What a year 2018 has been! 

We have manufactured x77 products in total this year including x3 cycling kits, and a running kit.

Celebrated our 5th year anniversary with the production of a golden chip-fork!

Manufactured hats inspired by British ornithology, trains, ships, buses and mountaineers. 

Appeared on national television to discuss the Brexit referendum. 

Opened the doors to our Sheffield showroom which has undergone a year-long renovation, situated in a building steeped in local manufacturing history.

We’ve collaborated with a number of UK brands, making small runs of products including the perfect bike with our Sheffield friends at Field Cycles. 

On a personal note, I would just like to thank all our customers and followers for your support and kind words in what has been an amazing year for Mamnick. I am proud to have done the majority of the above in the UK. I strongly believe with the help of our supporters we have built the foundations of an authentic British brand - with equal amounts of integrity and honesty, but always with tongue firmly in cheek - something which sets us apart in an extremely competitive market. 

I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with so many supporters this year both in person and online, all of which have filled me with optimism and excitement for the future of the brand. I couldn’t do what I do without you and I am truly grateful for all your continued support and kind words.  

Looking forward to the 2019 already! 

Keep Yompin! (and watch out for the them Squids!) 

Thom Barnett 

Brand founder // CEO

“One thing at a time, as beautiful as possible” 

Perhaps it’s because my introduction to the bike was guided by a handful of old-school club riders who had earned their spurs riding and racing in a time long before cycling became cool. Cyclists’ were often seen as outsiders. Often exposed to piss-taking and ridicule from those that simply 'don’t get it’. 

Winter riding where I come from consists of riding a trusted steel or aluminium winter bike with full (proper) clearance for mudguards and vitally important mudflap. Usually tyres would be nothing less than 28mm, sometimes with tread. Plenty of clearance for off-roading, perhaps a bike with a longer wheel-base. A saddle-bag is very useful, containing extra kit ~ in case you get caught out by the rain on a long Sunday ride (you can change in the cafe!). Other bits of kit consist of a spare pair of gloves for the same reason and I know some lads who carry a spare couple of tubes and even a tyre. I’ve heard stories of (but never witnessed) old-school pro’s riding through winter with a brick in their saddle bag, to make them stronger. I’m unsure if there is any evidence to back up if this experiment works! I’ve also heard stories of Freddie riding a steel MTB bike with drop handle-bars through winter (and still giving people a tough time on the road). 

Compare the above with how we see winter cycling marketed nowadays. I’ve not seen one mudguard in a photoshoot this year from many of the ‘top’ brands, and I don’t see many out on the road either (not to mention the vital mudflap!). Many new riders idea of a winter bike is their old racing bike, ie. their old summer bike before they bought their expensive new one! How anyone can be happy riding in a group getting covered in shite and covering their cycling compadre in shite off the road is beyond me! 

As for the the kit, I’ve seen brands push their ‘winter kit’ out there, consisting of a thin base-layer and thin polyester jersey! Unless this is a Gabba, Combi or Assos 851 jacket you’re likely to get cold riding in the North, this is especially true in the Peak District. Bib-shorts and leg-warmers are for riding in the Spring/early Autumn. Winter is the time for proper warm tights, really ‘biff’ overshoes. I suppose you could argue with the development of materials such as Gabba or Tempest, that the need for laying-up is changing, but you still wont see me leave the house in winter without a gilet on my back or in my jersey pocket (ever!). So what is deemed ‘acceptable attire’ for winter riding? I am questioning here weather cycling brands have turned their back on ‘authenticity’.

Round our way many riders will opt to wear a pair of winter shoes, MTB or recessed-cleated touring shoes ~ ideal if you need to carry the bike on the shoulder over black-ice or (hopefully) over some rough-stuff! Also great for walking around in the cafe or the pub! Fast carbon soled road shoes are saved for best.

All words by Thom Barnett 

Photos by Nick Newton

"If everybody is doing it one way, there is a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction" - Sam Walton 

Sticking a label on the way you ride seems limiting. It goes against the spirit of cycling to me. Putting people into groups rather than seeing people as individuals is tribal. This can be problematic in the form of bike-riding, politics, thinking and all the vague post-modernist crap in-between!  

Regarding the bike, geography plays a big part - where you live influences your choice of rides which can influence the way you ride.

I’ve met London folk who are forced to do laps of parks to stay fit with the time they have available. I know folk who ride the flatter lanes of Yorkshire, fighting harsh crossed winds, pressing-on, since they don’t have the luxury of the hills of the Peak on their doorstep or a network of bridleways to explore. I’ve ridden with pro’s who clip off the front of group rides to do intervals and mountain-bikers who pootle around the hills and trails looking for a down-hill thrill. Rough-stuff riders whose aim is to get away from traffic, finding a nifty traverse or to stop to look at birds with a lightweight pair of binoculars around their necks (or in their saddle bag) ~ Are they still Yompin? 

Some people need the badge/label before they throw their leg over the top-tube. Fix-wheeling city slickers, rough-stuffer, audaxers and cafe run heroes! Excuse-makers, newbie-faffers ~ Are they still Yompin? I'm not so sure. Some people seem to get 'it', others don't. 

My family used the word 'yomp' when I was growing-up. It was the term we used to describe going for a long walk on a Sunday afternoon before dinner. At the time it made me think of walking from our house through Wickersley wood, Slacks Pond and over to Carr. Later in life I looked into the term and its association with the Royal Marines' long-distance loaded marches carrying full-kit. To me the term lent itself to describe a cycle-tourist riding around the world carrying his life on his bike. Later, I found the acronym of Yomp ~ Your Own Marching Pace, and I came to the conclusion this could could mean any type of riding (or hiking) if indeed the participant is doing it their own way - something I’ve always been drawn to. People doing things their own way, from eccentrics to free-thinkers, polemicists to  commentators. Life’s rich tapestry of ideas and knowledge. Somehow I’ve managed to convince myself (and others) that it’s all Yompin’. 

I like the idea of Yomp being something that crosses these borders, taking the best parts of all of riding and throwing them together into a little niche - continuing the spirit of what I think cycling is all about.  All this said, perhaps I’ve just been massively over-thinking it and maybe I should just ride the bloody bike!  

Words and 'Ice' photo by Thom Barnett 

'Pushing' and 'Club Run' photos by Nick Newton 

We started our walk at the Cutthroat Bridge car park on the A57. I have walked and cycled around the woodland-fringed parts of the Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs many times so I decided a different approach was necessary. 

I have never been up to the Millstone grit escarpment that lies on Derwent Edge and when you get up to the junction and the moors that lie above, it feels altogether different in contrast to the valley, much of which is clothed in woodland and braken.

The steep-sided valley edge gives way to miles of bare and largely featureless moorland apart from the occasionally weirdly shaped rocky outcrops that the locals have given names to. At regular intervals you are faced with extravagantly shaped gritstone that has been weathered over many years to produce extraordinary formations. 

Their names reflect what some would say resemble their shape and outline - The Wheel Stones, Salt Cellar, Hurkling Stones and Cakes of Bread. Some have less prosaic names (but are no less striking) including Dovestone Tor and Back Tor (the name of the first Mamnick shirt!). 

The views from the top are certainly worth the effort of scrambling up there, taking in Kinder Scout, Bleaklow and Win Hill to the west as well as down to the reservoirs. It's a fantastic view this time of year. 

We headed east down the valley side, the path turns into a track that leads to Foulstone Farm and onto The Strines. We stopped for a half of pale-ale and a pork-pie in the Strines Inn before taking the footpath off Mortimer Road, cutting through another farm. By this time the sun was setting, silhouetting Win Hill and the wooden pylons. A nice walk that takes 3/4 hours depending on how long you stay in the pub! 

All words and photos by Thom Barnett.

It appears the weather is consistently bleak for the Mam Nick climb, this year was no different. 40mph winds and drizzle made for a epic spectacle with the first rider off at 10.01am.

A swirling gale looked to occasionally help the riders on the lower slopes, before becoming a hazardous crosswind half-way up and a brick-wall headwind over the top. 

61 riders had signed up to tackle the climb including the current record-holder Paddy Clark and a debut for European Champs silver-medalist and cross-country running star Hatti Archer.  

On the day it was Andy Nichols (Team B38/Underpin) who took the win with a time of 06.46.4 for the Men Seniors and Hatti Archer taking the Women's overall with an impressive 08.10.7.

A special thank-you and congratulations to Nick Lattimer and The Rutland CC for organising such a great event. Surely the Nationals will one-day have to be held at this magnificent place?! 

We started our walk at 10am in the Derwert Valley beneath the stone ramparts of the Derwent dam with a cup of tea. Fairholmes car-park apparently has a history of its own, I found this out afterwards after noticing the crumbling foundation of the farm and doing some research when I got home. During the construction of the reservoirs the car-park was a masons’ yard it would have likely reverberated the sounds of workers' cutting and shaping stone for the the dams. 

Leaving the valley our route climbs up through Lockerbrook Coppice. Leaving the trees, the route follows the top edge of the vast Hagg Side spruce plantation, before climbing further to Bellhag Tor. We saw a numbers of British finch and Kestrels' all the way across the top, before getting the first glance of the slips in the area. Having crossed the over the stile onto Rowlee Pastures, here you get the first glimpse of the largest landslip in England and our destination for today’s dinner - cheese and pickle on a white bap, plus a pork pie (Thanks Lulu!).

It is called Alport Castles and you can see why when you are stood on The Tower. You look across at a chaotic jumble of tumbled gritstone boulders and grassy covered mounds; It’s a real spectacle. We ate our sandwiches on The Ridge before climbing down to the path that leads to Alport Castles farm. By this time it has started to rain. 

We followed the track down past the farm and followed the valley, seeing and hearing a number of large Jays’. Although they are classed as vermin, I think they are quite a beautiful bird. By this time the rain was torrential and we were both getting quite wet, but still smiling!

We crossed the A57 Snake Road, followed the track and took the bridge over the ford. We continued on the path past Upper Ashop Farm and followed the grassy road called Blackley Hey. Entering the Pinewoods, it smelt great due to the damp and the light was really atmospheric. This path took us all the way down to Yorkshire Bridge and back to the Lady Bower reservoir - back around our car and home for a cup of tea and a well-deserved bath!

I'd recommend this route for anyone looking for a full-day Yomp, it was 14.5 miles round trip with some really scenic views from the very beginning. There are a number of get-out routes on the A57 if you get into any difficulty.

I'd recommend finishing the walk with a pint in the Lady Bower Inn! 

All words and photos by Thom Barnett

Pedestrian - a person travelling on foot; walker.

Pedestrianism - The act, art, or practice of a pedestrian; walking or running; travelling or racing on foot.

Pedestrianism was a unique sport which is said to have come from aristocrats in the late 17th century pitting their carriage footmen, constrained to walk by the speed of their masters' carriages, against one another.

This became a firm fixture at country fairs much like horse racing, where pedestrians with support from trainers would grind out gruelling distances of up to a 100 miles per day and night for 6 days. This was over indoor sawdust tracks, getting just a few hours rest per day in makeshift huts beside the track, literally eating on the trot and undergoing tremendous hardships.

In its heyday in the 19th Century where big prize purses, a share of the gate receipts and dazzling ornamental gold belts lured men to put themselves through rigorous training all in the name of sport.

Often referred to as ‘walking matches’ or ‘go as you please’ races these events took place in the big cities of America, the UK and Australasia. Madison Square Garden in NY and the Agricultural Hall in London were just two of the many venues which attracted the best contestants; but to be at the top of their chosen career a competitor had to be tough, very tough!

Sheffield ‘ Peds'

George Littlewood

George was born on 20 March, 1859, in Rawmarsh, Yorkshire, England. This phenomenal athlete, who is already being talked about as probably being the greatest ultra long-distance foot athlete the world has ever seen, was to become a sporting superstar of his day travelling over to America on several occasions, where, at Madison Square Garden, New York, in 1888, he produced a scintillating performance to beat the then current six-day world record of 621¾ miles held by the American, Jimmy Albert, by running another two miles on the 8-lap to the mile sawdust track. The 623¾ miles he made that week that wasn't beaten for 96 years was just one of his amazing achievements; one of which is still being the current owner of the 6-day walking record from 1882!

So what made Littlewood tick and where he did he get his inspiration from?

It was at the age eight that he began showing an aptitude for running whilst chasing the hounds in local hunts. He also excelled in other sports including boxing, wrestling and cricket, but it was in the field of athletics, and, in particular, running, which he displayed a real talent for.

His father Fred, a handy handicap runner himself, knew his son was something "special" and took on the task of training him seriously. The regime he fashioned for him was both daunting and vigorous, and when the boy complained to his dad that his muscles were sore one day, his dad offered him the carrot of a financial reward. "If you can catch me, you can have this halfpenny. If you really want it, you can get it," he told his son. His father set off and the lad went after him. When the boy caught him up and passed him, he was given his prize for his effort. George had proved to himself that he could overcome the pain barrier to reach his goal and that experience would prove valuable for his future career.

Littlewood's dedication to perfection in the art of race walking soon paid off when, at the age of 16, he won his first long distance event and was given a silver cup donated by several Sheffield publicans. A judge at the time said this of the lad as he performed on the track: "He is completely genuine, without any deviation from the strict laws of walking."

Littlewood's preparation during the next four years involved both running and walking over 200 miles a week. He would train by running to Doncaster and back three times a week in a 38-mile round trip. On his arrival in Doncaster, he would call into a local butcher where he would buy mutton which he would run back home to Darnall with. There were reports that he had a food fetish and that his mum used to go to his races and cook for him to see that he ate properly! One of his trainers Fred Bromley said of him: "If you want to raise a lot of steam and power, you must stoke the coals on the fire!”

In November, of 1879, Littlewood starred in his first race as a budding long-distance athlete in a six-day, 72-hour, 12 hours per day, "go-as-you-please" event in which he came in fourth of 28 contestants winning a prize of £4 for scoring 275 miles in the allotted time on a 19-lap to the mile track at Wolverhampton.

He then went Nottingham, in February, of 1880, where, in a 7-day, six hours per night contest, he came in 5th of 19 runners winning £2.

A couple of months later, he went to Leeds where he won his first race in a field of 13 contestants and created a new 12 hours per day, 72-hour world record of 374 miles on an 38-lap to the mile track in a circus rink. For winning, he secured the £35 first prize — plus an extra prize of £10 for beating the record. Littlewood would later remark that this was the greatest race he ever won.

His next event which was his first venture to London, where in September of the same year, and competing in field of 29 at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, he won the Sir John Astley, "Champion Gold Medal" and a prize of £60, which included £10 for beating the then world record of 405 miles.

Now established as an up-and-coming figure in his chosen sport, his connections entered the then 21-year-old into the 6th international version of the Astley Belt — the blue riband 142-hour, six days, "go-as you-please" contest again at the "Aggie". He would be up against the reigning long-distance champion — the formidable Charlie Rowell — a man, who only the year before at Madison Square Garden, New York, had secured phenomenal prize money of $50,000 in two races in that city. During the race, in which he finished as runner-up with a score of 470 miles, George also took on the great "Blower" Brown of Fulham, and some very good American athletes.

Littlewood then went over to the U.S.A. for the first time to compete in the "2nd O'Leary International Belt" contest at Madison Square Garden, in 1881. Although starting the favorite, Littlewood only managed to make 480 miles due to a foot injury.

Then in 1882, between March 6 and 11, Littlewood achieved the unthinkable. Not only did he beat the then 142-hour heel-and-toe world walking record of 530 miles, he still holds it! The 531 miles was made on a 13-lap to the mile track at the Norfolk Drill Hall, Sheffield.

He then competed in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th "Astley Challenge Belt" races. The belt was the prize for winning the 12 hours a day, 72 hours per week version of the "Long-Distance Astley Belt" and the events took place in Birmingham, Sheffield and London between April of 1882 and November of 1884. Littlewood would eventually win the belt outright.

In 1883, he also raced against a horse called Charlie in a 17-mile race from Doncaster to Sheffield. He lost by three quarters of a mile.

After that, and in April of 1885, Littlewood took on Rowell again in the "International Pedestrian Tournament" (won) and then again in February of 1887 in the "International Pedestrian Go-As-You-Please Tournament"; both races being held at the Westminster Aquarium, London.

After those races he went back to America for the second time; firstly to Philadelphia where he annihilated the opposition in November of 1887 in the "Championship of the World Sweepstakes" before returning to New York to compete in his last two races at Madison Square Garden in May and December of the following year, 1888.

The May race saw Littlewood breaking the 600-mile barrier despite running on a raw bone in his foot and when he brought the Fox Diamond Belt back from America to England, they called him "Littlewood the Lionheart”.

In 1966, and referring to his 1888 world record, a physiologist, B. B. Lloyd, writing in Advancement of Science, described Littlewood's feat as "probably about the maximum sustained output of which the human frame is capable".

George Littlewood died on the December 4, 1912. His funeral was attended by 3,000 people.

Peter Crossland - ‘The Sharp Sheffield Blade’ 

Peter worked in Sheffield’s cutlery industry. When he wasn’t working, he was in training or competing as one of the finest heel-and–toe walkers that Britain ever produced.

Peter beat the, then world-champion, Daniel O'Leary, of Chicago, USA, at Manchester's Pomona Gardens in late February 1876 in a 300-mile, £100 a–side sweepstakes in front of thousands of spectators.

Taken from the New York Times dated May the 15th 1879;

“He is of medium height, but of magnificent physique. His shoulders are broad, and his form is perfect. Crossland comes from Sheffi eld, Yorkshire County, England. He brings no trainer with him. He is 40 years old, and began to walk in matches three years ago. Previous to that time he had worked at his trade, a cutler. At the match in the Pomona Palace, in Manchester a walk of 72 hours, he beat O’Leary 19 miles. He walked at that time 120 3/4 miles and 200 yards without a rest. This was September 11 and 12 1876. He has made the best record in England for 242 and 284 miles having made the former in 57:02:37, and the latter in 68:40:19. He has made the best 33, 34, and 35-hour times in England making in 33 hours, 151 miles and 4 laps; in 34 hours, 156 miles and 1 lap, and in 35 hours, 160 miles and 6 laps. Crossland has received the Champion Cup of the Midland Counties in Nottingham, England, for making 322 miles in a six day’s walk of 14 hours a day. He says he comes to this country to walk, not to run.”

Paul Marshall documented the history of Pedestrianism in his book “King of the Peds' and kindly allowed us to share his work.

Further information is available at; 

www.kingofthepeds.com

A night out in Barnsley. All image by Thom Barnett. 

John Herety is a former British racing cyclists who is currently the manager of the JLT-Condor cycling team. Born in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, John joined Cheshire Road Club as a teenager and had some success as a junior. 

He became British Professional Road Race Champion in 1982 after a spell of riding for French amateur team, Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt (ACBB) in Paris with fellow british rider Sean Yates before turning Pro in 1982 for the French Coop Mercier team riding alongside Joop Zoetemelk. 

Other notable results from an impressive palmares include 1st Manx Trophy (1980), Stage 9 of the Peace Race in East Germany (1980), 16th at Gent-Wevelgem (1982) and 1st at Stage 10 of the Milk Race, Ipswich (1987). 

As a racing cyclist, which results are you most proud of and why?

Winning a stage of the 1980 Peace Race at the height of the Eastern Bloc domination of most sports. It was Olympic year and the win virtually guaranteed my place at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. 

Which are your favourite stretches of road to ride on locally and what is it that you like about them?

I don’t ride these days but there used to be a couple, they were both climbs, ironic really as I was no climber. Swiss Hill in Alderney Edge, a short 500 meter cobbled climb which we used to use to get rid of a few riders if the Saturday and Sunday rides we did had too many riders on them. We only waited for boys that came out during the week for us. It comes out near the top of the Wizard Climb in Alderley Edge. The Wizard climb was allegedly where the great British Track Sprinter Reg Harris used to practice his strength work,using it for repeated efforts.

The other one I know you know well. It's the Strines Road from the Langsett side, 3 x 25% climbs in quick succession,  I remember one winter going over them with it snowing on 72inch fixed wheel, coming out onto the open moorland section at the end, with the snow coming down at right angles and just thinking we were so hard, completely stupid looking back, but there you go, that's what we did in those days.

The same question for roads anywhere in the world?

I spent 3 years living in France in a place called Joue-Les Tour, there’s a road we used to ride along from Joué lès Tours the D88 if you want look it up, it's right on the Loire river, its a completely flat road but with the river on your right there are small unclassified roads to your left that climb up some short climbs to a top road and you could do these really hard sessions using the 2 roads as a form of interval training literally zig zagging along the banks of the Loire river never actually being more than 45 mins away from where we lived.

What is your most memorable moment on the bike or involved with cycling

Difficult to choose just one, here’s a couple I got choked up on, that sort of choked up on that people ask if your crying and you deny it, because you’ve not really realised you were and you get all defensive.

First one was when Chris Newton won the Worlds Points Race title in Ballerup Denmark in 2002. I was in charge of logistics for the GB team but had worked with Chris on his road program during the build up. I stood on a chair in the track centre watching and he completely and utterly smashed the field to pieces. 

I distinctly remember having tears in my eyes and was trying desperately to hide it.

The other one is Kristian House winning the National Road Race Championships in Abergavenny in 2009, the team car obviously has race radio where a running commentary is given by radio tour, however it has an annoying habit, especially in the UK of stopping just as the sprint of a race is starting, words along the lines of such and such a person launches the sprint…………then deadly silence. 

The same thing happened in Abergavenny, I was praying for just a medal, which for a team like ours at the time would of been massive. 

Anticipating the radio race silence I put the windows down so I could hear Hugh Porter on the the finish line PA system he was commentating to a very large crowd along the finish straight, sure enough on the radio they announced the launch of the sprint, but then radio silence, but with the windows down we picked up the PA and when we heard he won it we couldn’t believe it. I immediately got on the phone to our sponsors of the time and was telling answer phone machines they had the new National Champion, half way through the message I realised I was actually blubbing away as I was telling them, hopefully those messages got deleted.

Has racing affected your relationship with the bike? If so, how?

Only in so much I don’t ride these days, which is a shame. The couple of times I have tried to ride again I just never persevered for long enough to get past that level of fitness to actually enjoy the ride. It was just too much like hard work, which coupled with knowing how easy it used to be and still getting all the camaraderie the bike can give from running a team I gave up pretty easy.

Do you agree with Mickey Goldmill's advice to Rocky that 'women weaken legs’?

Ha Ha ! The short answer is yes, I do a pretty good impression of him saying it as well.

The longer answer is to do with human psychology that I won’t go into here, but for sake of being likened to Mickey  a short answer would be they can, but not in the blunt way Mickey said it.

All cyclists, whether they race or not, seem to obsess over the weight of their bikes. Why do you think this is?

That and trying other peoples brakes I find they get someones bike and pick it up as though they have an in built Salter Weighing Scale, then as they put it down they pull the break levers testing how smooth the brakes are. Bonkers.

With some people obviously the new methods of training with power meters means the weight element is one of the factors used to calculate training loads, efforts, etc.

Lot easier to shave 500grams of the bike than say no to that dessert. 

Do you approach riding, or ride your bike, differently now to when you first got into cycling?

Like I said above I don’t really ride now, but I don’t think I would if I ever got back into into it. I’d like to think I would approach it the same. Not a lot was wrong with what we were doing to be honest we just didn’t know why it worked. The sports science side of things now has just given us a load of names for what we were doing back then.

Who has been your favourite pro riders over the years and why?

Sid Barras when I was younger, no internet in those days so you waited in for your weekly copy of Cycling to arrive and he was always winning, it was that time of my life that I just read as gospel everything cycling printed, you were starved of information, so when you got it, you soaked it up like some kind of weekly fix. These days we are almost numb to the amount of coverage we get, there is so much of it it now.

I kinda liked Merckx but Freddy Maertens was my big hero, closely followed by Roger de Vlaminck, De Vlaminck because of how it looked on a bike and his superb bike handling skills, Freddy because of his underdog kinda status to Eddy plus my strongest asset was like Freddy’s, his sprint. I was fortunate to race with both of them and luckily it disproved the theory of never meeting your heros, both were absolute class personified. Freddy actually introduced himself to me, I was first year neo pro and here was this legend welcoming me to the peloton.

De Vlaminck was in a Paris Nice, where I remember getting dropped on a climb with him, the weather was terrible, cold rain at the bottom of the climb , sleet further up, followed by heavy snow towards the top, we were using the tracks the cars had made in the snow. Anyway we were dropped from the bunch and there was a further breakaway 2 mins up the road in front of the bunch. De Vlaminck took of on the descent like a man possessed. He caught and passed the bunch on the snow covered descent and was in the break by the bottom of the climb unbelievable skills.

What was you favourite era of professional bike racing?

1975-1980

Mudguards, mudguards and mudflaps or racing bike with clip on guards through winter?

Back in the day very strict, November through to December winter bike mudguards optional mudflap.  January 1st it was acceptable for race bike and no mudguards.

Do you enjoy a cafe stop or do you prefer to ride straight round?

November to December 2 coffee stops a ride, normally Knutsford Bus station where they made these things called milky coffees, think there called Lattes these days ! First 2 weeks of January 1 coffee stop, 2nd week of January no coffee stop, time to get serious

Assos, Rapha or neither?

I actually had the first pair of skin shorts in the UK, they were brought in by Descente who still are  a Swiss Ski wear company, I got the piss taken out of me to start with, as the only things made out of lycra at the time was ladies underwear.

Anyway a guy at Descente left and started Assos, my first year as a pro we had some french made clothing which was crap, so our team leader Joop Zoetemelk who had ridden the year before for TI Raleigh had a load of Assos kit made for us. My connection with Rapha and the team we had means whilst I like Assos, my heart will always be with Rapha.

What is your favorite piece of cycling kit (either something you currently own or have in the past)?

Adidas Merckx cycling shoes, as classic as the adidas gazelle trainer.

I also still have a fully functioning track pump from about 1978 its had a few valve rubber changes and I couldn’t vouch for the accuracy of the pressure gauge, but I’m impressed its lasted as long it has.

Do you prefer to get your head down on main roads, keep a good tempo going on the ‘B’ roads or get onto the back-wacks? What about the rough stuff on your road bike?

No main roads ever, B roads for sure, we used to tack around the B roads like a yachtsman would to avoid headwinds. Rough stuff both winter and summer. not sure what all this gravel bike hype is, we were doing that in 1978 ,before the mountain bike craze hit we were riding the tacks of Delamere Forest, especially in the winter if it had snowed, it was safer to ride steady to there and then blast round the forest for 2 hours. Same bikes, we used wider tyres in the winter anyway, we also used a trail called Whitegate Way which was disused railway line that had been turned into a bridle way, that was used similar to Swiss Hill, If we had too many riders on the Saturday and Sunday rides we used to hit that trail flat out to thin the group out a bit.

What do you think about Strava?

Not a big fan, but you have to move with the times and if it encourages more people to stay in the sport then I don’t suppose it can be all bad. However you wouldn’t catch me on it if i ever came back.

What do you think about Sportive rides?

Similar to above really, they have encouraged more people to ride bikes and helped them have goals and targets, but they are not races and it winds me up when people write about them as though they are.

Do you have any cycling pet hates?

See Below.

Are there any cycling traditions that you think have been, or are being, lost as a result of changing attitudes and behaviour? And are we better off or worse off as a consequence?

Proper Club runs where people were taught the basic skills of riding on the wheel, we are with out doubt worse of as a result of that and the emergence of the heart rate monitors and power meters. Too many  young riders are obsessed with power when they haven’t even mastered the skills of riding on the wheel.

Cotton cap or helmet?

Cotton Cap 100%

The benefits of spinning a low gear compared to mashing a high gear is often discussed. Putting aside the serious, physiological and mechanical aspects, what cadence you think looks right?

90 Revs a minute

White, black or coloured socks?

WHITE WHITE WHITE. I can forgive Armstrong for everything apart from him legitimising the black sock. Its my biggest pet hate, I will never change my view on this. They should be banned.

Frame pump or mini pump?

Frame pump, even better if you can find one with the original screw in campag chrome plated quick release connector, no problem with wayward dogs with one of those.

What did you like to talk about when you are on a ride with friends/team/club mates? Do you prefer to keep the subjects lightweight or get your teeth into something contentious or controversial?

For the most part it was lightweight but it got contentious sometimes, but never enough that anyone was banned from the ride.

Who would be/is your perfect tandem partner? Would you ride captain or stoker?

I rode a tandem a couple of times, both times as a stoker and I didn’t like it, so if i had the choice I’d go captain. If we were racing it would be Sean Yates as stoker if it was touring I would pick a comedian, maybe John Bishop I reckon he’d be a good choice or if he was still alive maybe Groucho Marx.

A night to remember at Sheffield GP. 

All images by Thom Barnett.