Beryl Burton

[Tombo 707]

Beryl Burton Personal Best (Reprinted)

I first got interested in cycling when I was 10 a freind of mine was in the same cycle club as Beryl and Charlie Burton. His name is Dick Hudson and was in the Morley cycle club.He had a couple of Beryl,s old bikes with her name on. He later painted them for his son to ride. Very sad. I loved to listen to his stories about how he took Charlie on the back of his Vespa scooter to Milan in Italy. and how he got loads of Freebies in the Campag factory. Beryl Burton was truely a unsung Hero and wish that I had met her.

 

[jimboalee]

www.transport-museum.com/gallery/cyclopedia/cyclopediagallery.aspx

Go here Tombo.

 

[ASC1951]

Maybe it's a bit of Yorkshire bias, but I think there is a good argument for Beryl being the outstanding British athlete, male or female, of the last fifty years.

277.25 miles for a 12 hour time trial, for heaven's sake, on basically the sort of bike I was riding at school!

It's even more remarkable when you consider that throughout her career she was either working full time or looking after her family. Her training had to fit round being home to put their meals on the table, because that is what housewives did.

It's all very different now. With the support Paula Radcliffe gets (and why not?) everyone would know all about Beryl, not just a few cyclists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_Burton

Her biog Personal Best has been out of print for years. If anyone has a spare copy - worth pitifully little, I'm afraid - please get in touch.

 

[Dirtyhanz]

the best ever total respect

 

[Will1985]

If you look at the Planet X site at the moment, Cammish says she was the best ever British TTer.

 

[Hilldodger]

the best ever total respect

The best EVER?

How?

B)

 

[Tombo 707]

Personal best

Beryl Burton's autobiograthy is an insperation to any cyclist. An amazing woman.what more can I say. Read the artical in this weeks cycling weekly it says it all.

 

[Hilldodger]

I'm a cycling historian and well aware of BB's record and that of many others.

Was she the best ever? No

Was she ONE of the best of all time? yes.

 

[Tombo 707]

If she had been a man she would have had more financial back up and support. she had a big battle to get to top . Oh look shes getting in on the drivers side and all that. How times have changed. It's good to see cycling is becoming more popular with organisations like sustrans and the national lottery.

 

[pubrunner]

I'm a cycling historian and well aware of BB's record and that of many others.

Was she the best ever? No

Was she ONE of the best of all time? yes.

I'd be interested to know, just who do you consider to be better ?

 

[Hilldodger]

I didn't say anyone was better - just that you can't say one person is the best.

How do you compare her against Fred Wood - eight tmes world champion in the 1880's?

Or Charley Barden - World Track Champion finalist in 1896 and 1897 when cycling was a much bigger sport than it is today?

Or Chrs Hoy?

 

[Tombo 707]

I think your right its just sad that they were not recognised as much by the British public. They loved there sport and it was not all about money. I don't want to dig a big hole for my self. Regards Tom

 

[Hilldodger]

Riders during the golden age of cycling in the 1880/90's were adored by the public and as famous as the likes of top football players today.

When Bert Harris died aged 23 he was a household name across the world and an estimated 200,000 attended his funeral in Leicester. Soon after enough money had been raised by the cycling world for an impessive monument in his name.

But within 20 years he was forgotten -as were many of his era

 

[ASC1951]

You're right, Hilldodger, you can't really compare people from different eras.

To my mind two really impressive things about Beryl's record are:-
- she did it as an ordinary housewife at a time when the men she was competing against were beginning to have what we would recognise as modern training regimes;
- she was winning these top class events for twenty years.

I would still argue for her as Britain's outstanding post war athlete. [My second would probably be Steve Redgrave, but it's easier to excel when you have a lot of money behind you.]

 

[Tombo 707]

Hilldodger loves his old bikes without gears and wants to live in the 18th century thats why he avoids hills. I respect his views.Cycling was more popular in those days before the dredded motercar became so popular. I find the history of the bicicle very interesting. Come on Hilldoger tell us all BB was an amazing woman. It was not me that said she was the best.