling club of some 40 riders from across Pembrokeshire. Feeling that I was getting fit again, I started to race in Pembrokeshire Velo events and recorded a time for a 10m time trial only 34 seconds slower than my first 10-mile event ridden 50 years previously.”

Can you tell us a bit about your special celebrations five and ten years ago?

“In 2010, I reached the age of 75 along with my ex-racing club mates, and we decided to do a 75-mile ride to celebrate the occasion and repeated this event a couple of times afterwards. This year we will all reach 80, and have agreed that we should change the distance from miles to kilometres! I shall travel to the Midlands, where it is flatter than Pembrokeshire, to take part in this year’s celebration ride on July 30.

“Cycling has given Chris and me a great deal of pleasure, allowing us go to places and make lifelong friends that would not have happened had we not cycled and, in Chris’ case, played netball.

"Even though Chris is now bionic after having had hips and knees replaced, she is starting to get back into cycling on her electric bike, and, who knows, one day she may achieve that magic 100 miles in the day again.”

You enjoy a challenge – tell us about some of them?

"One came five years ago when me and Christine were visiting our son Phillip and family in Australia and discovered that Phil had entered us for the ‘Brisbane to Gold Coast Challenge’.

“It was a bit of a surprise but we completed the 100km route in four and a half hours and it was doubly pleasing because we spent almost 30 minutes negotiating the start amongst the other 9,198 cyclists!

"I also joined Neil Mayman in cycling from Llangwm to Birmingham to raise funds for Withybush Hospital and Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital.

“It was at this time I swapped my trusty old bike for a carbon-fibre model and couldn’t believe what a help it was, especially up steep hills and at my advanced age."

A family mole tells me that you are known for causing chaos?

“Just a little!

"Another test of endurance was joining Ian Wilshaw in cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 11 days, averaging 76 miles per day.

“We were proud of him,” added Christine, “although he caused something of a stir because after they had set off we eventually decided it was time to go and discovered Mike still had the car keys in his pocket. It meant a bit of a chase from some friends to find him on the road!"

Mike added: "It was almost a similar story when I cycled from St Justinian’s (St Davids) to Great Yarmouth on a west coast to east coast run that entailed cycling 400 miles in four days.

“I had only just set off when I heard shouting behind me and I realised I still had my car keys in my pocket!”

Were you influenced by other cyclists when you set out?

“One name that immediately comes to his mind is Reg Harries, the top racer of the 60s who won a British title when he was 52.

“I used to watch him train at the Halesowen Cycling and Athletic Club, and there were a few times I spoke to him in odd moments when he was relaxing.

“The other top cyclist of that era was Beryl Burton, easily the best known lady in cycling then so when Christine and I organised a 30-mile race for charity we were thrilled when she agreed to take part.

“It was held at Cheadle, in the Midlands, but although we delayed the start for half an hour there was still no sign of her so we had to get the racers off – but she turned up another 15 minutes after that because she had driven first to Cheadle in Cheshire!

“She had changed en route and just got on her bike and set off in pursuit of the other riders – and had the biggest cheer I’ve heard when she actually finished first, having passed everyone and built up a lead. Some performance!”

On the subject of performances, we wish Mike every success in his next venture, cycling those 80 kilometres near his 80th birthday, something of a feat in anyone’s book!