Coronation Day! - but the real men carried on with racing, despite the foul weather; Northwood Wheelers lost the team prize because two of their riders punctured; new '25' pb of 1:05:25; broke a toestrap in a '10' finishing with 26:30.

621 miles

Mon June 1^st 18 miles Went shopping in the morning and then got my bike ready for tomorrow’s inter-club ‘25’ against the South Ruislip. C.C. Club night in the evening. Did not take any bookings as we have another ‘25’ on Sunday and then a track meeting at Slough.

Tues June 2^nd 40 miles Coronation Day Got up at 6.15 a.m. to ride in the annual inter-club ‘25’, only to find it raining and blowing hard. [Those of you that remember Coronation Day will also remember the rain. It poured. However, like Queen Salote of Tonga we rode bravely around the course in our open carriages……!]. I was off number 27 at 8.08 and struggled to the turn, in the strong head wind, in about 39 minutes, and then twiddled my legs off on the return leg to record 1.08.23. Colin Turner won with a 1.4 and Ken Dopson and Alan Browne both did 1.5. But the Northwood Wheelers lost the team prize to the South Ruislip for the first time because both Alan Stratman and Jim Farrell punctured. Jim also started 50 seconds late. We only lost by about a minute on aggregate time however. I came 17^th in the event and about 8^th in the Northwood Wheelers. It was a very hard day. Came home and watched the Coronation on television for about 12 hours non-stop. The weather did not seem to spoil Coronation day!

Wed June 3^rd 14 miles Another cold, windy and showery day. The last two days have been the coldest June days since 1926! In the morning I cycled over to Eastcote twice and then to Ruislip. I then went to Pinner and spent the rest of the day pottering around. Went to the pictures later in the afternoon. I hope that the weather warms up and the wind drops for Sunday – we have not had a windless day for our racing yet this year.

Fri June 5^th 31 miles Went out training through Rickmansworth and Chorleywood to Amersham and then home via the Chalfonts and Ickenham. A nice night, but the wind has now turned round and it was harder on the way back! It was quite warm, the weather having improved in the last two days.

Sat June 6^th 22 miles Up to Pinner and Eastcote twice in the morning and then up to Gordon’s at Northwood Hills. Had elevenses with Bob Harvey. In the afternoon I rode over to Ruislip to see the local [Coronation] celebrations, and met Brian. We saw the procession again in Eastcote. Phoned Roger and went round to his house in the evening.

Sun June 7^th 72 miles Up at 4.45 a.m. and out soon after 5.30. I was off number 21 in the club ‘25’. Reached the turn in about 33 minutes and then flew back to improve by 59 seconds to a personal best of 1.05.25. I caught three riders and Brian Major caught me. Brian won the event with a 1.03.23. Ken Dopson improved to 1.04.04, Alan Stratman 1.04.14 (but several minutes late), Roger Bingham 1.05.19 and Jim Farrell 1.05.20. I came 6^th in the event and 3^rd in the handicap. A very good event.

We spent the afternoon at Slough track. They had motor pacing – Bateman won from C.S.I. Scott and Robins. Cold but a very nice day.

Mon June 8^th 10 miles Club night. Took bookings for Sunday’s run to Box Hill and entered this weeks club ‘10’ and the ‘50’ on June 21^st.

Wed June 10^th 6 miles Held a committee meeting at Tom Simpson’s. We discussed the club dinner and club track championships. The dinner will probably be on December 3^rd and the track meeting on August 9^th. A very warm night for a change. If it keeps like this until tomorrow it might well be fast.

Thurs June 11^th 31 miles Roger called for me soon after 7.00 p.m to go out for the evening ‘10’. It had been pouring since dinnertime and it did not stop until the start of the race. Boff Empson turned up to do the time keeping. Shiela Johns and Ron Hatton turned up for the turn, but there was nobody else! Roger and I rode, and I beat Roger to do a 26.10. There was a thick mist over much of the course and it was very warm and sticky. Since there was little wind it was ideal for racing. My speed for this event was exactly the same as that for the ‘25’ last Sunday – 22.930 m.p.h.!

Sat June 13^th 25 miles Went up to Gordon’s and then over to Tom Simpson’s and Boff Empson’s. Went to Pinner twice. In the afternoon I rode over to Wembley to see my sister’s new flat. It drizzled and I had to burn it up both ways.

Sun June 14^th 83 miles left Northwood at 9.30 a.m. down through Hillingdon, making our way (just about!) through Walton to the Winning Post café at Esher, where we picked up Ken Dopson. We then continued on to Leatherhead and climbed Box Hill the hardest way possible – across the stepping stones and straight up the wooded slope! We had dinner at the Old Forge and then climbed up to Ranmore Common and down to Ripley, Pyrford and Woking to the Old King’s Head at Chobham for tea. Came home via Sunningdale, Staines and Iver. A very nice day but showery.

Mon June 15^th 10 miles Club night. Played darts and table tennis. I entered for the club ‘50’ this Sunday. Got wet going up to the club rooms.

Tues June 16^th 18 miles Out for a short ride around the lanes through Ruislip, Harefield and Northwood. It was very windy but quite warm; heavy showers later. Met Len Chapman and Boff.

Wed June 17^th 12 miles Went over to Wembley in the evening to my sister’s flat, and combined this trip with a short training run. I had two Chemistry exams today.

Sat June 20^th 10 miles Did usual Saturday things today. Paid Tom 3/6d for the ‘50’ – I am 3^rd off with a 4 minute handicap. Also paid 3d to Bob Harvey for the club magazine, and bought a film with my ‘tea money’.

Sun June 21^st 76 miles I got up at 5.30 a.m. and out of the house by 6.00. I was off number 3 in the club ‘50’ . It was hard in places to the turn, Alan Stratman catching me at Walton. I did about a 1.10 to the turn but sagged badly on the return leg. I packed it in when I caught Alan on the way back at Wendover. Colin Turner won the event with a 2.15.

Went swimming with the two Brians (Huggins and Major) in the afternoon at Black Park lake.

Mon June 22^nd 10 miles Club light. I did not take any bookings as it is the WLCA ‘100’ and Slough track league on Sunday. Len and I entered for the South Ruislip C.C.’s ‘100’ on July 12^th. We had a short committee meeting. Len and I are going training on Slough track on Wednesday evening.

Wed June 24^th 32 miles I called for Len at about 5.30 p.m. and we rode over to Slough track. Got our bikes ready and did some training – mainly fast lapping – about 4 or 5 miles of it. Roger came down later. It rained on the way home, but a very satisfying evening.

Thurs June 25^th 27 miles Out with Roger to see a track meeting at Paddington. Very good indeed. Enzo Sacchi beat Reg Harris in the sprints but then Reg beat his own national 440 yards record with a time of 24.0 seconds. In the 10 mile event Severn and Burgess lapped the field on a 520 yard track. A very fine and warm day.

Fri June 26^th 18 miles Another scorching day! I went for a ride in the evening with Len, through Rickmansworth, along the Denham by-pass and then up Church hill. We met the club at Nell’s café in Northwood.

Sat June 27^th 11 miles Up to Pinner in the morning to do some shopping and to have a haircut. Then up to Gordon’s to meet the boys. Stayed in all the afternoon listening to the test match. Got bike ready for tomorrow. Phoned Len and Alan. Alan and Brian Major then came round and we worked on the programme for the club track championships. Brian had spent the afternoon with Tony Standing, watching a wonderful meeting at Herne Hill.

Sun June 28^th 45 miles Woke up to find it pouring with rain – again! It stopped later and I met Len and some others at Northwood and we proceeded to Slough track. We got ready and had dinner. Len won two laps in our event and I finished up at the back of the field! Quite a good lark though. I must do a good ride in the ‘10’ on Wednesday night to satisfy my ego. Came home the usual way. A useless day.

Mon June 29^th 10 miles Club night. I paid Roger 1/6d for the club ‘10’ on Wednesday. It is a handicap event and I have got 15 seconds.

Wed June 31^st 30 miles Ambled over to the start with Roger and Ernie Jeffs. I flew out to the turn in about 12.40, but then broke my toe strap on turning and came back much slower because of this. I nearly fell off on Stanley hill when my foot slipped off. Eventually I did a slow 26.30 to come third behind Len Chapman (25.49) and Roger Bingham (26.19). There were 9 riders. A very nice evening and satisfying because I felt fit.