Club History
Club Name.
The San Fairy Ann Cycling Club was formed on 22 March 1922 at the Anchor Inn, Yalding, pursuing Club cycling and appreciating the countryside as its aims. "San Fairy Ann" was the British soldier's version of the French phrase "ça ne fait rien" (it doesn't matter). The pronunciation was, of course, atrocious. Still, the name was meant to signify a carefree club whose members enjoyed cycling in all its forms whenever they rode and whatever the weather.
The name stuck, and we love it!
Club Badge.
The French and English versions are part of our Club badge.
The 'Founding' meeting of San Fairy Ann Cycling Club was held at the Anchor Inn, Yalding on Wednesday 22 March 1922.
The Early Years
The first activities were club runs on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, with the first races being club time trials in 1924.
The club was one of the founder members of the Kent Cycling Association in 1928 and enjoyed considerable success in both individual and team championships.
The club's current Mens Best Allrounder trophy was originally a KCA team trophy that SFA members won outright.Between 1939 and 1945 National Service and wartime restrictions curtailed many club activities but Arthur Goodhew kept the Saturday clubruns going.
Left to Right: Bill Johnson (behind Arthur), Arthur Goodhew, Len Fagel, Dick Bradley, Brian Large, Brian Veitch, Brian Bull, Ron Filmar, George Stanford, Dolly Veitch, Brian Wickens, Dizzy Waters, Pete Avis, Laurie Broad and Ernie Murdoch.
The Early Years of the Club
In the 1920s, the main activities were dub runs on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Members frequently stayed at the tea place to enjoy an impromptu evening of music or games. Sunday runs, lasting all day, were first held in 1926. From the 1920s onwards, the guiding influence of founder member Reg Fuller and life members Arthur Goodhew, George Stanford, Pete Avis, Tommy Veitch, and Gordon Cronk helped secure the club's prominent position in the cycling world.
Club time trials started in 1924, and Bill Honey became the first dub champion the following year. In the 1920s, Bill Honey, Len Francis and Andy Anderson were a formidable team. The Club was actively involved in forming the Kent Cycling Association (KCA) in 1928; between 1930 and 1933, George Stanford won the Association's Championship four times. The Club also won the Association's Team championship outright through George Stanford, Frank Ford, Ron Lucas and Frank Martin. This is now the perpetual Club Mens' Best All-Rounder (BAR) Championship Trophy.
Before the Second World War, cross-country races with the Maidstone Harriers were a popular feature of the club's racing programme. Between 1939 and 1945, national service and wartime restrictions curtailed many dub activities, but Arthur Goodhew successfully maintained the continuity of Saturday club runs.
Left to Right: Les Cooper, Ernie Murdoch, Gordon Cronk, Don Beevis, Laurie Broad, Therese Mason, Graham Wilkins, Geoff Wilkins, ??, Ted Hill and ??.
Club Riding and Social Activities
After the war, Arthur held the post of Saturday captain for many years before handing over this responsibility to Laurie Broad, who held this office for seventeen years until 1989.
Gordon Cronk attended the Saturday run almost every week throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and between 1966 and 1978, he won the Attendance Shield twelve times in thirteen years.
Club riding remains popular, and runs are still held on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year. Ernie Bray and then David Law followed Laurie in leading the Saturday runs. As the number of riders has increased, separate groups evolved to cater to all abilities. In 2004, Brian Williams formed the Easyride, which attracted many riders for whom the traditional club run would be too far and too fast. By 2008, there were seven different groups riding every Saturday with a total of between 70 and 100 riders and another group on Sundays.
In 2012, a Wednesday club run was added to cater for retired members, although younger ones who can get a day off work are also welcomed! At the latest count, there are 15 club runs every week. Having so many groups catering to all levels of abilities and interests has been a major factor in attracting many new members.
The arrival of electric bikes has been welcomed as a way to enable older members in the slower groups to continue to enjoy these rides.
Club members also continue to enjoy the companionship and pleasures of cycle touring, both in this country and abroad, and attend early-season training camps in Majorca.
Another important feature of club life has been the weekly clubroom. For many years in the 1960s and 1970s, club members enjoyed the hospitality of Pete and Nora Avis, who provided the cellar of their home as our clubroom. A later venue was the Penenden Heath Social Hall, but like most clubs, this aspect of club life has lost its attraction, and we no longer have a clubroom. However, social functions, including the Birthday Lunch and Annual Prize Presentation, are still held.
Left to Right: Phil Goacher, Len Mason, Nev Cording and Mike Culloch.
Time Trialling
In 1955, Rod Overton took the club's 25-mile record inside the hour for the first time. In 1959, he was the first member to beat two hours for a '50', the same year that Peter Baker gained the club's first British Best All-Rounder (BBAR) Certificate.
From the 1950s onwards, Roy Manser enjoyed an excellent racing career that spanned nearly all branches of the sport. He first became national prominence in 1958 with fifth place in the National 25-mile Championship. In 1962 he gained sixth place in the BBAR Competition, followed by 13th place in 1964. In his qualifying '50' in 1964, Roy produced a time of 1-52-35 on the Boroughbridge course in Yorkshire, which was the fourth fastest '50' ever at that time. In 1989, Roy became the first club member to break a national competition record when he and Anthony Wallis (Festival RC) set a new 10-mile tandem figure of 18 minutes and 17 seconds. Roy won the KCA BAR four times between 1959 and 1969. After becoming a veteran, his many successes included 2nd and 3rd in the Veterans Time Trial Association (VTTA) National 10 Miles Championship in 1983 and 1994, respectively, second in the VTTA National 12 hours Championship in 1986, and a series of national Veteran Age Groups - records, including tandem records paired with Laurie Broad.
Ivor Hickman won the KCA BAR in 1971, and the following year he gained third place in the National 24-hour Championship, recording a distance of 464.021 miles, which still stands as a club record. The club has won the KCA individual BAR championship a record twenty-four times. The other members who have taken this title are Mark Vowells, with a record six wins between 1974 and 1989, Geoff Hodgson, Lawrence Martin, Ian Silvester, Gary Chalkley, Keir Williams, Steve Berry, Dean Chiddention and Reuban Davey. The club has also won the Association's men's team BAR championship a total of twenty-eight times.
In 1976 Rod Overton and Mark Vowells, together with Keith Ratcliff (Thanet RC) and Dave Bedford (Wigmore CC), represented the South East District Council in the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC) National 100 km 4up Championship at Newark. The team finished 2nd with a time of 2-16-35.
The Club has also achieved considerable success in the KCA Ladies BAR Championship. Pam Manser (nee Wells) won the championship from 1962 to 1968, and Carole Gandy enjoyed an even longer run of successive wins from 1977 to 1987. In 1993, Anita Alldridge won the championship, with Carole Gandy winning it every year except two from 1994 to 2003. In 2000 Sue Barrett became the fourth dub member to take this title, and during 2000 Sue also improved her dub and KCA Ladies 12 hour record to 228.905 miles. In 2004 Carolyn Hawkes became the fifth club member to win this championship, repeating this win in 2005.
Carole Gandy began racing in 1976 and quickly became one of the leading riders nationally. She has since won many national and local awards. In 2004, she won the Women’s BBAR Competition Championship, having previously been second three times and third three times. Also in 2004, she won the Women’s National 100-mile Championship.
In 1996, Carole reduced her club ladies' 100-mile record to 4-1-54, then the second fastest time ever recorded by a Club member. Carole has partnered Geoff Hodgson to a series of veteran mixed tandem national records, holds ladies' national veteran's records at 10, 25, 30, 50, and 100 miles, and has won the VTTA Three Distance Competition eleven times.
In 1983 Philip Mason produced an outstanding series of winning rides in local hill climbing events including a win in the prestigious Catford CC event, setting a record of 1 minute 47.6 seconds for the Yorks Hill course which stood until 2023. Philip then achieved third place in that season's National Hill Climb Championship.
In 1995, the KCA promoted the National 12-Hour Championship in Kent. Ian Silvester produced an exceptional ride to win the championship with 273.324 miles, also improving his own dub record. Later that season, Ian became the first member to beat four hours for a '100', recording 3-54-10 in the North Middlesex and Herts CA event.
The Club has enjoyed many individual and team successes in veteran's time trials since the early 1980s. In 1983, Roy Manser, Laurie Broad and Len Mason took the team award in the VTTA National 10 Miles Team Championship. Roy and Laurie, with Tony Peachey, repeated this success for the dub in 1994, and in 1999 the club took this award for the third time with a team of Roy, Roly Crayford and Carole Gandy. In 1986, Roy Manser, Len Mason and Geoff Hodgson were the first team in the VTTA National 12 Hours Championship
In 1999 Tony Peachey, Dick Wallis and Mick Roberts won the Club team shield in the VTTA National BAR, with Carole Gandy winning the Ladies Three Distance Competition and Judith Griffiths the Club Team Award. Carole and Judith retained both titles in 2000 and won it again in 2002, whilst in 2000 Tony Peachey, Sue Barrett and Barry Charlton won the VTTA National 12-Hour team award for the Club once again.
In 2005 several racing members left to join a local newly formed sponsored club. The gap was filled by an influx of new members, many of whom, although new to cycling, came from other competitive sports and quickly adapted their overall fitness to the bike. In 2009 many of the long-standing club records were updated. Ian Sutton set new times at 25 and 50 miles and, with Mike Piper, provided the basis for team records at 10, 15 and 25 miles. Although his 25 and 50-mile records were finally broken after 21 and 27 years, Roy Manser set new Veterans records at age 75.
In 2009 there were 2 outstanding novice riders. 16-year-old Michael Barnes set a new Junior 50-mile record. After only 5 months of riding a mountain bike, Steve Berry swapped to a road bike and finished the year with a 57-55 '25' and a 245.5 miles 12 hour. In 2010, the rivalry between Steve, Mike Piper, and Ian Sutton resulted in new records at every distance (except 15 miles), from 10 miles to 12 hours. In 2011 Steve improved all of them and finished 10th in the National BBAR competition, only the second member after Roy Manser to finish in the top twelve of the Men’s competition.
In 2021, Mark Vowells became the second club member to break a national competition record, producing a 15-mile tandem tricycle time of 33-32 with Ian Pike (Lincoln Wheelers).
During 2010 and 2011, several promising young and more senior racing members left to join specialised racing dubs. This prompted the newly formed board to create a separate sponsored racing team within the club that is open only to club members who meet specified performance criteria. After a slow start and a few teething problems, this has resulted in an increase in the number of members racing and some good performances.
Both of these very significant changes were initially suggested by Dick Naylor, who, together with Geoff Wiles, has worked hard to ensure their success. Since retiring from work, Geoff, winner of the 1976 British Professional Road Race Championship, earned a sports science degree and became a qualified coach. His expertise and enthusiasm are behind the improving performances of many racing members.
The club's most racing successes have been in time trialling, but we have also enjoyed some notable successes in road and track racing.
In 1955 Roy Springett became National Junior Sprint Champion, the first national title to be won by a club member.
Members who have won Kent Road or Circuit Race Championships include Russ Layberry (1960), Roy Manser (1961, 1965, 1979 and 1983), Perry Bradley Juvenile Champion in 1976, 1977 and 1978 and Junior Champion in 1979), Roly Crayford (1980), Philip Mason (1987), Simon Mason (1988) and Paul Everest Juvenile Champion in 1990). In 1996 Andrew Naylor finished second in the National Open Road Race Championship. Two years later, his father, Dick Naylor, won the bronze medal in the British Cycling Federation (BCF) National Over 50s Road Race Championship. In 2000, Dick took the silver medal in the BCF Over 50s World Championship.
From 1995 Roy Manser and Roly Crayford successfully competed in the age-related National and World Masters Track Championships. In 2002, Roy won the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists (LVRC) Track championship, silver in the LVRC National Criterium Championship, and was the League International Track Champion. Despite health problems that eventually limited his racing, he won 4 silver and one bronze from the Worlds and 3 gold and one silver from the National Masters.
Roly's haul of World Masters Track medals totalled 3 gold, 29 silver, and 4 bronze, plus 16 golds and a silver in the National Championships. He also has 7 gold medals from the World Masters Games and European Games, where he set a world record.
Roy and Roly sadly passed away in 205 and 2022, respectively.
Geoff Wiles has also excelled in the Masters Championships. Since 2014 he has won 3 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals at the World Masters Track and Road Race Championships. In National Championships over this period, Geoff has won 16 Road Race gold medals and 35 Track golds, including a world age record time of 2.37.07 for the 2000-metre individual pursuit in the 2019 British Cycling National Championship.
Geoff’s wife, Barbara, is another member who has achieved excellent results in the Masters Track Championships. Barbara became the club’s first Women’s World Champion in 2019. Her first gold medal in the World Masters Track Cycling Championships was in the time trial. Barbara’s second was in the individual sprint, and on the same day, Geoff won a World Masters gold medal in the individual pursuit, which was surely a unique double. Barbara has, so far, won 2 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals in the World’s Masters Championships, as well as 13 gold medals in national championships.
Dick Naylor has also been a prolific winner in Masters road races.
Mountain Bike and Cyclo-Cross Racing
In 1993 we organised our first ever Club Mountain Bike Championship. This was at Thurnham, and Ollie MacPherson became our first champion in this discipline. This event has also been held at Hoads Wood, Bethersden, where the Club owns a plot of land donated by life member Dick Mills. Subsequently, land owned by member Rob Tipple's father was used to promote club championships and open cyclo-cross races.
In 1999, second-claim member Katherine Hibberd won the Junior Women's National Mountain Bike Cross-Country Championship and went on to represent Great Britain in the world mountain bike championships. Katherine successfully defended her national title in 2000 and went to the world championships again, this time in Spain, finishing in 20th place.
Between 1998 and 2005, Ian Field developed from a talented juvenile to earn a place in British Cycling's World Class Performance Plan. He has since been the British Elite Cyclo-cross champion four times, won a U23 British Mountain Bike (MTB) national championship and has represented GB at 14 World Championships MTB and cyclo-cross events.
Club Racing Promotions
The Club has promoted many open time trials and road races, the oldest being the Open '50', first held in 1933. We broke new ground in 1994 with the successful promotion of the Maidstone Fun Bike Day, organised by Dick and Veronica Naylor and held in Maidstone town centre. This promotion included rides and races for various cyclists, from novices to elite riders. The event was held in the town centre for six years and then transferred to Valley Park Community School grounds for another 3 years. Dick also became the Club’s first Director of Racing in 2011, and he has excelled at promoting road and circuit races on behalf of the club over a period of many years.
For over twenty years, the Club promoted road races at the Eastway circuit on two or three consecutive weekends in February/March, moving them to the replacement circuit at Redbridge when Eastway was demolished to make way for the 2012 Olympics and later to the Cyclopark in Gravesend.
Club members also serve as key KCA, VTTA (Kent), and the Cycling Time Trials (CTT) South East District Committee officials.
The 2007 Tour de France visit provided an opportunity to publicise cycling. Various local organisations asked the dub for help and advice, and members participated in TV and radio interviews.
Audax
The club responded to members' growing interest in Audax riding by organising 100 - and 150-km rides in 2005. The success of these rides resulted in a weekend of rides in 2006 with distances of 50, 100, Hilly 118, 150, 200, and 300 km.
In 2007, we established the current single Sunday "Fairies Flat Five" rides of 50, 100, 150, 200, and 300 km. The emphasis on the flat element encourages riders to either try their first audax or step up to a longer distance.
Five more events of up to 200 km on three separate dates - two in Spring and one in Autumn - have since been added.
Club members enjoy Audax rides in many parts of the country, and we have been represented in every Paris-Brest-Paris and London-Edinburgh-London event this century—a total of 19 completions of these two classic events. The Club has a record of high placings in the national competition based on the total distances covered by 6 members.
Sportive
A decline in interest in the 52-mile Maidstone to Rye and Back time trial prompted the idea for a Sportive ride over similar roads with the added incentive of using it to raise money for the Kent Air Ambulance (now Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust).
It was designed in 2006 as a low-key local event with a maximum entry of 300 and has become a regular fixture in the Kent cycling scene. The 117 km route sets challenging times for the top age-related medals and a pleasant scenic ride for the less ambitious.
A total of £57,700 has been raised up to 2023.
Kate and John Bosley on their ride around the whole of France.
Ultra-Distance Events
Following the rise in popularity across the globe of ultra-distance races, the Club has seen Sheila Wollam complete the 2000km Race around the Netherlands and the Pan-Celtic Race (whose motto is “We who travel have stories to tell”) as well as the big daddy of them all, the Transcontinental race, in 2019. Bob Watts has followed in her footsteps with the 4,500km North Cape 4000 in 2021, Race around the Netherlands and Classics Story in 2022 and 2023.
Committee meeting at Oak Acre late 1970s
Club Management Structure History
From Committee to Board
The club management structure was changed at the AGM in December 2011 to consist of a Board of Chairman, Secretary, and six Directors, with 16 additional Officials reporting to the Board.
Up to 21 members previously attended the monthly meetings, and despite some only needing to make very brief reports, it was generally agreed that most meetings took too long.
It was decided to create a Board of 7 Directors who would meet at bi-monthly intervals along with the General Secretary. All the existing Officers jobs would continue with the Officers reporting to an appropriate Director but not attending Board meetings. Some would be both Officers and Directors.
Fresh faces filled several positions, the most visible one being Lise Taylor Vebel, the new magazine editor. As a web-based design consultant, she transformed the magazine from a monthly photocopied one to a glossy bi-monthly professionally printed publication.
The Directors of Recreation, social Activities, Welfare, and Go-Ride each have only one Officer, so it makes sense that one person fills both posts. Racing and Media directors each have a number of Officers, and it was felt that the director of finance and Treasurer should be different members.
The directors' job would be to investigate and devise ways to extend the club's activities in their area of responsibility.
The Board of Directors would consist of:
Director of Racing
Director of Recreation
Director of Social Activities
Director of Finance
Director of Welfare
Director of Go-Ride
Director of Media
In 2013, the list of Directors and Officers was clarified and changed in the Handbook.
A board of Directors would govern the club with the support of the Officers. The Directors and Officers were to be elected at a General Meeting and would consist of the following first claim members:
Board Members: Chairman, Director of Racing, Director of Recreation, Director of Social Activities, Director of Finance, Director of Welfare, Director of Go-Ride, Director of Media and General Secretary.
Officers: Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Club Runs Secretary, Off Road Captain, Time Trial Secretary, Assistant Time Trial Secretary, Road Race Secretary, Social Secretary, Press Secretary, Recorder (Club Racing Records), Magazine Editor, Assistant Magazine Editor, Rights Officer, Clothing Officer, Welfare Officer, Lady Welfare Officer.”
The new wording clarifies which Officers are board members and adds the position of Chairman.
Five Year Plan
In 2014, following discussions at the 2013 AGM and subsequent Board meetings on how the San Fairy Ann Cycling Club should develop the Directors compiled a draft for a five year plan and developed it throughout the year. It was finalised following the meeting on the 7 October 2014 with the officials and ride co-ordinators at the clubroom.
Aims and Objectives
To recognise, respect and encourage all cycling activities. 2.2. To support members in their areas of cycling interest and encourage them to try new ones.
To encourage greater participation of members in the running of the club as a whole and also within the various groups in the club.
Membership
To continue the Club’s gradual growth.
Racing
To provide facilities, opportunities and training to enable riders to achieve their potential.
To provide financial support for individuals to be financed by:
Commercial sponsorship e.g. Abellio
Profits from racing events.
Voluntary subscriptions from individual members.
Audax and Sportive
To encourage wider participation in Audax and Sportive events, create a co-ordinator post to act as a conduit for information and support between the members and the Board.
Club runs
To continue the current ride programme but also respond to future changes in interest or new requirements.
To encourage more members to become ride leaders.
Social
To continue the Birthday Lunch and the annual prize presentation. Explore new formats for these events.
To encourage greater interaction between the various groups currently in the club, with the hope of fostering a more cohesive “San Fairy Ann C C“ outlook.
To explore further ideas on possible new social events and to seek the membership's views on what form these could take.
Financial
To be solvent at all times and maintain a minimum capital reserve of 80% of the previous year's subscriptions. This reserve does not include any allocations for supporting racing, etc., which would be additional.
Management Structure
To ensure greater accountability and support, create a new post for the Audax & Sportive Coordinator, who will report to the Director of Recreation.
Establish a Webmaster post to maintain the club website and Facebook account with up-to-date information. Coordinate with the Milestone Editor and General Secretary so that the site is consistent, timely, and clear.
Ensure the communication lines between officers and co-ordinators is regular and effective.
10. Communications
The milestones, newsletters (electronic and paper), and website provide good communication channels between the members, officials, and the board, but further development is needed to ensure consistency and maximum coverage.
To actively promote the club to external organisations and the community at large.
San Fairy Ann CC Limited
In 2020, the Board had been concerned for some time about the club's legal status, whether it remained suitable for our activities and the liabilities the membership faced. In particular, Geoff Wiles and Rob Horan had put in a lot of work around the options open to us, which range from becoming a Limited Liability Company to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
If a third party claims the club and the individual members.
For example, if a rider in a club run knocked over a member of the public and they hit their head and died, their widow could claim compensation against us all as a club and as individuals, as our constitution stands at the moment.
Even a club member’s widow could claim against us if there was a fatality in a club run.
Changing the club setup will protect us all from this.
The Board accepted Geoff Wiles’ offer to assemble a working group of members to investigate the possibilities.
After a thorough investigation into the liability issue, the working group discovered a serious risk to our members in the club's legal structure. Members were collectively liable for any losses or legal action taken against the club, and in an increasingly litigious society, this wasn’t going to be a risk many members would want to take.
The good news was that there was an easy solution. Increasing numbers of clubs were changing their legal status to ‘companies limited by guarantee’, which has the benefit of limiting member liability to £1 for each member.
This legal structure was recommended by British Cycling, Cycling UK and Sport England.
The group believed that reconstituting SFA as a new ‘company limited by guarantee’ was right for our club and our members. They recommended this change be made quickly to limit risks to our members.
This was carried to the vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
The legal procedures were put in motion, and in January 2021, The San Fairy Ann Cycling Club Ltd. became a reality.
The Club Centenary Book: A Century of Cycling
THE CLUB’S CENTENARY
On Saturday, March 19, 2022, the Club celebrated its centenary with a host of group rides, all beginning and ending at Boughton Monchelsea Village Hall, followed by a buffet lunch. It is estimated that at least 150 members and their families and friends attended a memorable occasion.
The Club hired the same venue for a second celebratory event on Saturday, June 25, following a similar format to the one held in March. At this second function, we were delighted to welcome Robin Fuller, son of founder member Reg Fuller, as a guest. Robin spoke eloquently about his father and his father’s involvement in the club's creation all those years earlier.
In 2023, Lise Taylor-Vebel published her excellent book ‘A Century of Cycling’ on behalf of the club. This book includes many old and contemporary photographs. It provides a detailed insight into our wide range of activities while depicting many members who have played a part in our long and illustrious history.
Lise also edited The Milestone from 2011 until 2022.
SUMMARY
The San Fairy Ann Cycling Club continues to enjoy pride in its place as Maidstone's premier all-around cycling organisation. Beyond this, we continue to play a very prominent role within Kent Cycling, and with around 400 members, we are probably the largest and certainly one of the most active cycling clubs in the county. By maintaining our all-around interest and involvement in the sport and pastime, we have not strayed too far, if at all, from the ideals of the founder members one hundred and two years ago.
March 2024
CLUB MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOINED THE CLUB 50 OR MORE YEARS AGO
Dick Bradley, 1950
Gary Coomber, 1954
Peter Baker, 1955
Roger Brimsted, 1957
Rob King, 1963
John Longbottom, 1964
John Kavanagh, 1967
Ray Whibley, 1967
Mark Vowells, 1968
Geoff Hodgson, 1970
Carol Hodgson, 1971
Helen Longbottom, 1974
some newspaper cuttings
Therese Mason kept a collection of press cuttings from the mid 1980s
Our History in Photos
These photographs have been compiled by Ron Lee.