Howard joined – just for the handbook!

One of the Cyclists' Touring Club most loyal supporters over many years was Howard Naylor, who for many years was the proprietor of Beacon Cycles, Derby Road, Loughborough, husband of Betty who has also ridden with various sections since her teenage years. Howard passed away during Saturday night Sunday morning 22nd/23rd December 2018 after a long illness.

Howard first joined the CTC in 1948, not to ride with a local section but to get a national handbook to help him find accommodation when on some of the long rides he undertook at that time. One of the first of these, at the age of 17, was a two day ride from Leicester to Norwich and then back. As he worked on the railways at this time, eventually becoming a fireman, Howard was able to obtain free travel. So he took himself and bicycle up to Edinburgh, allowing three days for his return to Leicester. These were to be three extremely wet days which meant riding against time all the way. First night at Carlisle, second at Long Preston finally arriving back in Leicester for the third night. He can still remember the taste of the apricot jam sandwiches which kept him going.

Following this, he was required to do his National Service for 18 months after which he was pleased to be released into the sort of` job which allowed him to get back on to his bike. Still working for the railways, he got another free travel pass which took him up to Thurso, allowing 16 days of riding using both youth hostels and CTC accommodation on his way back home. During all this time, George Clowes who lived next door to Howard, had been a member of the loiterers section, so in 1951 Howard decided to join them on their Sunday run. This must have been in February, as they were all talking about the Valentine Dance they had been to the night before. The following Sunday he decided to ride with the photographic section - as they were two distinct sections then. He rode with both sections until about May or June when seven or eight of them got together and re-formed the general section. This was to allow longer rides for those who wanted to go further afield, eventually progressing to become the hardriders’ section. One of their early rides was around the Wrekin and back (a reminder of the phrase "All around the Wrekin” when a description is long-winded).

All through the 1950s and beyond, all the different sections had regular socials on Saturday evenings and everyone travelled out to the various market towns and villages around Leicester to enjoy them. Howard clearly remembers helping to carry a baby bath full of jelly on the service bus from Leicester to Quorn, something which was not the slightest bit unusual.

The first carol service was the brainchild of the general section and was masterminded by two members, Ray Pears, who lived at Stapleton and Pete Summers, who lived at Sutton Cheney. The tea rooms for this event were where the Woodlands Nursery now stands.

In 1953 Howard agreed to become the runs’ secretary for the DA which involved organising the 12 and 24 hour standard rides and the 100 in 8 as well as the occasional roughstuff He continued in this post for three or four years until Dave Gelder took over.

AGMs were held at 2 pm on Sundays in Regents Rd, Leicester. To make a day of it, they would get up early to ride to Warwick then back in time for the 2 pm start. New Year’s Eve at Blakeshay Farm, down to the Bradgate for a drink and then up to Old John for the stroke of` midnight.

On another occasion he recalls climbing to the summit of Ben Nevis wearing cycling shoes, going up wasn’t too bad but it was a very long way back. On this holiday the route continued to Mallaig, but it was so hot the tar on the roads was melting and splashing up on to the frames.

They arrived just in time to see the ferry leaving on its way to Skye. This left them with plenty of time to clean their bikes as it was Saturday night and there was not another ferry until Monday! Howard recalls taking off the socks he had put on clean that morning and using them to get the tar off his frame!

On one trip to Scotland, when the axle key broke in his Sturmey Archer gear, he was eaten alive by midges as he struggled to repair it in the garage of a local pub. It lasted for the ride of 80-plus miles to Blair Gowrie the next day where he found a bike shop open - on a Sunday! There were yet more mechanical problems with a different Sturmey Archer which he repaired using cardboard and small paper pellets, distributed between the remaining ball bearings. This was good enough to last for a further two days.

During these years he met and married Betty. They had their children, Pete and Anne, and continued their unbroken record of association with the Leicestershire DA through various sections. Loiterers, photographic, general, hardriders, family, Loughborough and now Charnwood. The move to Loughborough section was prompted by changing his job and moving to Shepshed, to live nearer to his new job in Derby.

He has always been a keen worker on behalf of his fellow members, has served on numerous DA committees and has been DA President. He is an active member of the Loughborough Road Safety committee and also served on the Leicester Accident Prevention Council when it used to meet at Charles Street police station. He has been a very generous supporter of our quarterly magazine Cycle Chat, providing financial help when it was struggling to survive. He is one of a long line of members over the ten decades who have made it possible for us to celebrate our centenary.