Roger handing out prizes at the club Track ChampionshipsRoger officiating
The club recently received news of the death of club member Roger Shayes. Roger was a tireless servant of the Beacon and the wider cycling community, who helped a lot of young riders in the early stages of their careers. Here’s a short tribute to Roger, written by Dave Hughes:
Yesterday, Margaret Shayes phoned me to let me know that Roger had passed away peacefully.
Roger was a long-standing and loyal club member for over 60 years. During that time, he contributed to both the racing and administrative side of the club. It would be fair to say that he was one of the most colourful characters in the club’s history.
Roger’s first passion was track racing but this was closely followed by the intricacies of committees! He worked tirelessly for the club, being the British Cycling Federation (now British Cycling) representative for many of those 60 years. Amongst other duties, he also served as our club Chairman and organised the club’s annual awards dinner for many years.
Outside the club, Roger served in the higher echelons of British Cycling, being a BC official time-keeper and judge, commentator and local personality – his distinctive bowler hat and ponytail being instantly recognisable to cyclists across the country.
My personal recollections are of a man who gave generously of his time. He fired many a young rider with highly enthusiastic tales of derring-do and junior squad race meetings with Roger were followed by us rushing back home on our bikes at higher than safe speeds whilst winning imaginary, nail-biting sprint finishes.
Roger enjoyed life to the full and will be sadly missed by those that knew him well. On behalf of the club, our condolences to family and friends.
Rest in peace Roger.
Dave Hughes, 30 September 2024
We will share details of Roger’s funeral when they are available.
Roger and Jessica Rhodes-Jones sharing racing experiences
June Pitchford with stoker Chris Goodfellow after setting a new 30-mile competition record1971 National 50 Team Champions, Chris Goodfellow, June Pitchford, Jan Crowther
Some of you may already have seen on social media that June Raw (June Pitchford prior to her second marriage) has sadly died. For those who don’t know much about June, here’s a brief explainer:
June was a very significant figure in the club’s history, one of the most talented racing cyclists to have worn our colours. Indeed, she was probably amongst the best racing cyclists this country has produced, who had the competitive misfortune of having a career that overlapped with that of Beryl Burton. Beryl was rather like Eddy Merckx; if you came second in anything during the years that Beryl was competing, you were as good as a champion in any other era. Placed in that context, June’s ‘palmares’ is truly outstanding (see the end of this post for details).
June wasn’t just an excellent racing cyclist, though. She was a lovely person. In fact, I suspect that if she’d been a bit nastier, a bit more selfish and ruthless, she’d have won even more than she did. From the stories she told, I had a strong sense that, important though winning undoubtedly was to June, it was merely part of a much broader goal: to enjoy everything that cycling had to offer. She loved to go touring, and when she wasn’t away, she would ride all day with friends – not doing hard or structured training miles, just enjoying herself, exploring the countryside and whiling away time sitting in the grass. She loved to chat, and could see the bright or funny side of almost any situation. She was generous in her encouragement of others, taking real pleasure in the shared dimension of team successes. And the only time I heard June speak negatively about a rival was because that person had been cold or unkind to someone else.
June was twenty years or more my senior, and she left the Beacon before I joined. So I didn’t know her in her prime. However, I met her a number of times later on. When I was working on our 75th anniversary souvenir booklet, I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon sitting in the sun outside a café (that she’d ridden to, of course, at the age of almost eighty) listening to her reminisce about her cycling career. If you’d like to read the outcome of that interview, you’ll find it on page 15 of the booklet, available in PDF form here.
I’ve made an attempt to compile June’s palmares, but I may very well have missed a few things out. Most of her wins were achieved when she wasn’t a Beacon member, but all the team titles and a handful of the individual titles were secured in red, white and green, and she was always a great friend to the club, even when riding for clubs closer to home.
– 3 times women’s British Best All-Rounder (the ‘league championship’ of time-trialling) – 2 times women’s national 50-mile champion – 6 times women’s national 100-mile champion – 3 times women’s national 25-mile team champion – 3 times women’s national 50-mile team champion – 3 times women’s national 100-mile team champion – 3 times women’s team BBAR – 1 time women’s competition record-breaker at 10 miles – 1 time women’s competition record-breaker at 15 miles – 1 time women’s tandem competition record-breaker at 30 miles – 2 times women’s team competition record-breaker at 10 miles – 2 times women’s team competition record-breaker at 30 miles – 1 time women’s team competition record-breaker at 50 miles
So long and farewell, June. A life well lived.
George Barker, Beacon RCC President, 30 August 2024
June’s funeral will take place on 27 September at Fladbury. If you would like to attend, please contact for full details and so that George can pass on information on numbers to June’s family. Donations to the RNLI are welcome on the day or online here.
Beacon mini tour to Weston-super-Mare, 29 to 30 June 2024 – Joeal Subash
There’s a long tradition in the Beacon of rides to Weston-super-Mare, from reliability trials through to more relaxed trips. In late June, a group of club members headed there on an overnight tour organised by Alan Weaver.Joeal Subash sat down to reflect on the experience…
It’s been a good four weeks since the Beacon Weston weekend and two words come to mind when I think about the weekend: camaraderie and chafing. Camaraderie because we were a cohesive group, always looking out for one another. The chafing made me feel I was sitting on a hot plate for two days.
The planning was meticulous (thanks, Alan), starting months in advance, and of course there was a corresponding WhatsApp group (with some questionable opinions). This still exists – I guess everyone is hoping for a rerun? I’m happy to do it again but will have to wait until the new saddle arrives…
Pre-ride preparations
Three days before the ride, I got the indexing on my bike sorted and the day before packed some sweets along with a t-shirt, trousers, toothbrush and flip-flops – precariously tied behind the saddle with a yellow nylon rope. I went to bed feeling anxious as to how my body would cope riding over a 100 miles, let alone two days in a row, but then I thought, YOLO!
Day 1
The morning was colder than expected and me Eugene, Jonathan and Neil started promptly at 06:00 from the Black Horse, picking up first Alan, then Paul and Rob and the Redditch boys (Paul 2 and Rob 2) en route. The ride pace to Tewkesbury was faster than I was used to and time went by swiftly as we got to know each other. Dave Cole joined us at the pub breakfast stop.
Just after the first group riders set off after breakfast, I met the second group at the pub fixing a puncture on my front tyre, having returned after buying a pair of gloves. We were a good five to eight minutes behind the first group when we set off and then it began: with the aim of catching up with the others, the riders at the front started pushing the pace, and after about three miles my legs started to give in. Kudos to Paul 2 and Rob 2, who kindly slowed down a bit and dragged me into the front group. I barely held on until we approached a set of traffic lights in Gloucester and I saw a flash of the Beacon jersey from the first group about 100 meters ahead. My legs stopped pedaling immediately and my heart did think about taking a break but the brain must have stopped it.
From eye-balling the speed on my free Strava account, the average on that 10-mile section looks like about 18.5 mph. I was glad it was over and also chuffed about having been able to ride that distance at that speed, albeit on someone else’s wheel. We pedaled on further past the canals in Gloucester and through villages and towns, and two café stops and a few sprints later we were less than 10 miles from the Weston pier. We got to the pier at 18:00 sharp and took the obligatory picture (below). Cheers to Dave Cole, who bought everyone ice cream at the pier. The Grosvenor Hotel looked after us very well and most of us celebrated with fish and chips accompanied by beers. I did go to bed thinking of cycling to Bristol the next day and taking the train back, which would have been so much easier.
Day 2
After a sound night’s sleep (it was interrupted by a fire alarm at about 06:00) and a early breakfast, we were ready to hit the road again. The Bristol idea was bashed by the YOLOness spirit and we were on our way back by 08:30. It was overcast most of the morning, which we didn’t expect. With the aim of being able to watch at least some of the England match that evening, we took a much shorter route down the A38 out of Weston, peeling off and joining it back on multiple occasions.
A few miles after Bristol, the front of the group paced ahead, leaving Eugene, me and Rob keeping each other company. I did briefly attempt to bridge the gap but didn’t want to empty the tank, which was already into its reserve. After this, we kept hoping Rob would catch us up as he usually did after a climb but this didn’t happen. He did catch us up at our long stop in Tewkesbury, which rid me of the guilt I was feeling until then. The front group stopped and waited for us a few miles short of Gloucester. After a refreshing drink outside a convenience store in Gloucester, we pedaled on into Tewkesbury, the horse sculpture on a roundabout and other landmarks on the way giving me joyous flashbacks of what was endured the previous day. About 12 miles away from the Black Horse, my tank had tanked. I was barely able to put any power out but my comrades slowed down and sacrificed the first half of the England match in doing so – kudos to everyone!
Afterwards, it took a couple of days for what I’d achieved to sink in because for the first two days, I kept telling myself what you’ve done is trivial when you look at the others on Strava. But then I looked at Office for National Statistics numbers, which estimate that the UK population averaged 88 miles of cycling a year in 2022. The group racked up two-and-a-half times that in two days, which when you think about it, is simply brilliant. Thanks to the Beacon RCC and its members who made this happen. I think camaraderie is what makes this club brilliant and I feel this only having joined the club a few months ago. I shall end this with a well-deserved thanks to Alan Weaver, who organised this trip and sailed a tight ship as we chugged along – or should I say cycled a tight peloton.
Enjoyed this touring report? Check out Dave Cole’s write-up of an earlier overnight tour to Coalport here.
Our 2024 club time trial schedule has been designed with the emphasis on having fun, friendly competition and introducing new people to time trialling. Newcomers are most welcome to take part in club TTs, as are guests from other clubs.
As well as our club events, we’re also organising one open event this year, which needs to be entered in advance (see links below).
The traditional club handicap trophy will be awarded on the basis of a rider’s best five results out of seven this year, with the two-up and hill climb events excluded.
The entry fee for a club time trial is £4.50, including the £3 Cycling Time Trials (CTT) levy. CTT regulations require that all riders have working rear (red) and front (white) lights and wear a helmet. Please aim to arrive at least 15 minutes before the event start time in order to sign on. We will send you further instructions after you’ve entered using Eventbrite.
If you’ve not given TTs a try before, we recommend reading this article on the website of the governing body, CTT (it’s from 2007, so some of the details are dated, but it gives a good idea of what to expect).
The Beacon Cycling Academy’s 2024 coaching sessions will start at Moseley School in mid January. Please see below for details of the sessions scheduled to date. We’re also planning on putting on a number of Academy racing events again this year. Details of these will be listed in due course.
Moseley School Fitness Centre coaching sessions:
1 Wednesday 17 January 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 24 January 17:30-18:30 (cancelled due to illness) 3 Wednesday 31 January 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 4 Wednesday 7 February 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
Ackers Adventure off-road Go-Ride sessions:
1 Tuesday 13 February 12:00-15:00 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 3 April 12:00-15:00 (entry page) 3Wednesday 21 August 10:30-12:30 (cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances)
Ackers Adventure coaching sessions:
1 Wednesday 21 February 17:00-18:00 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 28 February 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 3 Wednesday 6 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 4 Wednesday 13 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 5 Wednesday 20 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 6 Wednesday 10 April 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 7 Wednesday 24 April 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 8 Wednesday 15 May 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 9 Wednesday 22 May 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 10 Wednesday 29 May 11:30-12:30 (entry page) 11 Wednesday 5 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 12 Tuesday 11 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 13 Wednesday 26 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 14 Thursday 11 July 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
Ackers Adventure grass track Go-Ride sessions:
1 Tuesday 16 July 17:30-19:00 (ages 5-12, regular bikes) (entry page) 2 Wednesday 17 July 17:30-19:00 (ages 13 and above, learn to ride fixed) (entry page)
Moseley School Fitness Centre coaching sessions:
1 Wednesday 18 September 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 25 September 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 3 Wednesday 2 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 4 Wednesday 9 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 5 Wednesday 16 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 6 Wednesday 23 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
During 2024, the Academy will be offering some coaching sessions at various venues in south Birmingham and further afield. Keep your eye on the Facebook feed for details of any additional sessions. These sessions take place in a traffic-free environment and are led by qualified coaches who introduce riders to skills used in different forms of cycle sport and include some racing, with the emphasis very much on fun. Most sessions are free for members, with membership costing just £5 for the year. If weather conditions are bad, please check the Facebook page for cancellations.
Beacon Academy Go-Ride sessions are aimed at young people who can already ride a bicycle and have sufficient co-ordination to stay safe in a group. Riders should wear a helmet at all times, have a well maintained bicycle, a drink and bring appropriate clothing and gloves.
BSCA West Midlands Regional and National Grass Track Championships, Ackers Adventure
We’re hosting the 2024 British Schools Cycling Association Regional Grass Track Championships, which also serves as the National Championships for all age groups. This event is open to all eligible riders, and in the past has attracted entrants from as far away as Yorkshire. Please book via Eventbrite to secure your place.
