Seventy miles in a day at seventy years of age is hardly worth talking about, ninety at ninety would be a big ask, but eighty at eighty is attainable, at least for a lucky few.

How frequently 80/80 has been done in the past is unknown – my own first encounter with the idea was my Hounslow and District Wheelers club mate,

Ron Richardson (b.1925) who, as a sprightly new octogenarian, did his ride in August 2005.

At the moment I have three other names for the list:

John Pound (De Laune),

Ron Jones (De Laune/ Hounslow) and

Jeff Marshall (Hounslow), but I’m sure there must be many more.

If all goes well, I hope to add my name to the register this summer.

The Pedal Club has agreed to keep a register of riders who have achieved 80/80 and this will be published on the Pedal Club’s web site. An entry on the register should include a short account of the rider’s career, the ride itself and photographs. Although it appears that the 80/80 concept is a Hounslow idea, since the register is open to anyone it seems appropriate that it should be curated by a more ‘general’ organisation than a local club, but I thinkthe Houndslow can be proud that our idea has spread its wings and gone national.

With the nation’s ageing population and the fact the next batch of new eighty year olds will be baby boomers (famous for not admitting they are too old for anything), I believe this project will have an interest for all cyclists and quite possibly for the general public. It could produce good publicity for any club associated with it and for the health benefits of cycling generally.

One important point which could be obscured by our current entries is that the possibility of achieving 80/80 is not restricted to elite riders. Part of the purpose of the register should be to show what can be done with a bike, and that its scope is not limited to the young, or even those in the prime of life. John Pound and Jeff Marshall could well be described as elite, since they both enjoyed successful racing careers, but fortunately we have Ron Richardson, a solid club rider who would have a go at any distance up to and including twelve hours, but not someone who aspired to international honours. If I am spared long enough to attempt at the distance this summer, my name will be another whose racing achievements and aspirations were pretty limited, but I hope to be someone whose efforts will demonstrate the benefits and the potential of the bike for ordinary mortals of all ages.

Chris Lovibond

May 2025