Tom and Sheila Simpson have emigrated to Canada; some jokes; Calendar of open events; the Cyclist's Alphabet.

 

Cover - another card cover with a Patterson picture by courtesy of “Cycling”. This time it features a cyclist pushing his bike up a steep track.

Page 1

Editorial. Bob begins with Tom  and Sheila Simpson, who emigrated to Canada after getting married - by the time the magazine was in the hands of the members, they would have been on the high seas. You can read a bit more about the Wheelers’ send off for the Simpsons in Open Roads for March 1954. As well as featuring in one of my favourite Northwood Wheelers tales, Tom was one of the significant club members and served on the RTTC Courses Committee.

Five more members are welcomed to the Club.

Page 2

Jokes! I like the last one best…

And then something of a paean to the bicycle. preaching to the converted, I would have thought…

Page 3

A list of Sunday club runs, along with meal destinations.

A cartoon. This is probably the first illustration in a club newsletter. I’ve used stencils myself a few decades ago, but I don’t know how drawing would have been done on wax stencils - presumably directly onto the stencil? Anyway, I guess the cartoon is of Boff Empson, who I think had a reputation of being able to sleep through anything.

Page 4

Racing Results.

Colin Turner won another club ’25’ with 1:06:39, with Stan Boyes taking the handicap win.

On the other had, a few weeks earlier Brian Major won the “Twiddlers Ten” - I think this is restricted to 63” fixed.

The Club events programme is presented, with David Saunders being very strict about when entries and fees need to be in.

Pages 5-7

One of Our Trips. This is a rather strange little tale that begins as an account of a club run an ends up transmogrified into a flight of fancy!

Page 8

Open Events. Colin Turner (Open Events Secretary) presents a listing of the Association events for the 1954 season. The Norlond Time Trial Combine and West London CA are both still active as far as I know. [Around the time I moved south and joined the North Bucks Road Club, full fields on the F1 were reasonably common, and I think the Associations were a useful way to break into the faster courses in the area. Since then, the North Middlesex and Herts CA has ceased operating]. Club members are warned that they aren’t to enter the WLCA ’50’ on 4th July since it’s being organised by the Northwood Wheelers. 

I note there are two WLCA ’50’s, one listed as L-Z (on 13th June) and the other as A-K (on 4th July). I’m not sure what the letters refer ro - riders or club names are possibilities.

Also a call for marshals for the SRCC ‘100’ and the WLCA and Norlond ’12’s.

Another cartoon, this time of a marshal standing alone in the rain (probably of Bob Harvey, the magazine editor, who was well known for his marshalling). 

Page 9

An odd light-hearted letter referring to the baffling quiz in the previous edition of the magazine. 

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An odd little tale professing to be an account of the invention of the bicycle in Russia, complete with a sketch of same. I note the Corima 4-spoke wheels!

Page 10

The Cyclist’s Alphabet, by The Bard. Quite amusing, I like A for ‘andlebars!