Stratford-upon-Avon is best known for its Shakespearean connections but just a short ride away from the Bard’s birthplace there’s another piece of British heritage that deserves a standing ovation—the Pashley Cycles factory.

It’s Gent–Wevelgem 1974, you’ve made it over the savage Kemmel climb twice with the lead group and survived hanging on the back of an Eddy Merckx (Belgium and Molteni) and Roger De Vlaeminck (Belgium and Brooklyn) driven purge on the run-in; there are 17 guys left, so maybe you would settle for a top ten? Not if your name is Barry Hoban (Britain and GAN-Mercier) and you feel that the ‘overdrive’ is in your legs.

There have been quite a few brothers in the peloton over the years, so we picked just a few of the cycling siblings (there may be more to come) to compare the brotherly love and their palmarès.

Whilst we try to keep abreast of the current race scene, it seems we’ve become a bit of a focal point for 70’s races and racers, and kermis racing. We’re not complaining… Our reader, Graham Robson was another who has shared some of his 70’s memories with us and with his kind permission we have the pleasure of sharing them with you here.

Caithness Cycling Club is thriving thanks in no small part to the enthusiasm and inspiration of 85 years old Alasdair Washington, a VTTA member since the 1980s. The club boasts that it is the most northerly cycling club on mainland UK, so is very remote from mainstream cycling activity.

Late on the Sunday afternoon Iljo Kiesse and his strong partner and compatriot, Jasper De Buyst pull off a ‘doublette’ - two lap gains in quick succession – in this 100th edition of the Gent Six Day race. I start to worry that we’re going to get served up a ‘fairy tale’,,,

British rider Dan Bigham recently set a new World Hour Record in Grenchen, Switzerland beating Victor Campenaerts’ record by 400 metres. This got us thinking about the evolution of the modern Hour Record - the 'Impossible Hour' - and how it got to where it is now.

With the sweet smell of ‘ganja’ wafting out of the windows of at least two of the Dysart High Street flats and into my nostrils, Barney Ribble and I set off for East Wemyss and the Fife Coastal Path once more.

We had been looking for a suitable partner for our new cycling and leisure clothing and when we spoke to the folks at Nopinz and learned about their offerings we were very interested and wanted to find out more. We visited the factory in Devon to find out what happens when you order Nopinz custom kit and saw our own kit being manufactured.

For Secteur Two of the Fife Coastal Path exploration I chose Aberdour to Kirkcaldy; to get to Aberdour from my home in Dysart you have to head west to come back east.

I’d been meaning to get back into semi-serious bike riding for a while but a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, which doesn’t affect everyday life too much but which is damn sore if you’re pressing hard on the pedals, made it difficult. Then came the, ‘Eureka!’ moment – an e-Bike.

In Part One of Phil Cheetham's Memories we heard about how, in 1967, he made his way to Troyes in France's Champagne region to spend the summer months racing with one of the best teams in the country, UVA Troyes and in this part we hear about Phil's exploits riding behind the Iron Curtain in the 1972 Peace Race.

Often, when we're talking to riders about those Golden Days for bike racing, the 60’s and 70’s, the name Phil Cheetham crops up. Cheetham was a quality rider with some big results in France in the early 70’s and he very kindly agreed to share his memories with us.

Glasgow in the 70’s wasn’t the stylish, cultured city it is now; the London Government still hadn’t forgotten or forgiven 1919 with troops on the streets as ‘The Dear Green Place’ teetered on the brink of a ‘Red Revolution.’ The rider in our tale was a member of several Glasgow cycling clubs which meant an escape from the 'rough edges' of the city.

Mark Bell died in 2009 at just 48 year-of-age but his journalist brother, Tony – a fair rider himself, ‘back in the day’ - very kindly agreed to talk to us about a rider whose palmarès, whilst spectacular, could have been so much broader. Mark Bell, a rider we never really saw the very best of.  

Bernie Nolan wanted to race as a Pro in Europe but prior to that he sought fame and fortune in the Antipodes – under the Aussie sun, and surely the racing down there wouldn’t be as savage as Belgium?

One of VeloVeritas’ functions it seems is unlocking the memories of those stalwarts – like our own mentor and soothsayer, Viktor and indeed, our editor Martin - who beat a path in the 70’s and 80’s to the legendary Mrs. Deene’s boarding house in Gent (and later in Zomergem) to show those Belgies how it should be done. The latest epistle which came our way was from Norman Gower.

It was May 1981 when Phil O'Connor took his first race picture; Manxman, Steve Joughin winning a stage of the Tour of Britain, 'Milk Race' as it hurtled into Bournemouth - some months later he managed to get it published in a cycling magazine.

The late Gary Wiggins’ sister Glenda Hughes, took to social media recently to remind us that some 13 years have passed since the big Australian died under mysterious circumstances. Wiggins had many sides – depending on how you knew him – which prompted us to re-run our review of his European glory to tragic end.

Following the sad passing of former British Amateur Road Race Champion and road track star Grant Thomas in The Netherlands we received many words of tribute to the man who defined ‘cool’ on a racing bike. Mr. Paul Kilbourne has featured on our pages before, reliving his memories of his time with the now legendary ANC team, gave us a lovely tribute to Grant, which we publish with pride.