Gary Speight was a road racing cyclist from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. He started riding at the age of 13 years old after his Dad bought him a bike from a local auction for £15 - A 25" Puch frame, which enabled Gary to ride to his (then) girlfriends house, instead of catching the bus!

Soon after he joined the Rotherham Wheelers in 1982 and began to take bike riding more seriously after riding from Doncaster to Castleton at the age of 15. He described this as "a great feeling". He then joined the Chesterfield Couriers the next year. 

In 1985 he went with a local friend Steve Goff (Rutland.CC) to Belgium for a week and rode a race in Heist Op Den Berg.

He placed in the top 10 regularly as a junior and came 2nd in the regional devision champs to Glyn Shirley. 

'Speighty' represented Great Britain as a junior at the Tour of Austria in 1985, chosen after placing at the Peter Buckley events in the Peak District. 

He rode for the GB team in the Peace Race (Berlin ~ Warsaw ~ Prague) twice, the second time in 1995 with with John Tanner, Chris Lillywhite, Matt Stephens, Wayne Randall and Mark Walsham. 

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

My win in the Triptique Ardannais in Belgium (1990) and a kermesse race i won in Ooedelem, West Flanders. It was in the home town of a family who looked after me while I was racing over there. I gave the winning bouquet of flowers to Aline Versluys and Johan Teerlinke for all the hard work they did for me while I was trying to chase my dream. Also the Boone family from Gent and a pro rider Werner Wieme who also helped as I stayed with him a lot! 

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

Cape Town, South Africa from Bellville to Capetown. About 10km roughly. It is called Voortreker Road. It isn’t the nicest view around but down that road you see all sorts of life, from wealthy people to poor people living rough and the famous crazy taxi drivers. A very interesting place! 

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

Watching Stephen Roche win the triple. His 1987 win at Villach, Austria has got to be one of the best world championships to watch.

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

I’d say women make mens legs stronger!

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

Because they are trying to stay lean! I was one of them. Watching what i ate, cutting back on things.

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

My pride and joy bike that my Mum and Dad bought me from Tony Butterworths in Sheffield. It was a blue Gureciotti with Campagnolo Super Record components on for £450, back in 1983 or 84 i think. 

Until my best friend Martin Maltby (Mojo) ran a red light after the Chesterfield Grand-Prix and bent the forks right back. He’s still my friend by the way!  

Cotton cap or helmet?

I never liked wearing a helmet. I preferred to get my hair blonde from the heat of the sun, or these days just my shaved head! 

White, black or coloured socks?

I always liked white socks, until i raced on the cobbles in Europe then I switched to  black or coloured. 

Who would be/is your perfect tandem partner? 

Wayne ‘The Train’ Randall.

Chris Sidwells is an author and editor who’s writing has featured in many magazines and websites including Cycle Sport, Cycling Weekly, The Guardian, The BBC and The Sunday Times. He has written best-selling books about cycling and contributed to many others. 

Chris’s latest offering is his own publishing brand - Cycling Legends (www.cyclinglegends.co.uk) a website with free-to-read exclusive content. In November 2018 Cycling Legends published 01 Tom Simpson the first book of a series of beautiful illustrated publications which were are proud to stock at Mamnick HQ Sheffield. 

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

I love the network of lanes north and east of Doncaster, there's a tranquility there, places like Owston Ferry and Sykehouse seem unchanged for decades. I think it's a bit like cycling in the 1950s and 60s must have been. I love the hills too, especially the country just west of Sheffield around The Strines, although since I came back to this area to live about five years ago I haven't had enough time to get over there much. Hopefully I'll put that right soon.

I do more off-road riding now. I had a book out last year called Wild Cycling, and the publishers have just commissioned another called Really Wild Cycling, so I've got to get myself fit quick for that- there's a lot to explore and write about. 

The same question for roads anywhere in the world?

Flanders, the Flemish Ardennes. Provence, Tuscany, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees are my favourite cycling destinations abroad. 

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

There have been a lot. Doing a long and very deep interview with Eddy Merckx stands out. But meeting all those guys and talking to them, and writing about them, has been pretty special. 

Do you have any cycling pet hates?

Rules! It's a bike, ride it. Wear what you like, but try to have a bit of style- be smart. It can be your unique style, but a well thought out style.  

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?

I think cycling is poorer because of losing traditional clubs, good clubs- there were some bad ones. There's a lot to be learned from older members, and friends you make on the bike tend to be friends forever. There are still some around, and some are thriving. I'm not sure they all attract younger cyclists like they used to though.

When were/are you most happy?

Difficult to answer that. I tend to keep on an even keel. I'm an optimistic person, mostly happy most of the time. Riding my bike makes me happy, so does writing. I love telling stories. Even more so telling them in words and photos, which my Cycling Legends series of books is doing.

See ~ www.cyclinglegends.co.uk

I'm glad you mentioned your Cycling Legends books, where did that come from and what made you start that project? 

I've written 19 other books and lost count of the number of magazine and newspaper articles I've done, but there is always somebody else inputting ideas or target markets when you do something for other publishers. I want to produce something that is just my vision, books that tell stories without any extra agenda or through somebody else's filter. I also want to tell stories where the words and photos work together, and do it in real depth, telling stories that are less known or haven't been told at all. That's what the Cycling Legends book series is, it's passion for cycling on pages of paper.   

The first issue (Tom Simpson) is fantastic, have you always had a interest in Tom's life? 

Tom was my uncle. I was 7 when he died but he was a massive presence in my life, maybe even more so after he died and I grew up realising what he'd done. He and my mum, his sister, were very close. With their brother Harry they were the three youngest Simpson kids who moved with my grandparents from County Durham to Harworth when my grandad couldn't get work in the coal mines up there. A lot of north-easterners moved to work in the newer pits in North Notts and South Yorkshire. 

So they grew up together and Harry, my mum and Tom all joined the Harworth and District cycling club, where my mum met my dad, also called Harry, and Tom started racing. Later on, because we lived in Harworth, Tom was always at ours when he was in the UK. I can remember him from those visits. One that stands out was after he won the BBC Sports Personality in 1965, although I was very young then. My mum was watching TV on her own, Dad was at work, and when Tom won I was the only person she could tell, so she ran up stairs and woke me up at about 9 or 10 o'clock. Next day, or it might have been the day after, Tom turned up at our house with fish and chips for everybody.

One time, and I don't remember this one because it was before 1965, Tom turned up at our house wearing a chauffeur's uniform and he stuck me and my mum in the back seat of a big white Mercedes and drove us up to the north-east to see the rest of the Simpson clan who lived up there. He was always doing stuff like that. 

What kind of character was Tom? Can you tell you us anything about him that people might not know?

Tom is well known for his cycling talent, his charisma, wearing Saville Row suits and hand-made Italian shoes and owning fast cars like the Aston Martin he bought himself at 21, when he started earning good money. But the real reason so many people who knew him remember him with love and affection, and they all say this, is that when you spoke to Tom he made you feel like you were the only person in the room, the most important person in the world to him at that moment. He always remembered names, always remembered what people did and where he'd met them. It was second nature to him. That side of Tom isn't well known at all.  

Tom mentions Fox House (near Hathersage) in his book 'Cycling Is My Life'. I've always wondered, did Tom do much riding in the Peak District?

Tom rode in the Peaks a lot, both on club runs and rides he did with mates like George Shaw.

He also won a lot of road races in the Peak District, there were circuits all over the Peak in those days.

And he won the BLRC national hill climb championships on Mam Nick in 1957, of course.

Tom winning on Mam Nick, 1957

Big thanks to Chris for his time and for providing all these images above. 

See more at ~ www.cyclinglegends.co.uk

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