The Pedal Club Lunch Reports- Chris Lovibond

The Pedal Club Lunch August 2026

August brought us another super-hot day, and with a relaxed dress code in operation, rather more legs than usual were on display!

Unfortunately, we were without a guest speaker this month, but we did have a very special guest in our 2026 Bursary Award winner, Olivia Smallshaw, who joined us for lunch with her dad, Nick.

Fortunately for Olivia, two of our youngest members, Hope and Ellen Inglis, were also there and spent much of the lunch chatting with her. This meant she was spared too many tales from some of our more mature members – whose stories, rather like fine wine, seem to improve with age!

We were also delighted to welcome two new members, Huw Williams and Colin McDermott, who were presented with their Pedal Club badges.

There was a sudden increase in attention around the room when Max stood up to announce the winners of the Tour de France lottery. Some members were fortunate enough to collect not one but two prizes, while many others – myself included – left empty-handed. Once all the prizes had been distributed, Max was pleased to announce that the lottery had also made a small profit of £60 for the club coffers.

It was then time to formally introduce our special guest, Olivia Smallshaw. Steve Wright read out her latest palmarès, which is already remarkably impressive. Currently the No. 1 ranked Female Youth ‘A’ rider in the UK, Olivia recently won the Under-16 Girls Race at the Otley Cycle Races, finished second in the RTTC National Junior 25-mile Championship, and collected three silver medals – in the Elimination Race, Madison Race and Points Race – at the 2026 National Youth & Junior Track Championships.

Phil Liggett then took the microphone to talk a little about the current cycling scene before interviewing Olivia about her recent successes and her ambitions for the future. At just 15 years old, what she has already achieved in her cycling career is nothing short of remarkable.

Phil then presented Olivia with a small plaque as a memento of receiving the Pedal Club Bursary Award 2026, while our President presented her with one of the club’s 85th Anniversary polo shirts.

The lunch was attended by 42 members, old and new, and once again we thank the CSC for their excellent hospitality.

The Pedal Club Lunch July 2026

Pedal Club Lunch

July 2026

‘We want to make a TV documentary about African cycling, we’ve got an idea about the title – ‘Allez, Allez…..but we’re stuck for the rest. I know! Allez, Allez Zimbabwe! It sort of rhymes.

OK, Roger De Vlaeminck can go to Zimbabwe, find some talent, bring them back to Flanders and start training them for the next World Cyclo-Cross Championships!’

Jackson Vijarona was one of the riders De Vlaeminck picked out and took back to Belgium. He was the speaker at the July lunch when he told the club about his experiences, which were something of a baptism of fire.

Before arriving in Belgium, Vijarona had only ridden a BMX bike; his typical race distance was four hundred metres and he had never used a dérailleur or seen snow. De Vlaeminck’s idea of winter training runs started at eighty kilometres, on the road, ignoring bad weather. ‘I couldn’t feel my hands, I questioned my decision to come’.

There can be no doubt that, after a glittering career, Roger de Vlaeminck is a great coach, or that the Zimbabweans he picked had excellent physiques which made them potential champions. However, starting in 2004 with the aim of a good result in the 2005 World Championships was an ambitious target and it was not achieved. The difficulties of adapting to European climate and racing were too great to gain quick success. De Vlaeminck sent the riders home with their promise that they would train hard and have another go in the 2006 season; Jackson Vijarona and three others came back the next summer and rode criteriums in East Flanders which their coach hoped would get them used to the rhythm of Belgian racing. Another ‘training’ race was the Tour of Burkina Faso (the biggest African race) in November, and although the Zimbabweans seemed in good form at the start of the championships, they were still just not up to the world class standard of competition.

The project has continued, but without our speaker. However Jackson Vijarona has since shown great resilience: he has settled in Belgium, is in business as a domestic appliance repair engineer and has become a fluent Flemish speaker ‘I just picked it up, but I drew the line at French’. He has carried on with his cycling career, but not at world championship level. His story is an example of how an individual can benefit from sport, although not necessarily in the expected manner. Most bike riders have a soft spot for Belgium and what other country would make a TV series to equal Allez, Allez Zimbabwe?

Maurice Burton, another whose second language is Flemish, gave the speech of thanks. The meeting, held at the Civil Service Club, attracted thirty six members and guests.

Chris Lovibond,

July 2026.

The Pedal Club Lunch June 2026

The Pedal Club Lunch

June 2026

Many are called, few are chosen. Hannah Walker, the club’s speaker for June, is one of the few who are chosen to be journalists out of the many who desire to be in that profession.

Although Hannah does not think of herself as a journalist, modestly preferring "cycling expert and reporter", the Pedal Club itself was established mainly by cycling journalists and there is no doubt that the founding fathers would have recognised her as a colleague.

The "call" came in 2016 over the phone from Carlton Kirby when Hannah was out on her bike, training. "Would you like to help with some commentating?" She proved to be an apt pupil and her career took off rapidly. She was able to develop her school Spanish to a useful level and her first major Grand Tour job was on the Vuelta. Many will think it a shame that her own racing career came to an end at this point, but it must be remembered that her much loved brother was terminally ill and this alone would certainly have interrupted her racing, but the two events combined to change her life.

In fact Hannah is well qualified by experience to be a cycling reporter since, unlike some others, she had ten successful seasons of top level racing which included winning national track championships. She describes herself as "sports mad" from an early age and first competed as a runner but, at the age of fourteen, an attack of juvenile arthritis forced her to pause. Her grandfather had been in the bike game but, as she began to recover, it was her mother who was keen to take her to that vital "taster" session at the Manchester velodrome. She took to it immediately; this led to success on both track and road.

She is also a hard worker, preparing methodically in the evenings by making notes on riders and others whom she may have to interview the next day. These notes are, as she puts it, "old style", done with pen and paper which, she says, is helpful in memorising the information.

All these factors are a good foundation, but what came across strongly in Hannah’s talk was her lively enthusiasm for what she does. She sees it as an honour to do her work and there can be few better reasons to shine in any profession.

Pedal Club speakers are always given a response of thanks by a member. The club was very pleased to be able to give this job to a young woman member – Hope Inglis, who is also a current competitor on her bike. She performed the task admirably. (Photo of Hope.)

The meeting attracted 42 members and guests and was held at the Civil Service Club.

Chris Lovibond

June 2026

The Pedal Club Lunch May 2026

The club’s speaker for its May lunch was Sarah King, the chair of British Cycling’s Road

Commission and principal of The London Academy which promotes and supports women in bike racing.

Sarah King had a successful racing career, but on retirement she seems to have found her true metier as a supporter of other women in cycle sport. She spoke of her own beneficial relationship with a mentor during her racing career, and now it could be said that she is acting as a mentor for the whole of women’s racing.

Although it may not be immediately obvious from the London Academy website, Sarah’s approach is to follow the traditional lines of advice that young riders received in the past from old style cycling clubs. This would include information which is not so easily available now to a beginner who does not have connections within the sport*. For example, the Academy provides ‘workshops’ where knowledge is shared, newcomers encouraged to race, support provided for riders after set back (some are always inevitable), but above all to have fun.

These aims will be recognised by older riders as exactly the sort of support that newcomers would once have received from a good clubroom meeting but, as we know, such meetings are now a rarity. Sarah’s own beginnings in the sport were with the Sleaford Wheelers (in Lincolnshire)where she was introduced by her father at the age of sixteen; her first competitive ride was an evening ten. How traditional can you get?

Sarah’s ‘unique selling point’ is that she has recognised the good parts of the old system and repackaged them in a new format which, it is to be hoped, will appeal to novice riders in 2026 and beyond.

An important part of Sarah’s motivation is to redress the imbalance in women’s participation at all levels of the sport, from novice rider to administrator. While this is an excellent objective, it should be remembered that recruitment of young men into cyclesport is nothing like it once was – will some one please step forward to organise workshops, like Sarah’s, but for boys!

This meeting attracted thirty three members and guests to the Civil Service Club. It seems likely that the low turnout was caused by the threatened tube strike, which was cancelled too late for members to change their plans.

*In this writer’s opinion the problem of information for beginners is aggravated by current cycling journalism, which is mostly about spending lots of money on kit rather than enjoying cycling itself. The last thing we should be telling young people, who have limited means, is that cycling is an expensive pastime.

Chris Lovibond

May 2026.

The Pedal Club Lunch March 2026

The speaker for the March lunch was Mark Norman, a transport consultant and FORS practitioner with many years experience in the haulage business as a transport manager. It was in this role that he had to deal with a fatal accident in which a young woman was killed by an eighteen-ton truck belonging to his firm. It appears from the evidence that the driver was not altogether at fault since the cyclist had attempted to ‘undertake’ the lorry when it was about to turn left. It seems possible that the cyclist misinterpreted the intentions of the driver who had moved to the right in order not to go over the kerb with the back of his long truck. This is a perfectly standard procedure which all long vehicles must make when negotiating sharp left hand turns, but it is possible to think, wrongly, that the driver is actually turning right. However, it is not clear why the cyclist did not show up in the left hand mirror.

Mr. Norman made two important points arising from this tragic accident. First, that the ill effects went far beyond the victim and her family. The employees of the transport firm were also traumatised and the driver himself was so badly affected that he could no longer work and developed a cancer which ended his life a little more than a year after the accident.

He was thirty five years of age.

Secondly, he discussed strategies to reduce the risk of future accidents of this kind. Road safety education for both cyclists and drivers has a role to play – although it may seem obvious that undertaking any vehicle which could be on the point of turning left is dangerous. However, since this is a common cause of serious accidents, perhaps morei nformation would be helpful. Professional drivers must be qualified and there is no certainty that there is more scope for improving their training. Technology in the vehicle may also be beneficial: modern HGVs are equipped with cameras which can give a 360 degree view around the vehicle. However, the driver only has two eyes and there may be a limit to the number of screens which are useful in the cab; also high tech equipment is prone to failure and since those responsible are only human, it seems inevitable that there will sometimes be dangerously imperfect vehicles on the road.

This was an unpleasant subject and although we are prepared to accept that many good people are working diligently to improve standards, it seems that the best advice is to keep well away from HGVs, especially if there is any chance they might turn left!

The meeting attracted 37 members and guests.

Chris Lovibond

March ‘26.

The Pedal Club Lunch February 2026

In a change from the standard format this meeting had two speakers and, although they were both linked to the Community Cycle Workshop, their

connection was quite different.

Dondorebarwe Sakutombo had ridden the 2025 Rapha Festive 500 kilometres charity event, but he didn't do it the easy way, his ride was done in one hit at Herne Hill - on a Brompton!

This event has become an established feature of the track calendar and has been run each year since 2020. There are places for ten riders who each

nominate a charity of their choice - our speaker's contribution went to Community Cycle Workshop.

Dondo told us that he grew up in a deprived area of inner London where children's cycling didn't really happen. It wasn't until he got to university (Newcastle) that he discovered bikes and their possibilities and, encouraged by friends, he rode an event from Newcastle to Edinburgh (120 miles by A1, but suggested bike route 174 miles). He was bitten from that first long ride; already a runner, a career in triathlon beckoned. Now a hospital consultant he says he is too busy to race, but clearly in the distant future he may become a formidable competitor as a veteran cyclist.

He made two good points: an inappropriate bike in a charity event draws attention in a useful way, and that resilience on a bike leads to resilience

elsewhere in life.

Our second speaker was Stewart Vanns who founded Community Cycle Workshop in 2012. Stewart was involved with Bikeability as an instructor, but

he became aware that there were many children who could not take part because they had no bike, or the bike they did have was unusable and they didn't have the skill or money to effect repairs. He was also aware that large numbers of repairable bikes are thrown away, usually because the cost of repair is beyond the owner's means.

In a light bulb moment Stewart saw the need for a service to improve children's repair skills and to stop some of the very non-eco waste of destroying easily repairable bikes. This has proved to be an excellent idea, and since starting he and his workshop partner, Matthew Beale-Collins, have helped over 6,000 children to become competent amateur cycle mechanics - an essential part of being a real cyclist. Many of his students come from deprived backgrounds which make both the mechanical and travel aspects

even more important to them.

Community Cycle Workshop is based on a simple but excellent idea, and members responded with enthusiasm. At the lunch £210 was collected in cash for this charity; the club will double this amount from its own funds.

Another feature of this meeting was the presentation of the R.W. Williams silver cup for the Clubman of the Year to Mike Clark (see photo). Mike is a vital cog in keeping the club's now on the road. Apart from being assistant treasurer he fulfils many other important but largely unseen roles. Congratulations Mike - we hope you can keep up the good work long into the future.

There were forty four members and guests in attendance at the Civil Service

Club in Whitehall.

Chris Lovibond,

February 2026.

The Pedal Club Lunch January 2026

The Pedal Clubs January meeting included its AGM which was efficiently completed without controversy. As is usual for the club there was no speaker at this lunch.

The main interest in this meeting was the inauguration of a new president when the 2025 president, John Wheatley, handed on the chain of office to Charlie Allen. G.H.Stancer, the clubs founding chairman and leading light in the early days, would certainly have approved of this appointment since his original intention was that the club

should be able to present and promote cyclists views at government level. Charlie Allen is a member of The All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling, Walking and Wheeling - in a nutshell, they advise the government on its active travel policy.

Although it would be foolish to expect this committee to achieve dramatic improvements in the affairs of British cyclists, at the very least Charlie has a chance of making our voiceheard in Westminster. His new title of President of the Pedal Club will do him no harm in

this task.

The meeting was held at the Civil Service Club in Whitehall and attracted forty five members.

Chris Lovibond

January’26.

The Pedal Club Lunch November 2025

There were many who doubted the wisdom of holding the World Championships in Rwanda, but Jeremy Ford, the speaker for November, gave the club an account which showed there were many benefits. Jeremy has a long term interest in African cycling and has been involved in the promotion of Team Africa Rising for the past decade. He told the club that the races were well run and that the government had made sure there was adequate financial support.

The road race course was certainly tough, hard enough to make the world’s best struggle, and in fact in the elite men’s race there were only thirty finishers from one hundred and sixty four starters. However, the difficulties made the racing interesting – it was ‘oldfashioned’ in one important respect: most riders turned off their Garmins. This was because the conditions (altitude and heat) made all performance figures abnormal and therefore useless; spectators like riders needing to use their own judgements about how to race.

The main point the speaker made was that these championships should have a significant effect on African cycling generally. The races were covered by the world’s media, which naturally includes Africa and this meant that young people there saw, for the first time, African riders competing at the highest level.

In some parts of the world cycling is just seen as transport for the poor, but Africa is different and bikes are valued. Yes, they are used for work and transport, but there is also a genuine joy about riding, something less and less true in car saturated Europe. Although it must be admitted that football is Africa’s leading sport, cycling is coming up strongly, particularly in the eastern countries and the big world tour teams are now actively looking for African talent (there are already 140 Africans in world tour teams). The sport has come a long way from Tom Richie’s involvement in the 2006 ‘Wooden Bicycle Classic’.

African racing cyclists are now better equipped, although there are still some problems. Naturally, riders want the best modern kit but there can be confusion about what is really best for the conditions. ‘Hi Tech’ can be a bit too advanced for the current situation – for example at this championship some riders wanted to use a 12 speed electric change system but were disappointed to discover that there were only 11 speed chargers (different system) available in the whole continent. It’s necessary to understand that the best kit is what is suitable for local conditions. As a tiny contribution to this problem the Pedal Club is giving £500 to Jeremy’s cycling charity.

It has been suggested, erroneously, in the past that the Pedal Club membership is too old to do anything significant. In fact the club does have a few young members, but some of

the older ones are pretty active. At this meeting member Malcolm Freeman, freshly returned from the UCI world track championships at Roubaix, displayed his two silver medals won at this year’s event. He rode in the 75 plus age group and gained second place in both the points race and the pursuit. Congratulations and thanks to Malcolm for demonstrating that Pedal Club members can compete at world level.

The lunch attracted forty seven members and guests and was held at the Civil Service

Club.

Chris Lovibond,

November 2025.

Pedal Club Lunch, October 2025

The Pedal Club always strives to find interesting and prominent speakers and October’s guest was of the highest quality – Mark Cavendish. His invitation was based on the need for a signature on his Golden Book page, but we hoped we would learn more about the man and his career; we were not disappointed. After an introduction by Phil Liggett, Mark gave a brief acceptance speech: he made it clear thathe was well aware of the significance of the Golden Book, which has been signed by all the greats of British cycling since the nineteen thirties. His understanding of cycling history was also emphasised by his comment – ‘I always loved the club system, which was my start. Now it’s not doing so well, I wish we could do something to help it.’ We learned morefrom the later question and answer session.

On the pro scene, he told us that there is worry in some quarters that team budgets are unsustainably high, risking the possibility of a collapse. Perhaps following on from thispoint, he feels that pro cycling is becoming disconnected from the rest of the cycling world. It was once the pinnacle; now it seems to have become a thing apart. As for signing pro contracts at sixteen, he believes this is too young and that some sort of apprenticeship scheme should be available. He told us that his own son already thinks, incorrectly, that he

is a pro cyclist!

The UCI, he said, is easy to criticise, but he is sympathetic to many of the technical restrictions the organisation imposes, for example handlebar width regulation. There is pressure from those who want to popularise new products, but while technical advancemay have benefits, it should not affect the attractiveness of the sport, particularly in respect of safety.

Of himself he said that originally he wasn’t interested in fame, just wanting to ride and

race. He recognised his good luck in having enjoyed a great career which had allowed him to meet a wide range of interesting people. Asked for his best career moment he replied:

‘Retiring, and taking the computer off my bike.’

It was clear that Mark was aware that his experiences had developed him as a person,and after hearing him it is easy to believe that, while some of his early press coverage was

not always flattering, the mature Mark Cavendish will be an excellent ambassador for cycling.

Unsurprisingly, this meeting attracted more would be attenders than the dining room at the Civil Service Club has room to hold, so the number was the maximum possible: sixty five.

Chris Lovibond,

October 2025.

Pedal Club Lunch, May 2025

Vintage bikes are an unusual subject for a Pedal Club speaker, but Bob Johnson held the members’ attention by presenting what must be one of the all time most collectable bikes –

Bob is the owner (and restorer) of this gem, and although all cyclists ‘of a certain age’ are familiar with the Coppi legend there was much unfamiliar material in his talk. Apart from the bike, members were able to see intriguing documents relating to the day itself, including Tom Simpson’s contract to ride (photo below).

Much of this is covered by Bob’s excellent You tube video:

A significant event at the meeting was the presentation of a cheque for £1000 to Eloise Ward. A similar cheque will also be give to Zoe Roche who could not attend the lunch since she was racing abroad.

As is well known, the Club had wished to carry on the excellent work of its late member John Barclay by taking promising young riders to compete in Belgium but, sadly, the weight of red tape around safeguarding, combined with difficulties arising from Brexit have caused the failure of any plans for the 2025 season. However, the publicity for the proposed scheme did bring forward a number of applicants and two of these were really outstanding: Zoe Roche and Eloise Ward. Since there will be no expenditure this year on the John Barclay project, the Club decided to make an exceptional grant to the two riders.

It is pure coincidence that they are both young women, but the very brief career details below will make it obvious why they were chosen:

Eloise Ward

Current U16 National Points Champion. Age group winner 2024 GHS National TT Racing on the road in Belgium last year, from five starts, she achieved four podium placings. One of these was third place in the U17 Ronde van Vlaanderen in her first year in the age group.

Zoe Roche

British National Cyclo Cross Junior Women’s Champion 2025.

Lloyds Bank National Cyclo Cross Trophy

Junior Women’s Champion 2025

World Cyclo Cross Championship – Mixed Relay Team World Champions

It’s worth mentioning the Eloise gave a short but very competent acceptance speech; one

comment she made on the day was – ‘I love racing in Belgium, on real roads and in much

bigger fields than in the UK’.

The lunch attracted forty two members and guests and was held at the Civil Service Club

in Whitehall.

Chris Lovibond

May 2025

Nature's Symphony

Breathtaking colors of our planet

Faces of Humanity

Portraits of people from around the globe

Sands of Time

Stark beauty of desolate dunes

Pedal Club Lunch, April 2025

YThe club’s speaker for April was Ian Tierney who is the CEO of Wheels for All, the largest cycling charity serving disabled people.

It is all too easy for the able bodied to forget the problems of the disabled, who represent an increasing proportion of our ageing population. Even among our non disabled citizens about one fifth are inactive, but for the disabled this figure doubles to 42%; inactivity often creates ill health and depression and bikes can give the opportunity of exercising to many of those who, left to themselves, might be condemned to sitting indoors.

The Wheels for All website

( https://wheelsforall.org.uk/ ) demonstrates the great amount of ingenuity which has gone into constructing machines which make the seemingly impossible….possible.

Ian Tierney came from that lively area for club cycling and racing, the Wirral peninsula, andhe is himself an ex-racing man. So Wheels for All is quite a way from his entry point into cycling but, he told us, there is much support from the club world for his organisation, which has 160 ‘hubs’ throughout the country.

A collection at the meeting raised £220 for the charity.

A feature of the lunch was the signing and presentation of an eighty-eighth birthday card for Doug Collins, a longstanding member and former president of the club. He had a great racing career as a young man which he followed with many years of work for the sport, including race promotion and officiating at events. He first gained real attention at the age of nineteen in 1956 when riding the Oats Circuit of Britain which was a forerunner of the Milk Race and had a good quality field. The final day was a split stage with a time trial in the morning and a road race in the afternoon: Doug won both. He turned independent in 1961 riding for Condor. Since 1964 he has been involved in race promotion and even now he is still active in supporting the Victor Berlemont Trophy Race which he revived fifteen years ago.

The meeting attracted thirty five members and guests and was again held at the Civil

Service Club in Whitehall.

Chris Lovibond,

April 2025

Pedal Club Lunch, March 2025

For the March meeting Jeremy Ford was both a newly enrolled member and the speaker. We are confident that Jeremy will be a great asset to the club, particularly because he has recently retired from his twenty five year conventional career (marketing of elite legal services) and now intends to devote his energies to his passion – the promotion of African cycling. He has a longstanding involvement with the Qhubeka Charity and Team Africa Rising.