OFF TRACK SPOKES
Bike shops keep grassroots cycling alive
Carlton Reid attends British Cycling’s annual gala dinner and sees champion’s jerseys emblazoned with bike shop names.
THE 54TH annual British Cycling gala dinner took place in a huge hotel on the soul-less National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham. I was a guest of British Cycling, specifically the organisation’s Go Ride section. The Bicycle Association’s Bike hub levy is now the “industry sponsor” of Go Ride, a great move, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Go Ride coach. The gala dinner was a chance for cycling champions of today and yesterday to rub shoulders with the champions of tomorrow. It was fantastic to watch up-and-coming youngsters queue for autographs from the likes of Victoria Pendleton. Ms. Pendleton’s influence was plain to see in the number of young women at the event. When interviewed on stage by Ned Boulting, all the young women asked said they had been inspired to start riding by the exploits of Queen Vic. The gala dinner was also an
awards evening. Brian Cookson got an award for not being Pat McQuaid and there were new inductees into British Cycling’s Hall of Fame. Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Roger Hammond and Rob Hayles were among those inducted. There are no bike shop owners in the Hall of Fame. There ought to be. Here’s why. Highlights of 2012 videos were shown during the evening. As well as footage of Chris Froome
Wondering what the Twitterati have been up to this month? Look no further...
Any disunity within UK bicycle advocacy merely reflects the
sheer versatility of the bicycle. It means a lot of things to a lot of people.
@lofidelityjim
Cyclist had ridden "several miles" on M25 hard shoulder
and struggled to see why it was not OK, Surrey police say.
@BBCNews
Is it time for bike shops to be inducted to the Hall of Fame?
winning some race in Europe there was stirring footage from domestic racing, from BMX to cyclo-cross, and from speedway to junior track events. What popped out were the bike shop names on podium after podium. Sky gets all the credit for supporting the upper echelons of cycle sport, but the broadcaster would have nobody to sponsor if shops didn’t invest in the grass roots. The bike shop names were on jerseys, of course. Peter Hargroves dominated the cyclocross podium coverage. He’s mad keen on CX, and a bloody good rider himself, but does his support of riders bring money into his shops? A bit, I suppose, but by and large, it’s philanthropy. Mr Hargroves puts his hand in his pocket to support grass roots racing because he wants to put back into the sport, a sport he loves.
Plenty of other IBDs do the same. The commercial benefit is negligible, but the warm glow of philanthropic joy can’t be measured in terms of return-on-investment. That so many bike shop logos could be seen on jerseys in these videos showed how vital bike shops can be to their local race scenes. Ten years ago, five years ago, last
week, there were worries that IBDs wouldn’t be able to survive the onslaught of the internet. IBDs – praise be! – are still with us and most don’t look as though they’re going away anytime soon. That bike shops can thrive in a cut-throat world is good for bike shop owners (and their staff) and good for local communities, too. Bike shops ought to get more credit for supporting cycling, grass roots or otherwise.
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“If the bicycle was invented tomorrow it would be seen as
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‘Let the man through with his bicycle’ (I walk past and
say thanks) ‘oh sorry, the lady!’ Not one of those either...
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