The first Willesden Cycling Club was formed in 1884, in the days of the old penny farthing bicycle, when Willesden was not much more than a village. The club flourished as a non-racing social club and was famous for its Smoking Concerts, pantomimes and candle-lit runs to the wilds of Harrow and Stanmore. The club ceased to exist in 1914, when like so many of the early clubs its members were called away to the Great War.

The first Willesden Cycling Club c.1900-1

 

Today’s club

There does not appear to be any connection with the first Willesden Cycling Club and the present day club, which was formed in 1926. After the General Strike of that year, a group of socialists decided to make use of the bicycle as a means of conveying the Labour Party Political Cause, to as wide an audience as possible. The result was the formation in August 1926 of the Willesden Socialist Cycling Club, by Eric Macdonald.

The state of the bicycles or the competence of the riders were of no importance, as the object of each club run was to reach a village near London and hold a political meeting in the afternoon. One ingenious member designed a platform for the speaker, which could be dismantled into small sections. Each member on the club run could then carry a section of the platform, which would be assembled on reaching the venue for that day.

Members of the club soon began enjoying the cycling part of the club, as much as the politics. In 1927 the organisation of the club’s racing events began to take place. The first event was a 25 mile Time Trial on 11th September and was won by a J. Revill in 1 hour, twelve minutes and ten seconds a time that some of the current members would have trouble achieving.

The club rapidly grew in membership, until its sheer size caused considerable embarrassment to the tearooms, inns and other catering establishments, when over 100 members turned up at the club runs’ tea venues. From then on the club runs were split in three sections; Century hard riders, rambling and social section.

In 1928 the club held its first gymkana and field day. This event became a popular part of the West London cycling calendar and continued until the late 1950s. This also saw the club established as a major promoter of racing and social events.

In1931 the club’s name was changed to the Willesden Cycling Club. Two months later on the 22nd of March, the club promoted the first of its famous open Low Gear 25 Mile Time Trials. The event was restricted to 61inch gears and was won by B.Bevan in 1 hour, seven minutes and nine seconds, a result that astounded the cycling world at the time.

The 1930s saw the club again grow in membership and achievements. The members were always willing to try new ideas in both the social and racing spheres. The members may have taken their cycling seriously, but they still enjoyed getting up to mischief. A Ghost Run through Hadleigh Woods resulted in so many courting couples being frightened out of their wits, that the ride had to be called off. A boating event on Elstree Reservoir developed into the members having a mock sea battle and resulted in the club being barred from the reservoir.

The following weekend, the club secretary, unaware of the previous debacle, took his fiancée to Elstree for an afternoon out. Unfortunately he was wearing a club lapel badge and ended up catching the full weight of the boat keeper’s ire.

On the racing side, the club became involved in the growing interest in massed start racing and in 1939 promoted one of the first open events on the Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit.

The Second World War put an end to almost all the club’s activities and it was put into the hands of trustees for the duration. Limited events were held with members who were not called up. A forces’ newsletter replaced the club magazine. Three members gave their lives for King and Country; as a result, once the war had ended a fund was started for a suitable memorial.which was the  memorial bed in the children’s ward of the pre-NHS Willesden Cottage Hospital. 

The club quickly recovered. By the late 1940s, the club was producing stars of national and International renown, particularly in the ten years between 1948 and 1958, which saw club members hit the headlines in all spheres of the sport. Although the early successes were on the track in pursuit racing, the Time Trial and Road Racing Teams quickly followed on the road to success. Two ex-members, Les Scales and Ken Mitchell turned professional, Ken being a member of Great Britain’s first Tour de France team.

1959 saw the emergence of another young promising rider, Ken Daniels, who rode the Tour of Britain and the Tour d’Avenir

1950 Willesden CC dinner programme prize page

The sixties and seventies proved to be a period of flux, with plenty of young talent joining the club, learning to race and then join more glamorous sponsored outfits. By 1974 a crisis point was reached with the number of active riders easily counted on one hand. A special meeting of Club Officers was convened, to discuss disbanding the club. It was the familiar problem  that younger riders wanted to concentrate on riding and leave the organisation of the club’s activities to the older members, who were growing tired of officiating for so many years with out seeing any sign of a successor. 

Thankfully a decision was taken at the meeting to continue the club as long as possible. This proved to be a turning point for the club. Instead of trying to produce superstars and recapture the glory days of the fifties, members got back on their bikes and started to once again to enjoy the basic pleasure of cycling.

The arrival of the seventies saw the start of Audax in the UK, which attracted riders of all abilities as it involves riding an event at your own pace. Willesden got involved in this side of the sport from the start, both as riders and event promoters. The club has been National Audax Club Champions twelve times between 1983 and 2011. Liz Creese, Peter Turnbull, Mark Brooking and Jack Eason have all been National Champions, for a combined 14 times. The crowning glory came in 1999, when Willesden won the Overseas Club Cup in the prestigious 1200km Paris-Brest-Paris event. Sixteen members participated, making this the largest group of riders in one club, ever to have completed the event at the time.

All this pales into insignificance, when compared against the exploits of Jack Eason, one of Willesden’s oldest riders, who competed in many international events right across the globe and as result was voted in the year 2000 as the “Randoneur of the Millennium.”

Present Day

Willesden CC is still active today. Members are active in riding and organising Audaxes and taking part in bikepacking events like the Transcontinental Race. The 400km London Wales London (it just avoids London and barely touches Wales), organised by Liam FitzPatrick, is probably the best known annual Audax event, selling out like an Oasis concert.

In competitive cycling Jayne Paine has won many Veteran World Championship golds and set World Bests  on the Track. Stuart Birnie was  2014 24-hour Time Trial World Champion.

!950’s club run

1939 cycling polo team

David Handley, bronze medalist in the world amateur sprint championships of 1960.

Jack Eason, Randoneur of the Millennium

Ken Mitchell at the Tour de France