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Walter Greaves (cyclist)
Walter William Greaves (April–June 1907[1] – 1987) was a British cyclist who set the world record for distance ridden in a year - despite having only one arm and falling off numerous times. Greaves rode 45,383 miles (73,037 km) in 1936. Personal lifeGreaves was born in 1907, his birth was registered in the North Bierley district, Yorkshire. He lived with his mother in Newlands Place, Undercliffe, Bradford.[2] He lost an arm in a road accident when he was 14.[2] One account says his father owned a car with running boards. His father was driving after drinking and Greaves opened the door, stood on the running board ready to jump, but was hit by a tram. His arm was so damaged that it was amputated below the elbow.[3] Other accounts said that he had hung the arm out of a train window. He developed an interest in communism which did little to help him find work as an engineer. According to the historian John Naylor, Greaves was unemployed and according to some, almost destitute. Unemployment in Bradford was high but "his reputation as a lefty troublemaker made employers reluctant to take him on".[4] Tim Teale, a Leeds cyclist who knew Greaves said "Walter tried to make you sign up for the young communists but nobody took much notice".[5] Greaves was an outspoken teetotaller, a practice which had a sequel when he broke the record. The 1936 World Endurance recordRecord backgroundIn 1911 the weekly magazine Cycling began a competition for the highest number of 100 mile rides or "centuries" in a single year.[6] The winner was Marcel Planes with 332 centuries in which he covered 34,366 miles (55,307 km).[6] The inspiration for the competition was said to be the efforts of Harry Long, a commercial traveller who rode a bicycle on his rounds covering every part of England and Scotland and who covered 25,376 miles (40,839 km) in 1910.[6] The world record for distance cycled in a year began in an era when bicycle companies competed to show their machines were the most reliable. The record has been officially established nine times.[7] A tenth claim, by the English rider Ken Webb, was later disallowed.[n 1]
PreparationsThe record that Greaves attempted had been set three years earlier by the Australian professional Ossie Nicholson. John Naylor said:
Greaves appealed to the cycle trade for sponsorship but had little success. Three Spires Cycles of Coventry provided a bicycle and a small weekly sum[4] in return for advertising rights.[n 2] Cyclists around the country offered him accommodation but help from the cycle trade came only once his ride had started. A report said Greaves was so short of money that he wore clothes "little more than worn-out rags" and lay awake worrying the ride would not continue for lack of funds.[4] The bicycleThe Three Spires bicycle had a modified handlebar and twist-grip gear-change to fit Greaves and his single arm. A single lever operated both brakes. But it was not ready when the attempt was due to start on 1 January 1936 and arrived five days later. The record had to be started on 1 January and completed by 31 December. The delay increased the daily distance Greaves was obliged to ride. Unlike Nicholson's machine, Greaves' bicycle was heavy, with thick tyres to cope with snow and pitted roads. He rode with mudguards, lamps and a saddlebag. His bike had a three-speed derailleur with ratios of 59, 71 and 79 inches (2,000 mm). He later increased the gears to 65, 73 and 78.[4] John Naylor said:
Alan Magson, in a description of the bicycle, said: "It looks like a fairly standard road bike - not that different from today's machine outwardly at least. Not much in the way of brakes - but then he was trying to break a record and roads were considerably quieter then."[14] The 1936 record rideRecords had to be attempted during a single calendar year, but Greaves started his ride five days late because of the delay in delivering his bicycle. He rode in one of the hardest winters for years, with snow and ice lying until the end of February. He covered 500 miles (800 km) in the first five days but fell off 19 times, including eight times in a day while riding through snow on high roads. A report in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, written by a reporter who followed him by car, records that Greaves fell twice in the first 10 miles (16 km) of the day as cars forced him off the road. In Leeds, he was blinded by a cloud of steam from a steam-powered vehicle, slipped on tram lines and fell off. He got up, cycled out of the city through lying snow and maintained his average 15 mph (24 km/h).[4] The Telegraph and Argus report was headlined Persistence on a bicycle and began "W.W. Greaves, the one-armed Bradford cyclist, is a hero." Greaves averaged 120 miles (190 km) a day by the end of February. The snow and ice were replaced by gales, hail and rain but Greaves increased his daily rate to 134 miles (216 km). It rained through the summer and then turned foggy all November. The cycling importer and patron, Ron Kitching, said:
Greaves collided with a car[n 3] at Yarm in July and an abscess developed as a result. Greaves lost two weeks in hospital. He rode 160 miles (260 km) a day while recovering from the operation. From 20 September to 8 October he rode 180 miles (290 km) a day. He rode into Hyde Park, London on 13 December and rode laps of the Serpentine to match Nicholson's record. He was joined by thousands of other cyclists, including the holder of the 1932 record, Albert Arthur Humbles.[16]
A reception was held in a hotel that evening. Greaves had been a vegetarian since he was 20 and was a fervent teetotaller. Journalists at the reception offered him champagne to celebrate, making comments such as "Go on... We won't tell!" Greaves said: Greaves rode from 8 October until the end of the year to push himself further ahead Nicholson. He nevertheless rode 130 miles (210 km) a day, finishing his year at midnight on New Year's Eve at the steps of the town hall in Bradford. The Telegraph and Argus reported "astonishing scenes reminiscent of those associated with the public appearances of famous film stars." The mayor gave him cheques and two trophies. Greaves' greatest distance in a day was 275 miles (443 km). His longest without sleep was 374 miles (602 km). The shortest day, 67 miles (108 km), finished early because he fell off and had to repair his bicycle. End of the recordGreaves record was set to fall even as he reached Bradford town hall. Next day another amateur rider, Bernard Bennett, set off to ride 45,801 miles (73,710 km). The record fell twice more the same year, the second time to René Menzies - who matched the record at Alexandra Palace with Greaves beside him[17][18] Cycling reported:
Tommy Godwin set the record at 75,065 miles (120,805 km) in 1939 with the support of a bicycle factory, a manager and pacers. He went on to ride 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in 499 days. The Golden BookWalter Greaves' achievements were celebrated in 1937 when Cycling Weekly awarded him his own page in the Golden Book of Cycling.[10] Life after the recordGreaves became a member of the British League of Racing Cyclists, an organisation which broke away from the National Cyclists Union during the Second World War to promote massed racing on the open road.[n 4][15] He also founded the Airedale Olympic cycling club and in 1949 organised a race from Bradford to Morecambe and back, and his prominent 'route markers' became a renowned distraction to normal traffic.[19][n 5] Greaves had a cycle shop in Bradford and built cycle frames in the late 1940s. He was a talented and innovative frame builder. All of his frames were sif-bronze welded, for lightness and strength. No lugs were used. The ‘La Victoire’ was of conventional design, while the ‘King of the Mountains’ was an unconventional short wheelbase type, built to his own design. It featured an almost upright seat tube with a specially formed seat pin which placed the saddle over the back wheel. There is a ‘King of the Mountains’ on display in Bradford Industrial Museum. The frame was built in 1948 and has nothing to do with his record ride, which was achieved on a Three Spires 'King of Clubs' bicycle.[20] Later, after a fire at his shop, he moved to Craven Forge beside the Leeds-Liverpool canal, halfway between Keighley and Skipton,[5] it was then known as Winifred's Café.(53°54′32″N 1°59′20″W / 53.909°N 1.989°W) According to the Telegraph and Argus, Greaves "struggled to make a living in the café and took a job at Water House Pressings. The café was later converted into a forge, making and selling garden ornaments. He also took to writing and singing songs in clubs and pubs in the area."[19] Greaves kept a monkey as a pet in the flat above the café, where he lived with his wife. He seems to have had an interest in exotic animals: the minutes of Yorkshire section of the British League of Racing Cyclists show that members had to talk him out of his plan to have a dancing bear for the annual dinner.[21] Greaves contracted Parkinson's disease in 1979, and died in 1987, aged 80. Peter Duncan, an official of the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club to which both belonged, said:
Greaves had been a single-minded, determined man described as reluctant to give way in arguments. The friendship between him and Duncan ended at a club meeting in 1951 when the two disagreed at an annual meeting and Duncan reported that Greaves said:
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