The Century Competition of 1911

This was a competition to be won by the rider who completed the greatest number of 100 mile in a day rides during 1911. This was promoted by ‘Cycling’, as the magazine then styled itself, and a gold medal, value £5 (£500 – 1,000 today?) was offered to the winner.

And the winner was…..Marcel Planes, a penniless 21 year old Londoner, who completed 332 centuries on a clapped out roadster which was tied up with string for most of the year.

I think it’s a great story, and mainly for my own satisfaction, but also as a tribute, I intend to attempt to do at least two consecutive 100 mile days riding a bike similar to Planes’ (preferably without the string). I believe the original machine no longer exists, but I am hopeful that I can use Planes’ own BSA which he acquired soon after his heroic year. I’ll aim to do this in the next few weeks – I think I’ll need plenty of daylight.

Most of my knowledge here comes from an excellent article in 'The Boneshaker' written by Roger Bugg. This is published by the Veteran-Cycle Club, a worthy organisation which I recommend to forum users. There is a lot of information available about Marcel, the Competition and how things turned nasty in 1912. If there is a lot of interest I will try to find a way to make it available. Incidentally, I am aware of the Century Road Club thread, and this club is part of the story, but I felt the centenary of the competition went beyond the scope of the original thread.

The back to back rides I think I'd best do on my own. However, if others fancy the idea of a long ride on a basic light roadster then I'm prepared to organise something later in the summer - well that's on the assumption that my experience with the first two days doesn't put me off for ever. I have got one taker already, the writer of the Boneshaker article. Let me know what you think.

I'd love to have the time to ride 332 centuries a year. No wonder he was penniless.

I now have (on loan) the Marcel Planes BSA light roadster which he acquired in 1913. I’m going to attempt the two 100 mile days on this bike, so last weekend (16th/17th April) I wanted to see if the machine and I were capable of the task. I rode the BSA Saturday and Sunday, and although I didn’t do 200 miles, I think I now know enough to be able to do it.

Saturday:
Weedon (Northants) to London NW10.
About 68 miles.

Weedon is near Northampton and may seem an odd place to start, but my other half had a reason to go there and a lift with her opened up some less familiar roads and gave me a slight tailwind most of the day.

 I came down the A 5 (Watling Street) most of the way – since this runs close to the M1 it is not impossibly busy with traffic. The road is constantly up and down, nothing steep but nowhere is it flat. The BSA currently has a Sturmey  TCW (i.e. 3 speed wide ratio,  back pedalling brake) with 48 x 20 sprockets and 26” wheels giving gears of 46.8,62.4 and 83.2” and this set up suited the conditions quite well since the middle gear was fine on the ascents while the top gear was low enough to be useful on the easy sections. Originally I had intended to do the main rides on fixed, but with the experience of these two days, I’m inclined to leave the machine as it is.
 Although I’ve never been keen on expensive modern bikes, even so I was surprised how rapid and easy my progress was on this ancient machine. The whole journey took five and a half hours – obviously I would have been quicker on a modern bike, but I think I was no more tired on the BSA than I would have been on anything else. I must admit that riding into a headwind or trying to keep up with other riders using modern kit, especially uphill, would have been challenging.

Sunday
NW10-Staines-Marlow-Beaconsfield-NW10.
About 65 miles.

To establish that I can do consecutive days, I thought I’d go on the Hounslow clubrun, which through my own inefficiency I missed at the Staines rendezvous. Perhaps not such a bad thing since the BSA’s braking arrangements do take a long time to get accustomed to.

 So I rode to Marlow alone, met some club mates in the café and continued back home via Beaconsfield. Apart from Winter Hill most of the outward trip was flat and this caused a bit of a gearing problem since top was a bit too high and the middle gear uncomfortably low. However I finished my second day without distress, reasonably confident that I can achieve what I’ve set out to do.

This thread badly needs some pictures. I have some, but they won't load at the moment. I'll try again later.

good luck clubman.

332 x 100 in a year. that is some going. amazing really.

nice story.

Chris

You are an utter inspiration. I really look forward to riding with you once I am out of hospital and back on a bike.

Great project, Clubby. Look forward to some photos.

Marcel, December 1911.

This was the bike he used for the epic year, a 1905 'Mead'. This is not a make I had ever heard of before, but apparently it was a Birmingham firm with only a moderate reputation for quality. This type of machine was (and I suppose still is) known as a 'light roadster' Light here is a relative term, and I think the idea was to make a contrast with the heavier type which had 28" wheels (26" for the Mead and the BSA), and a chain case. As I understand it, the other features of a roadster are : rod brakes, normally onto Westwood rims, upturned bars, and bolted up seat stays (rather than brazed). There are many disadvantages to this design, but it has proved incredibly long lasting, evolving around 1900, with quite a few examples still in use around London even today.

  The string binding the seat stays together is not visible even in the best copy of the picture in my possession, but I've no reason to doubt it was there.  Cycling politely described the machine as: 'by no means ideally suited to its purpose'. Fully kitted out for the road it weighed 45lbs.

  I guess the background is a London street - riding on roads as empty as this must have been some compensation for the problems with the bike.

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Marcel Planes must have been one tough cookie! Inspiring idea - your double century. Hope it all goes well, and I suppose the usual forum rant "photos or it didn't happen" will apply. Good luck Chris.

Great effort, Chris. You really should write a book sometime.

Ready for the ride back from Weedon

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I did change before riding. Hot weather poses a slight problem with this bike, since wearing modern racing style kit doesn't seem right, but what can one do?

Judging by old photographs it would appear that men born before 1900 were capable of cycling during the summer wearing a jacket (probably tweed!), waistcoat and plus twos with long woolly socks. I don't know how they did it, and I cannot. Perhaps this is a symptom of the degeneracy of our age?

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Are those tubs with Woods valves? If so then presumably also including a front rod brake.

Classic picture, Chris!

I think it was most likely a case of clothing conventions not having been shaken up that much yet so that people didn't have a choice.

It's well-documented that cycling did a lot for greater informality of dress among women, and perhaps something similar, though less-noticed, took place for men?

Are those tubs with Woods valves? If so then presumably also including a front rod brake.

I've only just noticed an unanswered question here.

No the tyres are not tubs, although they did exist at that time. It's just as well they are wired on, because I guess there cannot be any seviceable 26" tubs in existence, since they eventually perish with age, so even if you tracked down a stash of your great grandfather's tubs, they would probably be useless.

The wheels in the bike are 26 x 1.25" westwoods,which themselves can only be slightly more common than hen's teeth. This size (with high pressure 'endrick' style rims) was still in use in the 1970's before the advent of 700's, and were sometimes used by club riders when converting an old racing frame (built for sprints) for use as a winter hack. As a result there are still a few useable tyres around - even inner tubes with presta valves, which I have fitted since the photo above was taken.

Hi Clubman.

You are setting the bar high as 'something to aspire to'.

I've a 1924 Sunbeam, 2 speed epi-cyclic(?) gears (in the chainwheel), oil bath chain case.

My first ride out was a 40 miler around some of the lanes of North Norfolk. At the end I felt equal as if I had ridden 40 on the Holdsworth.

Good luck to you in your quest.

Last Sunday and Monday (10th & 11th July) I completed my two 100 mile Marcel Planes Tribute Rides, using his BSA roadster.

Sunday’s ride was a Hounslow & District clubrun: Staines, Arborfield, Swallowfield, Lasham (lunch stop), back to Staines via Bentley, and then an extra loop to Chobham to make up the distance to 102 miles.

Monday: Willesden, Dean St., Soho (where he lived), up the old Great North Road to Tempsford (Beds.) and back to Willesden via Hitchin and St. Albans. 117 miles.

I have some hopes of ink and paper publication of this adventure, so I will refrain from going into much depth here.

I’d certainly like to hear if others think this story is interesting, or if there’s anyone else out there prepared to contemplate long rides on this type of machine, which I have found better suited to the purpose than I had expected.

Clubman was a legend on Sunday.

The BSA roadster weighed a ton, and only had 3 speeds and rod brakes. Despite this Chris stayed at the front of the pack of H&DW riders for the first 50 miles. While everyone else had 20 or 22spd bikes he managed to hold a wheel in the bunch with no problems. Later in the day he peeled off to ensure he could make up the full century for the day.

His clubmates all commented how he has been this belligerent and willing to use inappropriate equipment for his entire cycling history.

Chris - you are an utter inspiration. I can't wait to read the full report.

Hi Clubman.

You are setting the bar high as 'something to aspire to'.

I've a 1924 Sunbeam, 2 speed epi-cyclic(?) gears (in the chainwheel), oil bath chain case.

My first ride out was a 40 miler around some of the lanes of North Norfolk. At the end I felt equal as if I had ridden 40 on the Holdsworth.

Is there a typo here? It doesn't quite seem to make sense.

I do have a little bit of experience with Sunbeams, and I the one I've ridden was hard work. The chaincase is integral with the frame, forming the right hand chainstay. Even though there is an additional strut within the chaincase the frame was notably lacking in rigidity and any out of the saddle effort on a hill would cause audible flexing of the chaincase.

I have found that these old machines do take a bit of getting used to, so you should not expect to get the best out of your ancient bike on a first ride.

clubman, you must show photos, I love to see them.

Clubman was a legend on Sunday.

The BSA roadster weighed a ton.

Thanks for your praise.

On a point of in formation: the BSA weighs about 28 pounds, stripped of pump, spares, bottle, but with its steel mudguards. I am using a modern 'gel' saddle and Lyotard platform pedals with clips and straps - both these items are significantly lighter than the originals. There is a limit to my masochism.

clubman, you must show photos, I love to see them.

I have just a few pictures from Monday. They aren't brilliant, but I'll try to get them up soon. There are a couple of photos of the bike higher up the thread.

His clubmates all commented how he has been this belligerent and willing to use inappropriate equipment for his entire cycling history.

Back at the beginning of my cycling history, my fixed wheel winter bike was pretty much the same as everyone else's, and that remained the case for many years. I'm inclined to think think that it's the modern bikes that are inappropriate, especially when weather conditions are bad.

clubman, there was an excellent article in Bicycle Quarterely about whether bicycle technology have improved performance in the last 100 years of the TdF.

their conclusion that it hasn't, it's the rider that has improved.

will scan it in for you, it's an interesting read.