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. 

A view of Otley GP with Dave Coulson and the Cycling Sheffield team. 

All images by Thom Barnett. 

Connor Swift is a professional cyclist who currently rides for British team Madison Genesis. He recently won the British National Road Race Champion in Stanfordham, Northumberland after a gutsy solo attack with 12km to go, which has put him in the classic blue, white and red of the national jersey for the next twelve months. 

We are very proud to have Connor on the Journal and we would like to congratulate him on such an amazing achievement, in what looks set to be a very bright career. 

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

I think having recently won the National Road Race Championships that has to be my proudest and best result to date! Being a national champion I will wear the white, red and blue stripes for a whole year and then carry the British bands on my arm for the rest of my career, that’s pretty special! Everytime I put my jersey on I can think back to the day and remember everything about it.

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

I do love lots of little lanes that a good friend Tom Stewart has shown me in the Peak. That lad knows every little treasure there is to be had on the roads out there! I think the reason why I like the little lanes and The Strines etc is because they are smooth, quiet and very picturesque. You can just enjoy riding the bike.

The same question for roads anywhere in the world? 

I haven’t yet ridden my bike abroad much, however out of the places I have been so far I reckon some of the climbs in Gran Canaria are pretty special. Again the roads are quiet and the scenery is mega. 

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

There is so many but one that does stand out is going on the Sunday gang which has the likes of John Tanner and Wayne Randle and it’s been going for years. Them guys just ride as hard as they can for as long as they can. The first time I went on this ride it was through and off all the way out to a cafe. Everyone had beans on toast or a full English breakfast. We set off from the cafe and it was like a bloody race! It was crosswinds home and if you wasn’t strong enough to keep up going through and off you were left to fend for yourself. I can remember sprinting after a few that had got a head start leaving the cafe. Thankfully I hung in there until I was near home otherwise I would have been left in no-mans-land.

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

I think it has made me love riding my bike even more. I am in a very lucky situation to be able to ride my bike full time and not have the stress of a normal job. Being able to go out and ride my bike and race around is something I don’t just take for granted.

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

I don’t think so! Maybe some women might with some men but my girlfriend Sian Randall definitely without a doubt strengthens mine. She has supported me from day one she has been with me and I think this question has made me realise I maybe haven’t let her know how much I do appreciate her asking me how my races have been, telling me to train in the gym, riding her bike with me, watching me for hours on end at races and much much more!

We are in the midst of a well publicised boom, has it affected you? Do you see any negatives to the increase in popularity?

I think it’s great how many people are now supporting cycling and it probably has affected me in a good way by local people in the village getting behind me and supporting me for what I do. I think the negatives that do come from this are the media and then people that have little knowledge of cycling history etc jumping on the negative band wagon from certain media releases.

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

Picking up a light bike is instant motivation! However that’s only if it’s your own.

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

Yeah for sure. Now I train for a fair bit longer and I am a lot more focused on the bike and enjoy my efforts. In the past I used to train but I just don’t think I trained properly haha.

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

It’s got to be Wiggins. Everything he did in his last years of his career were phenomenal and he caused a huge boom for cycling in the UK.

What was you favourite era of professional bike racing?

I wasn’t around and have only seen clips of the older era’s or cycling on YouTube. I think back in the day them guys were sooo cool. However I think currently racing is so exciting.

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

Used to be no mudguards however times have changed and I think everyone is pretty fed up of being covered in crap. So mudguards are now essential. Show respect for others!

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

I love a cafe stop for sure!

Assos, Rapha or neither?

Rapha

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

I reckon a gilet that I currently own. This isn’t for the sponsors or anything. But Madison clothing created a gilet and I don’t leave for any ride without it. Best bit of kit ever. Does the job - Keeps the wind chill off, perfect fit with pockets, is mega breathable and is pretty water resistant. Can you ask for anymore?

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?

I do love the B-roads for efforts etc and general training however when just cruising along, the back-wacks are spot on. The rough stuff is always fun to ride on and to mix things up too! Not gonna say no to a bit of Paris roubaix action! 

What do you think about Strava?

Love it! Every ride uploaded and I do scroll through it from time to time.

What do you think about Sportive rides?

I think they are great for the guys that don’t want to race and just enjoy setting themselves a challenge for a certain distance over different types of terrain.

Do you have any cycling pet hates?

I really don’t like people offering a hand sling (to me) in a race for some reason haha. I know they are being nice and wanting to help if they drop the wheel but I feel like I can’t accept them for some bizarre reason.

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?

Nothing that really springs to mind here. A massive tradition for me is a chaingang with a solid bit of through and off action to the end. As long as these stay and no one goes soft then I’m happy.

Cotton cap or helmet?

Helmet

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?

Around 90rpm is a solid cadence to look at.

White, black or coloured socks?

White socks all day long

Frame pump or mini pump?

Mini pump. Frame ones are cool but don’t want to scratch the bike.

What do 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?

Depends on my mood and other people’s mood. It’s always good to have banter and it’s always fun on a long training ride with someone to get your teeth stuck into the depths of space and what we are all doing on this planet or how to spend your millions.

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

I would say my girlfriend but she might not contribute to the pedalling as much as I would like haha. I reckon I would maybe choose my coach Kev Dawson. We would go bloody fast that’s for sure and I would like to go captain.

A ride to Lincoln to watch the Grand Prix. 

All images by Thom Barnett. 

5 men, 181.4 miles, 18,307 feet, 4 British county's, 2 days, 1 cheese board. The weekend that will be forever remembered as the Tour de Packhorse. 

All photos by Thom Barnett 

March 2018 was interesting.

Nice clear days plus some snow filled ones.  We made some developments on the Mamnick showroom extensions in Sheffield with Simon. I watched Rowan at Hunk Print melt frozen pipes with his heat gun (between printing t.shirts). I discussed pocket-square designs with Steve (Dry British) down the pub. We did a little Yomp with Fliss and Ian from Campbell-Cole (and their dog Fred) and in contrast, a little pub-Yomp with Ben through snowy parks, over frozen ponds to watch the footie on a Sunday afternoon. 

All these people play a part in Mamnick in one form or another. 

All images taken by Thom Barnett