Mark Minion. Co-Chair
I have been riding (again) bikes seriously since 2010, partly because I had stopped taking part in other sports and needed something that would help me keep the weight off. I started with a hybrid bike and thought riding to Newton Bromswold from Rushden was epic, or at least enough to leave me reaching for oxygen and a flapjack!
What has followed has been a series of bikes and a seemingly endless purchase of new ‘bits’.
I joined HFCC after I bumped into two members at a sportive event in 2016, both of them were riding the ‘old’ HFCC kit and we got talking in the food queue at the end of the ride.
Since then, I have found and made many new friends who share my passion but don’t take it too seriously. Saturday rides out to Rutland over what were described as ‘serious lumps’ have followed. I have also managed to climb two iconic climbs in France – Mont Ventoux and Alpe D’Huez – something I could never have imagined in 2010.
Riding my bike with friends has enabled me to maintain and improve my physical and mental health especially in recent years where we have all faced challenges.
Qualifications: None, but I can now just about change a tyre and inner tube, everything else it’s a call into the local bike shop
Tom Phillips. Co-Chair
I can still remember my 1st bike – a purple Raleigh Tomahawk (I was too small for a chopper). I got in trouble with my dad when I broke the crank while wheelieing it down the road. Then it was a race bike which I sprayed yellow, then a Raleigh Grifter, then mountain bikes.
I raced mountain bikes in the local Friday night series during the 90s, spent a while living and working in the US where I rode mountain bikes in Utah and raced local amateur mountain bike races in Texas (now there’s a challenge) before returning home and settling down.
Road bikes took over in 2008 (although I still ride mountain bikes) when I developed a dad bod and I’ve not looked back since. I’ve tackled some of the most iconic climbs in the Alps with friends from the club and I enjoy nothing more than spinning the legs while riding with friends.
Having broken most bits of my bikes at some point, I recently trained as a bike mechanic – figuring it was cheaper than constantly dropping a bike off at the shop.
I’d class myself as being ‘enthusiastic’. My cycling is my therapy!
Steve Jones. Membership Secretary
Just like Tom I can also remember my first bike – unfortunately it’s nowhere near as cool as a Tomahawk as I had a Raleigh Shopper, which was several letters further along the alphabet than the Chopper I desired. This was followed by a couple of Raleigh race bikes through school and university and then a GT MTB in a very tasteful red and multicoloured splatter pattern.
Up until about 10 years ago I only cycled occasionally and mostly with the family and kids. In 2012 a few colleagues and I decided to enter the Palace to Palace ride from The Mall to Windsor Race Course organised ride, a 45 mile ride on open roads. I got a carbon road bike on the cycle 2 work scheme to do the ride and have ridden regularly since then, joining HFCC in 2016.
You can usually find me on the shorter club rides puffing and panting up the hills and in the winter I tend to retreat to the turbo trainer in the spare room. I enjoy the camaraderie and support we all give each other on organised rides.
I can do most bike maintenance tasks myself, including building myself a set of wheels recently, though I normally need to borrow the correct tools.
Bike count – 5 in the shed (including a tandem), a folding bike in the airing cupboard and my old MTB on the turbo in the spare room. There is room for 1 more in the shed but not my marriage.
Neil Burge. Treasurer
I used to ride a bike a lot as a teenager but that stopped when I found petrol! A charity ride with work and then a desire for some more fitness got me back on a bike more regularly.
My wife pointed me to the HFCC Facebook page she had seen mentioned on other groups and I turned up one Sunday morning for a trek around Northamptonshire watching the Women’s Tour. That was me hooked and the beginning of forming a great group of friends.
Linda. Secretary
I was always riding my bike it was my main form of transport as my best friend lived in a village without a bus service. Then I learnt to drive and stopped cycling. In 2016 I practically learnt to ride a bike again. In 2017 I bought a road bike with the help of the Cycle to Work Scheme and started going out with different social cycling groups. I met Sarah who was already a HFCC member at Northampton Social Cyclist and she invited me to try HFCC. Also, in 2017 I attended a British Cycling Ride Leader training course and started leading rides as a Breeze Champion. This is a campaign to try and encourage women to take up cycling. I gave up as a Breeze Champion during Covid although I do assist ride leaders on an informal basis. I just like riding a bike.
I have recently started off road cycling on a gravel bike and taken part in a few sportives on and off road.