Betteshanger Cycling Club

A Memory of Deal.

Do you remember those meetings on a Sunday morning when the cycle club turned out for a day trip to Hastings or Dymchurch, maybe to Rye, etc. In charge was Harry Falvis, (not sure of the spelling), a short stocky man from the North of England. We assembled at St. Leonard's, sometimes as many as twelve, and off we went, led by Harry. His two daughters and son often made up the party and a great time was had by all, stopping at seaside cafes for a cuppa and a sandwich, etc. Race meetings, or time trials for 10 miles were often held, my best time was 22 min. 26 sec. I expect that's pretty slow for nowadays. Then there were the hill climbs at St. Margeret's Bay, boy! that was tough. We got to the top, chest heaving and heart pounding, great memories though. Then there was the trip to Deal seafront Beach Parlour, sitting there watching all the girls go by! Many romances took place there, where one would go to the juke box and put on a tune by Nat King Cole or Jonnie Mathiss (again sorry about the spelling). I remember coming back into Deal one evening from a 'time trial', we came down Queen Street, heading towards the seafront, and got stopped by the traffic lights, we balanced on our bikes, waiting for the lights to change, our feet fastened by the toe clips, we were nicely balanced until the outside rider lost his balance and bought the lot of us down like a stack of cards. We still ended up at the 'Beach Parlour' licking our wounds! Now how many of you staunch cyclists are still around? I hope a lot and that we hear more stories of those days. Kindest Regards from New Zealand.