Leon Bradford Cycling History and Other Arrangements

We will know the details of Leon's funeral shortly, we have been asked by the family to provide outriders as part of the funeral procession, final details will be published when the Family meet with the Funeral Directors. 

Gary Adnitt, Joe Fincuane and Adam Hutchinson have agreed to ride and we are currently contacting another ex-Chairman to be the other rider.

A brief history on Leon's Cycling provided by his son Adrian

Leon has always enjoyed cycling. Leon & his brother Keith used to ride a heavy old tandem together and regularly would ride and have a chain gang back to Royston where they lived against the local racing guys. When Leon was 17 and Keith was 20 (1959) they planned to ride to Rome and back. There was a strike in France, so instead they rode through Belgium via Bruges and onto Germany. Leon recounted that there were still long roads of flattened buildings, a remnant from the war. Unfortunately they did not realise that the Alps were more than 1 mountain. After several days with slow progress on a heavy tandem they had to change their target to Milan instead. There were a few crashes and mechanicals along the way. On one occasion the local blacksmith repaired a spoke for them. I remember Leon saying everyone was friendly, supportive and helpful, since Tandems were more a British thing and were very rare in Europe. They didn't take a tent and instead slept under a tarpaulin draped over the tandem or off the side of a hedge. Fortunately they had paid for their return ferry ticket, but they were way behind schedule. They had run out of money and hence food and survived on sweets back into England. They managed to get to a Police station in London, who sent them on a train to Royston, where the local police went to see their Mum for payment of the train journey. Obviously  she didn't know this and was shocked/worried when she saw the Police at the door.

Leon soon after met Marian (his wife to be) and he soon had a young family and cycling was forgotten for a number of years.

His sons Kevin and Adrian joined St. Neots Cycling Club in 1981. Soon sister Tina started racing too. Later that year Leon eventually started riding again after being given an old 531 frame from long time timekeeper Pat Collard. Wife Marian also competed in the club 10 mile races.

Leon was club secretary for a number of years. For approximately 20 years Leon competed in club 10 and 25 mile events as well as open events for 25, 50 100 mile and 12 hour Luton Wheelers races. He also competed in the Welwyn Wheelers Track League for several years.

In 1991 Leon and son Kevin held the National Tandem Trike record of 245.2 miles.

The Abbotsley 11.2 circuit was borne from road races organised by the SNCC and then became the local club TT instead of the club 10's on the A1.

Abbotsley was where Leon competed each week, each season since its beginning. His last ride was around the Abbotsley circuit as he had told me that he wanted to race again around Abbotsley at 81 years old, but sadly that was not to be.