Brereton Wheelers CC

News added 26/06/2010

The latest installment of Brereton Wheelers’ evening time trial programme produced an array of good times with Neil Walker once more top of the shop. Neil’s 11 minutes and 51 seconds for the 5 mile dash represented both a personal best and the club’s fastest time of the event.
The pleasant early summer’s evening gave rise to a number of pleasing performances and none more so than Ian Robinson’s 14-40. After a couple of seasons out of competition it was a welcome return. Keeping him company wife Anne notched up a 14-30 for good measure.
Also among the personal bests was Ian Beard his 12-44 slicing 8 seconds from his previous best. Steve Moss and Steve Williams were also in the same ballpark, their respective 12-09 and 12-17 rides falling just 3 seconds short of their own records.
Ensconced as part of the club’s furniture Richard Lewis and Brian Hession brought their own touch of class to the event. With nearly 90 years experience between them they clocked up 13-24 and 15-11 respectively.
Through the powers of the club’s web site, during the long gone winter, Brereton attracted the attention of a grandson of Rugeley Golden Arrow member Doug Manton. The Arrow was Rugeley’s pre-war cycling club and Doug was himself an exceptional rider. Unfortunately with the onset of war the club disbanded however the spirit of cycling was born again locally through the emergence of Brereton Wheelers.
With this link to Rugeley and Brereton Doug’s grandson, Andy, made contact with the club, from his Birmingham home, expressing a wish to represent them in a charity ride and carry the Brereton jersey into France. Delighted at the connection club members supplied jerseys and the ride in aid of Help for Heroes 3rd Battlefield was undertaken at the end of May.
Five days of incessant cycling, punctuated by food and overnight stops, took riders from Fecamp across France. Lunch stops served to emphasise the purpose of the ride with famous memorial landmarks chosen to host the breaks. Information on each memorial was generously given by knowledgeable guides before the journey began once more in earnest.
At the end of the five days the charity ensemble arrived in Dunkirk for what was the 70th anniversary of the evacuation by the little ships. Andy quoted that ‘It was quite emotional seeing the veterans and I was lucky enough to have my photo taken with one of them. He was a great old chap telling me how he was a good cyclist when he was younger!!’
 The trip back to the UK was via landing crafts with the Royal Marines, to the Royal Navy ship, Largs Bay, finally docking back in Dover.
Some 300 cyclists that took part in the venture, estimated to have raised over £1 million for the charity, of which Andy generated an astounding £5000.
This latest chapter in the club’s history is timed to perfection and is inspirational on the eve of the club’s next major venture, the mammoth 150 miles in a single day charity ride on Saturday July 10th.