1980

28th January. The dinner at The Gainsborough Hotel was a great success and it was proposed to return there next time.

25th February. An excellent skittles evening had been held at The Kinfayre, Kinver with a win over the Beacon Roads. 21st April. The club were now affiliated to the Welsh CA which meant that members could chase fast times on the Usk-Raglan courses.

30th June. We now had 69 members, the highest ever total. There was a report of another fine skittles evening at Bird Green.

1st September. Les Archer agreed to organise a rota of senior members to lead Sunday club runs for new and junior members.

6th October. The community association requested financial help. In spite of our no rent agreement we donated £75 to help out.

24th October. The AGM. A very long and contentious meeting, with many proposals to alter club rules. There were complaints about lack of information on club affairs and a move to establish a points competition for attendance on club runs, where it was alleged there was a lack of leadership. Strong feelings were expressed and pub takings were down that evening.

17th November. Another very long meeting – it did not end until 9.55pm. a new hilly course was discussed, starting at Cookley and finishing by Heathfield School. A football match with Saracen RC was being arranged. There was more trouble on club runs, with groups just going off as they pleased and Wally Fowler the runs secretary was not happy.

5th December. A new handbook for members was in preparation. Graham Fardon was arranging certificates for reliability trials.

1981

5th January. Younger members had requested schoolboy circuit races and M Lay was investigating the possibility of using closed roads on an industrial estate.

16th February. Makro had offered up to £500 sponsorship for the 2-day road race. The rota to look after new members on club runs was working well but Tony Eden reported that so many had badly maintained bikes that there were problems with breakdowns. The committee discussed allegations that damage had been caused during the club’s Christmas social. They rejected a claim that a “gents” sign had gone missing , along with 10 indian clubs and 8 rubber balls. (This really does not bear thinking about).

30th March. Preparations were in hand for the 2-day road race. W Fowler agreed to provide a caravan to act as race headquarters. We had £1147 in the bank.

13th July. 76 members now and £1378 in the bank. All marshals were equipped with flags and jackets following some complaints about the visibility of marshals during the 2-day road race. There were 76 riders in an evening 10. A trip to the Simpkiss brewery was being arranged for November.

23rd October. The AGM. We have here a report from that meeting on the racing season:

“The 1981 racing season proved highly successful in terms of both racing success and income for the club. The former was dominated by Roger Iddles yet again. With numerous wins in open events including inflicting the only defeat so far on Dave Lloyd, Roger broke records from 10 to 100 miles. He also won the hilly 28, the championship 25 and 100 but his season was brought to a close in August when he contracted the cyclists’ ailment, bronchial trouble. He is however, keen again for 1982.

“The championship 50 was taken by Brian Hayes, who after a steady start to his season did a series of excellent 25’s culminating in a 55-01. Our 12-hour champion was John Hooper who recorded 240.9 miles in the Oldbury event. If he suffered, it serves him right for half-wheeling the president on Thursday morning club runs. The veterans BAR was taken by Graham Fardon with a series of personal best performances that belied his lifestyle and said a lot for his determination. Stuart Darby burst upon the scene with a series of fast 10 and 25 times and can be looked upon as a star of the future when he has rounded off his racing experience. Tony Eden realised an ambition by beating the hour for 25 miles with 59-20 and followed this with a veterans best of 58-23 (stay at my villa for nothing, Roy). With Martin Morgan also recording 58-23 we had 5 men under 59 minutes at 25 miles and look forward to Mick Lay making a comeback. The club 10 series proved as exciting as in past years. Comeback veteran Roger Proffitt led for some 12 weeks and was pipped at the post in the last event by Alison Archer, the youngest ever winner at 13 years of age.”

1982

22nd February. There was much discussion about the difficulties with the Hawbush association from the clubs social and from their request for further financial help. We decided to examine our original agreement – but a copy of it could not be found. Les Archer reported on the successful gym sessions which had been held throughout the winter at the Brook School. Martin Morgan, organiser of the 2-day, was applying for a stage finish outside The Chequers public house in Cutnall Green.

26th April. We were involved in the borough fun ride in July. A small, select group had reviewed the film “Sunday in Hell” and reported that it was not suitable for general membership. There was still no sign of our original lease. Martin Morgan stated that there were over 40 members involved in helping to run the 2-day.

7th July. Membership was up to 80. Sue Rees was making £5 per night profit from the canteen at the club 10’s.

26th July. Apparently a club evening 10 only functioned because an Oldbury member acted as a pusher off. Deep shame. It must never happen again.

6th September. There was to be a committee outing in December to the “Happy Gathering” in Birmingham. This was later changed to the “Penny Farthing” in Pedmore.

4th October. The gym sessions were to be held at the Portway School on Thursday evenings.

22nd October. The AGM. Ken Watson had won the free-wheeling contest down Clive Hill at Pattingham. There had been a running race at Himley Hall held in arctic conditions. Roger Iddles had achieved 4th place in the British Best All Rounder Competition. Eight riders had beaten the hour for 25 miles. Lots of ladies were racing and “the club appears to be in a very strong position in the racing world”.

14th November. The bank account had now risen to £2257. The gym sessions were going well and it was proposed to buy 2 sets of barbells.

1983

7th February. There were reports of many offers of sponsorship for the 2-day road race including £200 from TULK and a new frame from Mike Rees. The numerous social events were all making large profits. Ian Turner was investigating new club skinsuits to “improve the clubs image”. After lengthy discussion it was agreed to spend some of our wealth on a £10 subsidy for each skinsuit purchased. We had also received a grant of £90 towards the cost of a new watch.

14th March. Manulife Insurance had added £75 to the 2-day fund. Money continued to cascade into our coffers which showed a balance of £2761.

23rd May. We now had 101 members. Roger Iddles had won the hilly event and there were 40 entries. There was a discussion about the dangers around the finishing area of the club 10’s, with a suggestion that a radio link could be used from a different safer finishing point. Roger Iddles and Brian Hayes were to host a question and answer evening in the clubroom.

27th June. The inter-club with the Bromsgrove was discussed. There were 35 entries from the Stourbridge club, to be handicapped by OUR racing secretary to “avoid the anomalies of previous events”. Such elegant diplomacy.

1st August. There was more concern about the safety of the 10’s and it was agreed to put up warning signs around Hagley Island.

19th September. For a long time we had been at odds with the Hawbush Community Association and we had rejected their requests for a donation. Following a conciliatory letter from the new chairman, we agreed to send £75. However in his accompanying letter, Brian Homer claimed that we had a rent free arrangement “in perpetuity”.

21st October. The AGM. The joint club member of the year went to Sue and Mike Rees for their work on the club evening 10’s. This extract from the racing report gives an idea of how busy the club members were:

“A very full season of racing was undertaken by club members with in excess of 60 riders competing in at least one distance. The club remains predominantly time-trial orientated with over 30 team wins in open events. Roger Iddles who scored over 30 individual wins in open events again dominated competition. He also finished third equal in the season long Classic League (a national competition) gaining maximum points in everything but the hilly events. Many of the team wins involved Roger with Brian Hayes and Mick Lay, both of whom enjoyed successful seasons. Mick recorded a personal best 25 in Essex with a 54-25 ride and he also took the club’s 25 and 50 championships. Brian, a first year veteran, took many awards in that category as well as winning a number of open events. He also partnered Steve Cooksey on a tandem setting up club records at 10 and 25 miles and winning several races in the process. The club hilly was duly won by Roger convincingly but not in record time this year. A newcomer to “under the hour” racing was Nick Archer who recorded 58-40, going faster than dad – this year. We were pleased to see a number of new faces making an impact on the racing scene, Steve Tomkins, Mike Poole and Wayne baker, the latter taking the 10 miles points competition. We also had more ladies racing than one can recall for many years with some notable competition among the schoolgirls. Sarah Fardon took the 10 miles championship.

“The club is also strong in schoolboy riders with Phil Moore improving it seemed, weekly and finally taking the schoolboy 10 title in a personal best time of 24-43. The aforementioned 10 miles competition was run during the months of May, June, July and August and proved again to be a tremendous success with 1,111 rides being recorded. Sue Rees put on refreshments each week which proved popular as well as lucrative to the club. This competition continues to provide considerable revenue and stimulates great interest within the club every effort should be made to ensure its continuation.

“The Tour of Worcestershire stage race was run at the end of April with a glorious sunny day on the Saturday which typically changed for the worse on the following day. The event was notable for the generous sponsorship from various sources which enabled a £600 prize list to be offered. Once again club members rallied to the cause with marshalling and other duties. Adrian Timmis, Stoke AC proved to be a popular and convincing winner.

“On the non-racing front the gym classes were again run from mid-October to mid-January inflicting pain and suffering on all concerned. I hope the end result was beneficial.

“Finally, can I pay tribute to our timekeepers, particularly Roy Archer, who turned out week after week to ensure that we we actually do have events to ride in”.

5th December. Gym classes were now being held at The Thorns School, Quarry Bank with an average attendance of 40.

1984

23rd January. Even the clubs gym sessions were making a profit. The bank balance was £3523. At long last the Hawbush lease had been discovered. Apparently we had free accommodation only until the expiry of the associations lease with the borough council.

21st May. A great outcry from many members about the allocation of permanent starting numbers for the club 10’s. It was decided to have a signing on sheet in the clubroom on Friday evenings to overcome allegations of unfairness. The very ambitious Tour of Worcestershire, with a route stretching over to Ludlow had been successful. (It was, however, a nightmare to marshal).

19th October. The AGM. The club was now 20 years old and had 120 members. Here is another extract from the racing secretary’s report:

“Undoubtedly the clubs greatest success in 1984 in the racing front was June Pitchford’s double success in the national 50 and 100 miles championships and in winning the ladies British Best All Rounder Competition.

“Mick Lay too had a very good season scoring 20 wins in open events.

“Barry Charley was the club’s most improved rider getting down to 21-33 for 10 miles and 56-07 for 25 miles which broke the club’s junior record for both distances. Many other riders in the club also achieved personal best performances and as in previous years, Mick Poole and Steve Tomkins both gained places in the first 6 and Mike Poole is this year’s road race champion.

Our 3 open event promotions during the year were all run successfully although as a result of some negative racing on the 2nd day of the 2-day event it was decided that this event would be replaced in 1985 by a single day road race over 86 miles, to be held in August.”

1985

7th January. No heating in the committee room. Graham Fardon proposed that there be no payment for the room. Brian Homer seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. The Pedal Pusher broadsheet to be published soon.

18th February. A heater had been provided for the committee room. Unfortunately it had not been connected to the mains electricity supply. The Pedal Pusher ceased publication. A darts match had been held against The Beacon Roads at the Wellington Arms but was poorly supported by club members.

22nd March. The treasurer reported that the clothing subsidy had cost the club £768 during the previous year. It was to be kept under review.

25th March. Sue Rees had agreed to be the tea lady at the evening 10’s. there had been a racquet ball match against the Stourbridge Club which we had lost 11-5. Members had been polled about the format of the next club dinner and had requested a return to a formal sit-down meal and dance. The treasurer reported a balance of £3616.

29th April. Duty rosters for help at the club 10’s had appeared on the notice board. Nick Archer was looking for sponsors to raise a £250 prize list for the road race.

10th June. There was a lengthy discussion about the evening 10’s – not enough people were willing to help. It was agreed that club members be clearly informed that if there were no helpers there would be no race.

1st July. A report on an excellent social evening at “The Lion O’Morfe” with 60 members present.

19th August. The road race had been successful despite terrible weather. Mike Poole came 8th. There was one of the best prize lists in the Midlands and 3 sponsors were there to present prize awards.

18th October. The AGM. Graham Fardon proposed “in view of the chronic lack of support, that if any member should refuse to do at least one duty at the evening 10’s then that member should be refused a ride on the following week.” This was agreed in principle. Mr J Clements, president of the Beacon RCC, sent a message to say how much he would appreciate the return of the darts trophy. The downhill race at Pattingham was awarded to Pete Baugh after the original winner was reported for pedalling. His name cannot be revealed. The Holly Run arrived on Platform 1 of Bridgnorth Station at 2 minutes to 12.

18th November. There was concern that a member had purchased a disc wheel for use in the 10’s. it was agreed that under the existing regulations he would be refused a ride.

1986

24th February. There was discussion about the sponsored ride to Alicante by Tony Eden and Tony Taylor. We agreed to donate £100.

28th February. A very contentious proposal to give a £15 touring subsidy. This was very strongly opposed by many members, particularly Brian Homer. On the chairman’s casting vote it was agreed, the details to be arranged later. Brian was also very busy investigating the disappearance of a gas boiler and cylinders from the store room.

14th April. It was agreed to give a subsidy to Andy Raybould and Bob Franks for their charity End to End ride. £100 if done in 5 days, £90 if it took longer.

28th April. Final details of the touring subsidy were submitted by Bruce Mantom and agreed. We had been looking into the idea of promoting a road race, in conjunction with the Wordsley Carnival, in the Cot Lane area. The police vetoed the idea.

19th May. We resolved to resign from the South Staffs CA due to marshalling problems. It was recorded that our vice-president, WAG Onslow had died. Everyone who knew him will never forget the “Earl of Lye”. He deserves a chapter to himself.

14th July. There was much protest from some members about the decision to leave the South Staffs CA, in particular by Harry Cockburn who voiced concern over not being able to enter other open events and be fast enough to be accepted. There was a rumour going round that certain club members were trying to fiddle their times in the club 10’s by soft pedalling. It was decided that a 30 points score could make a rider liable to have his standard revised. That will show them. Les Archer had been approached by the Midland VTTA group to write an article about WAG for their golden book.

17th October. The AGM. The proposal to leave the South Staffs CA was approved. But we agreed to pay for private membership for individuals who wanted it. Stanley Field was congratulated upon winning his first road race, in the recently formed League of Veteran racing Cyclists, at the age of 70. The touring secretary reported on many weekends away including a trip to Brittany in October. “Touring had become a major club activity fully justifying the subsidy. Peter Baugh repeated his downhill success with a record distance. “Big Sheila” called the tune at the barn dance. There was bitter disappointment for a keen, well drilled team when the football match against the Warks RC was cancelled. The Holly Run made it to “The Bell” at Pensax – presumably at 2 minutes to 12.

17th November. The committee outing was held on November 6th, a good time being had by all at Mr Dave’s. There were more problems with the wily Bromsgrove crowd over the inter-club 25. The handicapping was obviously crucial to the winning or losing of the event and we wondered how a rider could do a 1-4 off an 18-minute handicap, based upon somewhat inadequate information. A letter was sent voicing our disquiet.

1987

18th May. Membership now stood at 125. Roy Archer reported that Bob Franks had mentioned he would like to be involved in timekeeping. A chance remark like this can lead you into a lot of trouble. There was a report on an excellent hilly 22 and reference to a wide range of touring activities including Westmoreland and a French hostel trip. We were now worth £4290.

6th July. The inter-club 25 with the Bromsgrove attracted 39 riders and was won by Stourbridge.

17th August. The assistant racing secretary reported an entry of 19 riders for the ladies and juniors 10 miles championships. Roy Archer commented upon the notion of buying a club word processor. Where would it live? Who would use it? We were coping with club administration already. The club saved a lot of money.

17th October. The AGM. Racing secretary’s report:

“The year almost ended has been a busy one, starting with the open hilly, the club hilly, the National Cycle Festival 2-day road race, inter-club and open 25’s, road race and open 10 miles time trial. The highlights of the year were the performances of the road men, Mike Poole, Barry Charley, Gordon Walters and Bob Taylor all did well in the 2-day. Phil Bennett has become Birmingham Division Criterium champion and rewritten club records at 10 and 25 miles. Pat Archer of Pat’s Pantry was particularly singled out for thanks for her season long efforts.”

Touring secretary’s report:

“the enthusiasm of club members for club runs and touring has continued over the last 12 months. There are no reductions in the numbers out each Sunday morning or afternoon during the racing season. There have been numerous car-based club runs and weekend tours; we have stayed in hostels, hotels and barns in locations from the Scottish Borders to Brittany. With so many keen tourists in the club there have been many small groups riding throughout Britain and Europe. The Stourbridge CC touring members and their programme are probably better than any other local club or CTC group – we should be justifiably proud of the club. The tourist Trial winner was Ron Turner. We have had tours to: Streetly-on-Thames, Nant-y-Dernol, Dimmingsdale, The Chilterns, Lincoln, The New Forest, White Peak, Wiltshire Cycle Way, Westmoreland, Brittany and a ladies weekend to Mid-Wales. Off-road riding: Cannock Chase, Cotswolds, Birmingham canals, Wayfarer Pass, Elan Valley, Tissington and High Peak trails. Affiliations: Holdens, Bass, Brakespeares and Hook Norton breweries.”

Assistant Racing Secretary’s report:

“club 10 miles time trials 1987. During the year 21 Wednesday evening rides were promoted, with 936 rides taking place. The points competition was keenly fought out throughout the year, with Chris Stringer the eventual winner. Paul Homer organised the number this season and no problems occurred. The catering was excellent with tea and coffee provided by Dorothy and Harold Raybould and cake and pudding provided by various wives. I have been told that 3½ cwt of bread pudding was consumed during the racing season.”

1988

11th April. Militant junior members were requesting that a junior road race be promoted. P Bennett offered to organise the event. A cohort of senior members agreed to investigate the idea with a view to date in October.

16th May. Roger Iddles proposed a series of 2-up 10 miles events in the spring of 1989. There was concern about the danger at the club 10’s caused by people, especially children standing in the road near the finish.

4th July. There were still some problems with the 10’s. it was decided to buy CB radios to relay finishing times to a result board displayed under the bridge so as to encourage people to keep away from the finish. Barry Charley had finished 2nd in the division road race championship. Roger Iddles had won the open 25 and an LVRC race in Ludlow. Alison Thomas was ladies 10 miles champion.

8th August. Congratulations to Rex Webber for winning the VTTA “Billy Steer” trophy. There were problems with cars parking on the verges and obstructing the view at club 10’s. Plans were announced for a weekend away in France in October. There was some discussion about the dangers of the Bobbington training circuit. Les Archer promised to issue warnings and instructions.

3rd October. Brian Homer and Les Archer had been approached by the Midlands DC of the RTTC to run a National 25 miles Championship in 1989. A quick decision was needed and Brian had agreed to run the event. The final membership for the year was 152.

21st October. The AGM. We decided to promote in 1989 5 open 10’s, 1 open 25 , 2 open road races, the National 25 Championship and the National Road Race Championship. Harry Cockburn also wanted us to rejoin the South Staffs CA and this was to be discussed by the committee.

14th November. A runners versus mountain bikes event was planned for 27th December in Himley Park. Delegates were mandated to vote for rear disc wheels at the RTTC district meeting. We voted £50 to John Davies if he made 50 miles on the rollers at Brierley Hill Civic Hall.

19th December. We were now worth £5122.

1989

30th January. Chris Jeavons proposed to spend £150 on 2 new CB radios and fittings. We agreed. It was reported that only 6 riders out of 26 completed the Boxing Day 10 due to a fatal road accident which did not involve any cyclists. Graham Fardon proposed that we investigate ways of spending the club’s cash mountain.

13th March. A sub-committee was set up to draw up a £1500 budget to be spent in a “manner which would benefit the majority of members.”

8th May. We needed to spend – we were worth £6385. A budget was proposed which included clothing subsidy and help with YHA and BCF subscriptions.

26th June. The result of a club evening 10 was declared null and void due to the inexperience of the start timekeeper. Roy Archer promised to issue guidelines. There had been a complaint to the police from a motorist about people on the verges obstructing the view near the finish of the club 10’s. Les Archer proposed more entertainment for young members in the clubroom. (In my young days in the Beacon, entertainment for juniors was cleaning the shoes and bicycles of senior exalted members. Such is progress). Brian Homer promoted the National 25 miles Championship on 4th June 1989. The event used a version of the K9 course and the Headquarters were at Nunnery Wood Leisure Centre. There were anxious times leading up to the event because road works threatened to occasion last minute course changes. On the day everything went as planned. Roy Archer was finish timekeeper and Les Archer provided commentary at the HQ. there were almost as many marshals as competitors. The defending champion, John Pritchard had broken the course record with 52-48 in the Bromsgrove event only a week before , but the winner was Chris Boardman (yes, him) with 52-56 on a sunny, cold morning with a steady headwind on the outward leg towards Hartlebury. His pulse rate was 182 as he rode up the drag to the turn in an 84 inch gear, returning on a 119 inch gear. Many quick riders had rather a shock when they rode the course and were many minutes slower than usual. “Cycling” magazine was very complimentary, awarding a gold medal for the canteen arrangements. It was a promotion of which the club could be proud.

14th August. 200 25th Anniversary mugs had been ordered. The inter-club 25 was cancelled due to terrible weather. Much of the clubs road race equipment was “lost”. Malcolm Hancock agreed to investigate and replace. Les Archer proposed raising £1000 for the Mayor of Dudley’s Charity Fund by running a 100Km sponsored ride.

9th October. Membership stood at 153 – a new record. We had £6577 in the bank. Chris Jeavons proposed a new non-standard 10 miles course along the Rabbit Run to be used in 1990.

20th October. Mrs Pat Archer was elected Club Member of the Year. Tony Harris listed the racing successes of the season. A new 50 miles team record of 5-41-56 by Messrs Iddles, Charley and Hayes. A new ladies 25 miles team record of 3-21-28 by Alison Thomas, Isobel Fletcher and Joanna Hesletine. Gavin Pardoe won the Birmingham Division Juvenile Circuit Championship. Also mentioned for improvements and fast times were Tony Taylor, Wayne Baker, Jeff Outhwaite and John Hooper who finally broke “the hour” in the South Staffs event.

20th November. The idea of a cycling video library was raised. Paul Homer to investigate.

18th December. Club events on the Rabbit Run were now approved for next season. Roy Archer warned that in the near future the club should look for an alternative course or circuit to the K20/10.

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