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Coach Profile - Terry Blake |
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Profile on Terry Blake - find out about his cycling days and how he got into coaching ...
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From the age of 10 - 14 my mates and I formed the Dartford Dynamoes, and practiced everything we could dream up, including cycle speedway, polo, dirt-tracking (i.e. early Cyclo-X) and 'endurance' races. I just remember I did not like them, but my cousin would not let me stop until I dropped. At Dartford Grammar School I played rugby for 5 years in the school team, but
this was brought to an abrupt end when I broke my leg in a motorbike crash and
was in plaster for nearly a year. The surgeons suggested I did some cycling to
rebuild my leg muscles - no 2nd opinion needed ! I joined the Dartford Wheelers
where my brother Peter, yes him, was a member. We did all the usual club stuff
of those times, including 120 mile coast runs, which often involved getting
dropped and having to find your own way home, 300 mile Easter tours and
youth-hostelling; I enjoyed it all. This all led me to begin racing. My
first Time-Trial - a '10' - aged 14, was timed at 29:15. You never forget your
firsts ! I also rode on the track and won a London Sprint Championship whilst
up against some of the best of that time. We juniors were the upstarts in what
was a golden era of 'hard cases' and 'anything goes' kind of racing. I never
could get past the older guys ! My PB at that time for a 25 was 1:1:43 on an
84" fixed bike, which compared with today's machines was virtually a delivery
bike. I think comp record was then about a 55. Around the age of 21 I
discovered fast cars and girls and that was the end of biking ! I dabbled in car racing with a Lotus Elite, but just did not have the nerve for that nonsense. I then concentrated on other matters such as marriage and 3 children. This is when I encountered an old friend - Mick Ballard, probably one of the best time-triallists this country has ever produced, he talked me into going with him to events and that did it ! Back into racing in 1971. Another spell of clock-bashing, circuit racing at Brands Hatch, the Palace, Paddington, Herne Hill and any other grass event I could get to.
Never much real success, but plenty of cutlery sets. I think I was permanently worn-out. On top of running my electrical contracting business, my week consisted of :
The group by then included a national '25' champion, competition record-holders and me ! They "let" me join them because I had vans for travelling to events. Those sessions became master-classes and the stories, if told, are legendary. Fridays were when we sent off entries, the weekends were for bike prep, travelling and, of course, racing. |
I
started my cycling career with a 'risk assessment' followed by a sprint ! Allow
me to explain - I was riding home (alone in those days) aged about 5,
when the Air Raid siren went off. I looked up and saw a Doodlebug V1
rocket over my head, targeting where I was heading. I sprinted flat out back to
my Uncle Frank's house and safety ! It crashed in Welling I think, killing a
family of five.