Cycling for me has always been about escaping and I’m sure that we all have memories of cycling as a child and the freedom it gave us. From my first Raleigh Budgie bike, then onto a hand me down Raleigh Viking, it feels like I’ve been cycling my entire life.
Back in the late 1990s I was a dedicated and fanatical mountain biker and had become an active member of my local club in Berkshire called Berks On Bikes (B.O.B) who were as welcoming and inclusive as Bigfoot are today. MTB became an absolute passion of mine and I used to race regularly at the local Gorric races – usually at the back of the pack and we would regularly take trips to north Wales or ride out to the South Downs. We were fortunate enough to live right on the doorstep of Swinley Forest and B.O.B was very much at the forefront of promoting MTB in the area with leading rides for beginners and helping to maintain what was then the start of the established trails that exist there now. We would ride out in all weathers, hot, cold, rain, mud, snow, ice and we had regularly weekly night rights into the forest each week.
It was whilst out on one of those night rides that I had a very nasty accident in the middle of nowhere, deep in the forest. I hit a huge mud patch and went straight over the bars, reaching out with my arms to break my fall. When I looked down I realised that my left arm had broken at the elbow and it took a few moments for me to realise that my forearm and hand were now pointing unnaturally up towards the sky, which is when the screaming started (and not just me, but my riding buddies too!) I passed out for a few seconds and when I came around, my fellow B.O.B mates were trying to get me up off of the cold wet muddy ground. Unfortunately, this was also before the days of Air-Ambulances and I ended up having to walk almost a mile to the waiting ambulance. I underwent surgery at Frimley Park that evening in order for the doctors to try and save my arm, which followed with a lengthy and painful 2 year period of recovery. After that incident I would go out on rides with the club but I couldn’t get over being too overly cautious. It seemed like I had just about lost all of my confidence and then, following some further health problems and work constraints, I gave up cycling altogether.
Fast forward onto 2001 and I followed work to Bromley and would often drive past what was then the Bigfoot Shop in Hayes and I would tell myself that I really should start cycling again. But it wasn’t until about 2007 that I eventually looked it up online and found out that there was also a cycle club associated with the shop. Two years later I bought myself a new mountain bike. At the time, I couldn’t find any legal off road rides so I just used to ride out to the O2 and the Greenwich peninsula and back. For some reason I was never able to pluck up the courage to come along for a ride with the Bigfoot MTB crew and I just kind of figured then that my confidence really was shot.
Then in early 2012 a friend of mine at work told me she was selling her road bike – on a pure whim I bought it. It was a 2007 Giant OCR. It was slightly too small for me but I loved it anyway. Soon after, I started to commute into work to Tonbridge over the summer and after a few months getting a reasonable level of fitness, I finally decided that now was the time to join Bigfoot.
I turned up on an unusually chilly morning in late August of 2012 and nervously joined the group of waiting cyclists outside Hayes Village Hall. The warm welcome from Hugh Webb with his little notepad was especially memorable and after a few words from this wisest of men, it was decided that I ride with the L6s. It is a ride that I will never forget. The lovely Sam Haley was that days ride leader and she immediately made me feel welcome and relaxed. I had taken time to read all the ride rules so thought that I knew exactly what to expect – HAHA! But I didn’t take into account how much concentration is needed to ride in a group. It was really hard work and mentally exhausting … and I loved every single second of it. Our ride took us to the top of Ide Hill and back and the route we took will always remain a favourite of mine. At the end of the ride, Sam pointed at me and said “next week, you are in L5”. That felt amazing to me and spurred me on to come back week after week. I will always remember that warm welcome on that first day and it’s what I always try to pass onto other new members. That’s what it’s all about right?
I have learned to be a better rider from being part of Bigfoot. The help and advice that is passed on from other members is very special. The group riding ethos of the club was being introduced when I joined and I was lucky enough to attend the first ever club induction where Sandra Godwin explained the whole group riding approach that we were expected to sign up to. It all just made perfect sense to me and I bought into it straight away. Quickly I began to realise that there is nothing better than that feeling when you know that everyone in your group is looking after one another & that nobody gets left behind.
It was during my first trip to France with the club that Sandra approached my and asked that I join the committee. I agreed to take on the role of Website Administrator. My first job was to upgrade the old website to bring it up to date which seemed to go really well. I’m still in that role and an active and some would say a very vocal member of the committee.
I then started promoting the group riding techniques within the groups that I was riding with which eventually led me onto study to become a British Cycling Level 2 Coach.
A few years after joining the club I quit my job working in Finance based I.T and took about 6 months out to de-stress having just been diagnosed with severe depression. What was amazing was that it gave me time to ride my bike and whilst doing so I would talk to my ride buddies about what was going on in my head. The support I received from Jane, Michaela, Rachael, Karen, Antz and more was incredible and I will always be forever grateful.
It was around that time that Spencer told me about a Cycle Training role at Bromley Council and suggested that I apply. Four years later and I am now working full time as a Bikeability Cycle Instructor teaching tons of kids (Ive estimated it at about 1800 children to date) and adults each year and helping to promote cycling and road safety in our borough. The job has also enabled me to study and qualify as a C&G Level 2 bike mechanic and as a result I now also work at Panagua Bikes as a mechanic, an absolute joy.
In my first few years as a club member I was able to name so many positive experiences that made my time on the bike memorable. That first club ride out to Ide Hill, Sandra’s first induction meeting where we were all made to feel welcome, my first attempt as ride leader where my group got lost and nobody really seemed to care, my first Hayes-Brighton ride (a joy), the 2013 Ride London 100, my first Hugh’s HotXBuns ride, Le Ronde Picarde, our annual ride to Wimmeraux (a personal favourite), marshalling at the SERRL and CP Crits, achieving my first century whilst climbing up Gangers in 2013 …and the first time I had the confidence to pass on some knowledge to a new club rider & for it to be taken on board and gratefully received.
Many of you will now by now that I am a rather soppy beggar. I can honestly say that being a member of this club has changed my life for the better. 1000%. Not only has it improved my skills and fitness on the bike but I have also been lucky from a personal friendship point of view. I have learned so much and continue to do so, and I have made so many dear and life long friends. Several things remain constant to me – our club, my mates, my bikes, the North Downs, Knatts Valley, Pilgrims Way, Ide Hill, Star and cake, always cake!
This really is very special club. I firmly believe that we are all lucky to be part of it and that we have many reasons to be extremely proud. Vive Le BigfootCC!
Andy.
