WORLD HOUR RECORD.... ON A RALEIGH CHOPPER...!!
World hour record... On a Raleigh Chopper....!!
This Blog is a little longer than usual but more important than any of the others, so please keep reading.
A year or two ago I heard about a guy who had a passion for 70’s bikes. He has a few bikes from that age and also I had heard he did a sponsored ride up Mont Ventoux on a Raleigh Chopper! I had not met him at the time but his name was Matt Richardson. I thought he must be a bit mad but I already respected him for climbing a very very tough and long climb on a bike which was 30-40 years old and had all original parts and more importantly limited to 3 gears. Really not an ideal choice. I then met him properly at the GS Henley Annual dinner/award evening. He really was an interesting character and could tell he truly loved his old bikes form that Merckx era.
A few month after this, Jens Voigts said he was doing the World Hour Record due to the change in the rules and then I heard that this guy Matt was going to have a go at it ... but on his Raleigh Chopper! Awesome. I’ll mention a bit about what motivates Matt and why he is doing this incredible challenge, which they say in cycling is the toughest test to do, an hour where you cannot hide, where you are in incredible pain for so so long!
Matt has told me he was, sporting wise, completely unremarkable as a child but always wanted to be competitive. Whether it be chin-ups or climbing trees or cycling, he wanted to win. At University he started rowing where he gained the name “Captain Psycho” and was named University sports person of the year!
He then spent a few years in Hong Kong where he continued his rowing to a high level, including the Commonwealth Regatta and some European regattas. He returned to the UK in 1998 and won the Great Britain National Championships in a pair, i.e. he had a good “engine”. He started working in London and, after he was injured: knocked off his bike by a car, decided to stop rowing. Having eventually recovered, he entered the Lanzarote Ironman in 2005 to raise money for MS sufferers. During the training for this event he fell in love with cycling and all Italian cycling things beginning with “C”, Colnago, Campagnolo and Cineli. Soon after this he happened to watch a film which stunned him, “A Sunday In Hell”. It is an account of the Paris-Roubaix cycling race, the “Queen of the Classics" in 1976.
Inspired by the tough men with huge sideburns who rode this race he searched out kit, clothes, training methods and a hairstyle from the 1970s, plus a 1979 blue Gios Torino Super Record steel bike. Despite having relocated to the 1970s, he was astonished to find he could keep up with modern cyclists on club rides and then he rode the Gios in the Paris Roubaix sportive, Gran Fondo Sportful in Italy and other events. It is still his favourite bike to ride.
Time for the Chopper....
Above Matt testing out a bit of an aero position....
In 2013 Matt was looking for a bike for his son and thought it would be fun to get him a Raleigh Chopper. He had never ridden one as a child as they were too expensive so, in 2014 he invested in one and, as it was too big for his son, decided to ride it himself, embracing the three awkward gear ratios and silly riding position, etc.
Matt had ridden the Fireflies Tour of the alps in 2007 and 2008 raising money for blood cancer research but, for family reasons, could no longer afford the time required to participate in the full tour. He watched Chris Froome lead the Tour de France up Mont Ventoux in the summer of 2013 and got thinking of another way to help this charity. His father had died of cancer at the age of 55 in 1999. His father was a great athlete and his premature death fuels Matt’s determination during these challenges, which is the reason the charity element is so important.
Matt at Palmer park training where the record attempt will take place.
So last year he rode up Mont Ventoux for blood cancer research and this year, with all the hour records being broken he thought why not.... but on a Raleigh Chopper! He has bought another, even older Chopper (a Mark 1) for this event because his son is now big enough to ride the Ventoux model (a Mark 2).
Below you can visit the website and donate to this great charity and help Matt raise as much money as possible!
https://leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk/CHOPPER-Vs-The-HOUR-FIREFLIES
If any of you live near or around the Reading area the attempt is at Palmer Park Stadium at 2pm on Saturday 23rd May. It would be great to get as many people there to support and cheer him on for this record attempt! I have witnessed Matt in training and know he is going to produce a real spectacle and a great marker on the Chopper.
His blog is at the link below.
http://raleigh-chopper-the-hour.blogspot.co.uk
Raleigh Chopper vs The Hour (The FireFlies Tour 2015) leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk
