Updated 20 April 2023
Who?, What?, Where? and When? of:
Your 2023 President - Michael Valentine
When I was a schoolboy I used to watch the racing at the Crystal Palace.
It was there that Ken Hill asked me to join the De Laune's Schoolboy Team of
about 10 boys, all of similar same age – it was a strong team with
divisional and national riders.
By the time I was a junior I was getting lap primes every week - those were
the days when you had full fields of 300+rides in the handicap event. I was
no sprinter but a good climber and I continued riding circuit/road and track
every week before moving onto time trials. I broke the club record for 25
miles, aged 18, with a time of 56:28 . At 33, work, a mortgage and a young
family took over my life and I stopped racing.
I've always loved riding my bike and did nearly 6000 miles last year. I'm 73
in couple of weeks time and I hope to move the club forward and hopefully
improve the members experience . I will be trying to give a little back as I
follow other members who have worked hard over the years, with time and
money, to keep this great club going in these hard time.
Michael Valentine
