Ever heard of Beryl Burton?

[swee'pea99]

Me neither. Shocking really, when you read of...

"...a play premiering in Leeds as part of the Yorkshire festival later this month, timed to coincide with the Tour's visit, celebrates the greatest British female cyclist of all time. Not Victoria Pendleton or Laura Trott. But Beryl Burton of Morley, who for two glorious years in the 1960s held the men's world 12-hour time trial record.

In 1967 she pedalled 277.25 miles in 12 hours, famously overtaking Mike McNamara, her male rival, and giving him a liquorice allsort as she passed. It wasn't until 1969 that a man went faster. No woman has ever bettered her time."

For the full story: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/jun/13/tour-de-france-beryl-burton

Love that liquorice allsort!

 

[Crackle]

Yes, amazing woman.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-27800460

 

[Apollonius]

I think there is a radio play about her. I believe I heard it on Radio 4 about 5 years ago.

 

[Saluki]

Yes. She was awesome. Wasn't it Beryl that said that 3 gears were plenty?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

...Wasn't it Beryl that said that 3 gears were plenty?

Billie Flemming.

 

[smokeysmoo]

There's a load of her trophies and gear in a display cabinet at Manchster velodrome.

 

[Saluki]

Billie Flemming.

Ah yes. My mistake. Sorry. Another awesome cyclist though, of a different kind.

 

[Smokin Joe]

A great cyclist in her day but by no means the greatest British female, that mantle belongs to Nicole Cooke. Women's racing in the sixties was a very amateur affair, World Championship road races were only about 35 miles long and half the field would have had trouble staying with a fast club run.

 

[swee'pea99]

Having recently done 103 miles in eight hours on a carbon beastie and damn near trashed myself in the process, almost 280 miles in 12 hours on what must have been a steel-frame steed impresses the hell out of me.

 

[Tim Hall]

I think there is a radio play about her. I believe I heard it on Radio 4 about 5 years ago.

I've got an mp3 of it somewhere. If anyone wants to make an offsite backup let me know.

 

[glenn forger]

The lovely Maxine Peake is doing a drama about her I think.

 

[Blue]

BB was so good she was known to offer Liquorice Allsorts to other riders as she passed them in TT's!!

 

[Blue]

A great cyclist in her day but by no means the greatest British female, that mantle belongs to Nicole Cooke. Women's racing in the sixties was a very amateur affair, World Championship road races were only about 35 miles long and half the field would have had trouble staying with a fast club run.

Her 12hr record exceeded the mens record for 2 years. I'd like to see any modern Brit woman manage that.

 

[glenn forger]

http://www.wyp.org.uk/what's-on/2014/beryl/