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user147372
@jj72
I’m an old mate of Britain’s best-known bike designer (his words, probably) and I’m sad to have to say that he’s now on his last lap of the velodrome. Mike has been dealing with lung cancer for the past three years but in the last few weeks it’s taken a big lurch in the wrong direction, and he’s at home being given palliative care with a prognosis of a few weeks at max. I spoke to him this afternoon and he’s remarkably calm and reflective (for him) and not in pain.
I shall be going up to see him next week to say goodbye - we had hoped to go for one last beer at The Fat Cat in Norwich but sadly he’s too sick, and he says that as he has no appetite and no taste it’d be a waste - it’s actually one thing that’s really pissing him off, as he loves his ale.
So I’m going to head up anyway and I’ll be taking lots of goodwill messages from people who know him, and people who know of him, of which there are many. Mike doesn’t do social media. Or computers. Or mobile phones. A fax machine was about as high-tech as he ever got. So he’s not going to see a lot of the lovely messages people from people since we announced the news on the BHPC and IHPVA groups. So I’m going to collate as many as I can and take them up, and print them out or read them to him or whatever.
I know there’s a bit of love for the mad old bugger on here, so if anyone wants to write a few words I’ll make sure he gets them, and it might make his last couple a weeks a bit more enjoyable, because he was genuinely surprised at the response on the club site, and and he says all he’s doing at the moment is watching a LOT of daytime tv and getting hooked on Bangers and Cash, and anything is better than that.
I hope people don’t think this is a bit mawkish, but I’ve often read people comments and heard eulogies at funerals and thought how much the person concerned would have liked to hear them, only they’re in a coffin. So seeing as we have time on this occasion, I thought it’d be a nice thing to do.
Cheers, Ian.
Edited to change the visit to Monday week as I got stuck in Folkstone on Sunday night due to football!