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@clubman
Martyn Takes Charge.
The Bern and Eth run, but a different year. Very little has changed, except that two of the riders from the previous shot are absent, and now it’s sleeting. I know it’s a different occasion only because the rider sheltering behind the leader (Martyn Roach or MCR) is wearing a grey hat instead of black. In the first pic he’s the one in the centre wearing rather inelegant plastic rimmed glasses.
To me, the most interesting aspect is the way the little group is starting to break up. I strongly suspect they are riding into a partial headwind which is coming a little from their left. That’s why the rider in the grey hat has echeloned to get maximum shelter from MCR, while on the left Mick, a strong rider and one of a small elite capable of riding alongside MCR for any length of time, is beginning to struggle and looks as though he’s pulling over to the left causing Steve, who had been following his wheel to start to clench his teeth a bit harder.
Just visible in the background is another member of the group who really does look as though he’s suffering. I shan’t mention his name because he is one of the most dedicated and charming cyclists that I’ve ever met. On more than one occasion he literally pushed me back onto a group when I’d been dropped – at the time I didn’t realise that he was probably near to the limit of his own resources. A second shot, taken from behind after the group had passed and showing a rear view of this guy clearly suffering and off the back was published a few weeks later in Cycling as an illustration to a training advice article with the headline ‘Are you always The One Off The Back?’ He wasn’t named, but we all knew who it was. There can be dangers in knowing journalists.
Although I said in relation to the first of these pictures that these groups were generally elite riders, in one respect they were highly democratic: this was a cheap activity - you did not need to spend any money to take part, and you did not need a special and expensive bike.
Shouldn’t this be a key feature of the single speed movement?
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