The Golden Book of Cycling

This is a story which goes back to a time before even I was born or thought of, but it's something that I think will be of interest:

https://www.velouk.net/2017/03/21/feature-glenn-longland-signs-golden-book/

I'd like to hear from you:

a. Had you heard of The Golden Book?

b. Had you heard of The Pedal Club, and do you have any opinion about it?

The pedal club is a sort of celebrity cycle club, a bit like the variety club for show business. You have to be invited to join. Never heard of the golden book but I guess it's like a hall of fame thing.

a) yes, especially as I recently read a book about the year record, and many of the record holders signed the Golden Book; I was vaguely aware that it was still going.

b) not heard of/no opinion.

I'd never heard of The Golden Book before.

I have heard of The Pedal Club as a couple of friends are members. As far as I can tell, it's an excuse to have a boozy lunch once a year. Which seems admirable to me.

I was aware of the Golden Book - through books like PJ's Corinthian Endeavour (I think).

Yes.

Yes. A nice gentleman once invited me along to their lunch. Spiffing! :D

I'd never heard of The Golden Book before.

Too busy re-reading Lance biographies, yeah?

Thanks Hippy.

Of course, question 'b' wasn't addressed to you, but I'm glad you give it a good report. I think it's likely you will be a member in the future. I assume you're too busy to go to lunches at the moment.

Up to now out of 277 views of this thread only five of you seem to have any knowledge of the club and I feel forum users should know more. It does have some significance in the world of cycling.

There are a couple of things I need to check on, but I'll post in more detail soon.

I’m sorry to have left this for so long but I’ve been short of the ‘quality time’ needed to do this subject justice. Even now I can only give you a nutshell version.

The Pedal Club

Was founded in 1941. Its objects were (and still are):

To provide a forum for leading members of the sport and pastime so that they could meet and discuss cycling topics. The leading members were considered to be: officials, journalists, members of the trade and ‘competitors of standing’.

To invite prominent non cyclists (e.g. The Minister of Transport) to address the club on topics which come within their sphere of interest.

To promote all forms of cycling to non cyclists.

To further the interests of the sport and pastime in all possible ways.

I believe the club has remained true to the task it set itself at the beginning, and still carries out much valuable work.

In 1941 the list of the founder members names read like a Who’s Who of cycledom (as it was called then), but most of these have slipped into obscurity in the past seventy five years and will probably be unknown to forum users. However some of you will possibly be familiar with G.H. Stancer (GHS 10 Championship?) who was secretary of the CTC, an influential Cycling columnist and a prime mover in the club’s foundation. Another recognisable name is H.H. England, editor of Cycling at that time and up to 1960.

As all longstanding cyclists will tell you, ‘Cycling Weekly’ is a very different animal from the magazine we knew in the past. When almost everyone in the bike game read each issue from cover to cover and both the editor and principal columnist were Pedal Club members, it’s not hard to understand why the Pedal Club was very well known. Today, as we have seen in this thread, the club has a lower profile than it did in the past.

The Golden Book

I hope you have read the VeloUK article referred to in the link above. I’m still surprised that Cycling did not feel it was worth carrying on with the Golden Book; surely putting together the names of the great and the good of cycling can only enhance the status of our game, but I’m not privy to whatever commercial considerations they may have had forty years ago. Just to give you some idea, here are some of the signatories since the Pedal Club took over – the names in the original book would perhaps need quite a lot of historical notes here. Some of these names need no further comment, but I have given a brief explanation where I think it may be helpful.

Chris Boardman
Beryl Burton
Gethin Butler (BBAR Champion)
Ian Cammish ( Multiple TT Champion)
Roy Cromack ( First 24 hour over 500 miles)
Tony Doyle
Alf Engers
Eileen Gray (Leading Official)
Johnnie Helms (Cartoonist – ‘Baz’)
Mandy Jones (Word Road Champion 1982)
Chas Messenger (Long term official and race promoter)
Alex Moulton
Graeme Obree
Dick Poole (End to End recordman)
Ian Steel (Peace Race and Tour of Britain Winner)
Ron Webb (responsible for most of the world’s indoor tracks)
Les West
John Woodburn
Sean Yates
Phil Liggett

Need I say more?

I've just been reviewing my old threads and I notice an omission from this thread. Unfortunately this 'news' is over a year late, but all the same Glen is a big enough figure in the TT world to be worth remembering long term.

http://www.velouk.net/2017/03/21/feature-glenn-longland-signs-golden-book/