Dick Poole

Richard William Ewart Poole was the first man to cycle from Land's End to John o' Groats, the length of mainland Britain, in less than two days. He then beat the 1,000-mile record... only to find he was a few yards too short.

Background Born in Willesden, London, England in 1932, Poole was a talented time-triallist—a competitor against the clock over fixed distances—living in west London. He was a member of Middlesex Road Club. A meeting with another enthusiast, a model-maker and weekend cycling journalist called Bernard Thompson, led to a plan in 1965 to try for the longest place-to-place record in Britain: Land's End to John o' Groats.

Cyclists had been trying the ride since at least July 1880, when H Blackwell and C A Harman of the Canonbury Bicycle Club rode from Cornwall to Caithness in 13 days. The first formal attempt was by George Pilkington Mills, who rode a penny-farthing with a 52-inch wheel for 5d 1h 45m in July 1886, when he was 19. The Road Records Association formed two years later to formalise attempts. It ruled that riders were free to take whatever route they preferred provided they covered the distance. That proved critical in Poole's ride and in the challenge that ended his record.

The record he won Dick Poole set off from Land's End at 9:45 am on Wednesday, 16 June 1965 He was 31, married with a daughter, Dick rode Berridale, the toughest hill of a tough journey, without faltering. To attain his own schedule for the first time since Okehampton was a great reward for climbing of the highest order. He raced past the 'desert of telegraph poles' along the coast of Caithness and reached Wick (855 miles) with 10min in hand of the two-day schedule. Two more minutes were gained in the next three miles – and John o' Groats (871.7 miles) was reached in 1 day 23hr 46min 35sec. So I agreed and I had a rest and I set off again."

The weather at John o' Groats was calm. Poole rode the first 15 miles at 20 mph and the first 30 at 17 mph. The weather turned to cold rain pushed by a high wind. Bernard Thompson, the organiser, allowed Poole to continue beyond the extra 128 miles as the timekeeper timed him through landmarks about every mile. By measuring the whole route afterwards, Fischer could calculate where Poole had passed 1,000 miles and at what time. At what Thompson considered a safe margin, 1,010 miles, Poole came to a halt. Fischer's unconfirmed time for 1,000 miles was 2d 8h 6m, which had beaten Randall's time by 2h 34m.

The records broken Poole's end-to-end record stood for 14 years before it fell to Paul Carbutt, a rider who rode everything from short hill-climb time-trials to Land's End to John o' Groats. He won national championships at 50 and 100 miles and 12 hours and won the British Best All-rounder competition for the highest average speeds over three races. He had handlebar controls for his gears, Mafac Racer brakes, Campagnolo hubs and a Stronglight chainset.

Retirement Poole became head coach of the Road Time Trials Council before its coaching scheme merged with that of the British Cycling Federation. He is now a coach at Reading track west of London and is President and Treasurer of the Farnborough and Camberley Cycling Club. Along with Aleck Hunter, he was instrumental in forming the British Triathlon Association after the first U.K. Triathlon had been organised in 1982 by health club owner and former Olympic pentathlete Mike Ellis along with David Wall, Peter Metalli and Maurice Hoare at a disused gravel pit at Kirton's Farm, Pingewood, Reading in 1982. Poole was BTA Chairman from 1983 to 1989. He now lives in Reading with his wife and has two daughters called Kate and Caroline and two grand-daughters, Gemma and Elysia.