1/. Father & Father's Trip to France

Later, when Monsieur Aubrey the proprietor  of my residence had told everyone that my  father was coming from the UK to see what i was up to, a reception was arranged for the evening in the restaurant where  I  ate most days. I did not suspect I had many fans but  rather that they  wanted to  meet the man who was riding all the way from South Yorkshire, to them a distant  place, who was obviously more  of a rider than the son.'  

Before I relate what was an epic journey, it will help if first, I tell you  more about my father. He was born Norman Joshua Neale, the Joshua being after his father's name, presumably why he was known as Josh  ,he was quite a character. The story  in his family, he had eight brothers and sisters, is that as a young child along with a friend, they  became bored with the  pontification at the local chapel on Sunday. Who would not be?  Going outside they saw the key in the lock and locked the door, subsequently losing the  key. Understandably, he never went to chapel again, as he was banned. Did I also tell you he was also intelligent ? 

 Josh was also the secretary  of my first cycling club the Mexborough Road Club, not to be confused with the obviously less successful Mexborough Wheelers, who could boast a certain Bill Cheadle as a member,  before we snaffled him in our club. I think the attraction was called Betty         

My father presumably became secretary in 1939 when all the male members left to go to war,  never to return, holding this position until the  club became defunct  in the 1980s 

He  was an iron moulder by trade, very hard physical work which was a reserved occupation during the war.

  My father had a passion  for horse racing and to a limited extent, the gambling that went with it, biking was his only means of transport as it was for everyone at that time. This was how he met my mother Clarice, herself was  from a family of eight, they rode tandem together up to the day they married, then she never rode again. 

It being normal that at the weekend, the father had to look after the son, so I rode  on a  cushion on my father's 'crossbar to all the local race meetings. Doncaster, Pontefract, Wetherby, York etc. My father who was a small lightweight was often mistaken for a  jockey and asked for tips. He missed his way, it would have been easier as well as more profitable being a  tipster instead of an iron moulder.  

On writing to my parents, I explained to my father that if he wanted, he could easily come to Saint Brieuc by riding to Southampton, catching the ferry  to St Malo, then crossing the Rance by local Ferry to Dinard. This he could do in his summer holidays: it being an easy ride for him along the coast to St. Brieuc. 

The big day arrived , the reception committee eagerly awaiting his arrival in the evening, at the bar.  The evening wore on no father yet, more beer, still no father, more beer, it was getting dark, still no father, it became dark, no father. Despite all the beer, everyone  had become rather anxious. "oh!  You should ring the Hospital  Police Pompiers etc" I was the only one quite calm assuring everyone that he would arrive, he did quite late in the day with no lights, more beer. 

Eventually, some days later, I obtained the full story of why he was so late. he failed to  take the ferry across the Rance arriving in Dinan thinking it was Dinard; at that time the tidal power station had not been built, there being  no bridge across the Rance. Being rather lost he managed to find a local priest who had spent some time in Ireland and spoke English.. He explained to my father to take the other river bank to  Dinard which obviously increased the distance. 

Finally, arriving in Dinard, he took the coast road to wards  St. Brieuc  Thinking he had arrive in St Brieuc , he could not find Boulevard Charner, which I had explained was next to the railway station. Of course he was in the  beautiful  coastal resort of St Briac . 

Setting  off again you can imagine he was now becoming rather hungry ; he had a few francs in local currency, left over to a previous trip to Paris that he never said a word about. So he called in the local    "epecerie"   grocers shop to see what he could obtain with the few francs in his  possession. He bought a bottle of wine , as he did not have enough money  to buy any food.  The chocolate he was bringing me, as it hardly existed in Western France at that time, became consumed along with the wine. 

Naturally, after this, he was tired, being the middle of summer, he was soon fast asleep, oblivious of the fact that there was probably adders in the grass.  Suitably refreshed he set off again but after some time he was uneasy ; something was wrong, finally he realised the sea was on the left not the right, turning round, he finally arrived at his destination the same day though it was almost midnight.

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 This is my father in the middle and a good friend Albert Thorpe on the left. he was a good track sprinter in his day, there is no prize for guessing the third

Table of the Book Contents

out

Nuts & Bolts

This is the last entry in the book and I had intended it to  be the first chapter in the book

what do you think was I right or wrong

I never kept a diary  or made a collection of newspaper cuttings, mostly I have written from memory

. The two articles I wrote for the Sporting Cyclist in 1960/61 have been of  assistance. In addition, I had kept the race itinerary or program for the Tour de France L'Avenir, the Bayern Rundfahrt, the Investec 4 day stage race, where it is noted that the British team for the separate younger age race was: Keith Gordon, Mark Robinson, Geoff Platts and Phil Galloway

. Also,  I had the result for the race Tom  won on the 13 June 1958, plus the souvenir programme for the Vaux Grand Prix 18 June 1967, One programme was kept for the 7 times I rode the Tour of  Luxembourg, as this was for 1958, it must have been the first time I rode, where the only 2 other British riders listed were Doug Collins and Denis Hill.

Luckily, I retained a copy of the German magazine The Velo for 1988, which had some details of the races in Provence, add to the list a couple of French Magazines which had cyclo-sporting results.

. By chance a couple of years ago I purchased an old Sport and Vie magazine in a local Bric-a-brac at Binic, which had some details of the Mid Aout Bretagne for 1961

     At one time I did have a log book of the prize money I had earned  recording the finishing results for my time in Brittany. A necessary check of verification to make sure you received your entitlement. 

     A few years ago , when I was clearing things out, I came across these records, when looking at the money involved, was disgusted with how little this was and threw them away. I did not think it so  little at the time, it kept the wolf from the door. Supposedly, I  have  been influenced or even indoctrinated by the earnings of the businesses I have owned and directed,

Unquestionably, I was not the biggest earner  as a cyclist, but the confidence and experience I gained in  the the years 1960/61/62. have stood me in good stead in the world after cycling. Thereafter, going onto have a successful business career, even though  being hampered  by the  politics of the time.

Some of the most successful riders have  made a complete  mash of their investments or  business endeavours later. Stephens Roche's debts of £730,000 accrued by his hotel and training camps in Mallorca has made him no longer welcome on this island.

A recent example is Cippolini's restaurant venture in the USA

Earlier Malcolm Elliot's earnings were managed by a broker who misappropriated the funds: Malcolm having a few years of worry  before he received compensation.

Barry Hoban's venture into the  new cycle factory  in Wales went belly up, finally working as a rep very successfully at Phil Griffiths Cycle import business Yellow Ltd. 

Even Bernard Hinault' s investments in cycling component manufacturing and agricultural supplies were said not to have been without problems, which I suppose is why he went to work for the Tour De France at a salary not  commensurate with his status.

Sir Bradly Wiggins appears  to  have joined the list with liquidations of companies he had ploughed money into. Currently, he is  being sued for debts in excess of one million pounds .   

     I did not think you the reader wanted boring with too many detail of this and that race. some time ago, I looked at a book of some lesser rider like me, talking about what gear they rode in this time trial and why  the  preferred this course to that course, I thought this is so  boring: I am trying not to fall into that trap.. I hope I have succeeded and  I hope you will understand if an 82-year-old's , memory is not perfect.

     I have tried not to express any religious or political view having failed by admitting I am an atheist and did not vote for Brexit as I consider myself fundamentally a  European. I will comment on my opinion of the current situation after Brexit. I believed that for the  ordinary  citizen it has eroded our rights to  benefit from being geographically European. What is not  understood is the immigration policy  of the UK as opposed to  the EU, the UK being far more liberal than the EU in accepting  skilled workers on a worldwide basis, if they have the necessary skills...

Footnote  I said I would comment on the situation with Brexit after  Brexit.   

Well here it is,  I think it is a right FUCK UP  not to put too fine a  point on it

Just a note to explain if you are perplexed by the reference to Brexit in a cycling book, there are various passages  in the book which explained incidents on my travels to Europe before the UK joined the EU, which are  of particular interest to British readers as they are the type of incidents that are reoccurring .