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The Introduction to The Early Years by Alan Mepham

 

For a great number of years now, cyclists have been in the habit of leaving the metalled way and riding, pushing or carrying their machines over a variety of tracks, footpaths and bridleways. It would be difficult to suggest a date when this practice began, but it could be true to say that ever since bicycles were invented there have been riders leaving the roads and making for the solitude of hill passes and green roads.

From the scant records available to us, it appears that a man named Amos Sugden claimed that he had crossed the Sty Head Pass in Lakeland equipped with a bicycle of some 50lbs weight and shod with solid tyres. The date was August 1890 and although this was quite early in the cycling scene, he made no claim to be the first. Was he merely following another cyclist’s footsteps ? His achievement was no mean feat, and caused quite a stir in the current wheelers’ world. Just to rub it in he subsequently went on to cross most of the Lake District foot passes.

At later date, although still before the First World War, a Vernon Blake took his machine over the Sty Head, Black Sail and Scarth Gap, throwing in a fair amount of road work as well, all in one day.  Even with lighter machines, specialised equipment, better maps and a broader knowledge of mountain areas that are prevalent today, Vernon Blake’s journey would still be regarded as a fair measure for a day’s work. We might well ask - what manner of man was this ?

So we could perhaps look to Messrs Sugden and Blake as the forerunners of today’s Rough-Stuff Fellowship.

It is matter of some conjecture as to the exact date when the phase “rough-stuff” was first coined. Today it as the accepted cyclist’s jargon to cover all sorts of tracks, passes, footpaths, etc., that are not tar macadam. Quite possibly our early cycling forefathers did not need such a term as most of their roads would have qualified under today’s rough-stuff interpretation. Used in the context of modern times and conditions, it is a catchword that describes anything from a gentle woodland or field path to the hair - raising and diabolical terrain of certain mountain areas.

Whenever the phase came into being, it was quite widely indulged in by the outbreak of the 1939 - 1945 war. Articles in the cycling press after that war indicated that this branch of the cycling pastime had lost none of its popularity. Probably the greatest single advocate of rough-stuff was the late W. E. Robinson, known with affection and respect by the pseudonym “ Wayfarer”. His writings and lectures between the two wars were unique. His style and delivery of the spoken and written word vested rough-stuff with the golden mantle of high adventure.

Out there, beyond the road’s end, in the valleys, by the streams, on the mountains, lay a wonderful world, available only to those who ventured. “Wayfarer” knew full well how to convey the magic to his readers and listeners, and he was familiar with the treasures that abound in this land of ours. More than one cyclist has taken his rough-stuff steps under the inspiration of “Wayfarer”.

In his world of ours it is customary for persons of similar persuasion to band to together, and rough-stuffers are no exception.

With the apparent growth of this aspect of cycling, it was only a matter of time before its adherents would form their own organisation. Even so, such an event needs a guiding hand, an architect, to bring it all together. It was fortunate therefore that there was a man prepared to make the necessary move, and initiate the proceedings to bring such an organisation into being. The man was Bill Paul of Liverpool, well acquainted with “Wayfarer”, his letters to “The Bicycle” and “Cycling” in October 1954 suggested the formation of a club to cater for the interests of rough-stuff enthusiasts.

The outcome of this was, that Whitsuntide 1955 saw about forty cyclists meet at the “Black Swan” in Leominster and historic decision was taken - The Rough-Stuff Fellowship was born.

 

R. Alan Mepham (President of the Rough-Stuff Fellowship 1995 to 2001)

 

The Early Years by Bert Williams (Editor of The Rough-Stuff Journal from 1955 to 1962) published by the Rough-Stuff Fellowship. You can order your copy of “The Early Years” from Brian Parkinson, 7 Bull Hill Cottages, Darwen, Lancashire. BB3 2TU for £2.00. Please make cheques payable to The Rough-Stuff Fellowship.