Ilkestonlife.com
“Take it easy, and mind your heart.” Janet Gregory’s early time trials career
J
anet Gregory was the quickest member of the Nottingham Wheelers Cycling Club team that won the Best British All Rounder award in 1950 (Ilkeston Life, April 2018). Last month I concentrated on one of her team-mates, Marion Robinson. This is Janet’s story. Born in 1930, Janet spent her early life and young adulthood at Willow Lodge, Rushy Lane, Risley, where her father was a market gardener. In 1952 she married the champion cyclist Ken Joy. Ken died in 2013 and Janet now lives in Ilkeston. Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure of poring over the photographs and press cuttings she’s saved, and hearing her talk about those years when she came to prominence in the world of cycling time trials. How did it all start? On a youth hostelling trip to Dovedale in 1946, Janet and a friend met some boys who invited them to join their cycling club – Derby Mercury. Janet decided to give it a try, turned up at the club room on Friargate and soon began to enjoy the social life and the club runs She only had a “roadster”, and racing never entered her head until one weekend later that summer when she was watching a 10 mile club time trial at Shardlow. A club-mate was taken ill, decided not to start and offered her his bike. A word with the starter was all it took to tag her on at the end with the women. She won in 30 minutes 42 seconds, and that was it – she was hooked, and cycling changed from being a leisure activity into a passion. But Janet should not have been racing at all. She had a heart murmur (still has!) and was not allowed, on medical advice, to exert herself as a young child. She got so frustrated with having to sit out PE lessons that she forged a note from her parents giving her permission to play sport, something for which they later forgave her. “My parents were very liberal and were happy for me to go youth hostelling at quite a young age, but they didn’t know I was racing until I brought home the cup for the 10 mile event!” Even though her doctors still advised against racing she had got the bug. Her parents let her get on with it, but every time she set off on two wheels her mother would say “Take it easy, and mind your heart.” What Janet needed now was a proper bike, so she cycled to Wolverhampton to buy a “P.T. Stallard” frame, riding back home to Risley with it over her shoulder. “I gradually acquired wheels, chains, handlebars as soon as I could afford them. Most of the equipment was second hand apart from the frame.” In 1947 not only did the newcomer register a number of local victories, including a “mountain” event and a 20 and 25 at Uttoxeter, she also won national honours in no fewer than three British League of Racing Cyclists events. Two of these were individual wins: the 25 mile Women’s National Championship in 1.16.53, and a race at Owler Bar, which she remembers as a hard climb. The third national triumph was a joint effort. The Derby Mercury team took part in of one of the first women’s “massed start” races in this country. It wasn’t on the roads, as this was still not allowed, but was over five laps (15 km) of Battersea Park. Janet was second to a team-mate, helping Mercury to win the prize. “I remember this race well,” says Janet, “as three of us could not afford the train fare to London, so we left on Friday evening and slept in a haystack, before racing on the Saturday.” The girls made their own team colours by painting a blue band on white t-shirts and embroidering the club’s
name on the front. “I wore a pair of old corduroy shorts as I had no proper cycling kit!” Derby Mercury also occasionally raced on grass tracks. With Janet’s help they picked up two team prizes at Stafford, and she came first in a half mile scratch event at Wellington, Shropshire. From 1948 Janet competed in National Cyclists’ Union (NCU) and Road Time Trials Council (RTTC) events. She did her fastest 10 miles to date (28.57) and won district medals for Junior Champion (21.344 mph); Handicap Best All Rounder (22.307 mph); BAR (21.248 mph) and Team BAR (20.540 mph). When she was sixteen Janet went to study at Derby Technical College. Ilkeston Grammar School, which she had attended since the age of eleven, did not allow girls to take science subjects in the sixth form, and Janet’s ambition was to be a pharmacist. She completed her secondary education at the college and in 1949 entered Nottingham University to start her pharmacy studies. By this time she had been invited to become a member of Nottingham Wheelers CC where she, Marion Robinson and Mary Aldred went on to dominate the district. You were allowed to compete for two clubs, and, a life long vegetarian, Janet was also in the Vegetarian Cycling Club, a national organisation based in London. In the words of Cycling, the journal of record for the sport, Janet was the “first youngster to break into the select circle of women TT champions”. Although she had won the 25 mile championship two years previously, it was in 1949 that she really began to take on and beat the more experienced, mature riders. Over the long season from April to September she had at least nine individual first places, four seconds and three thirds, and on ten occasions she was part of the winning Wheelers’ team. She finished up as the Central District record holder at 10, 25 and 50 miles, and was the District Best All Rounder at an average speed of 22.238 mph. The Nottingham Wheelers won the District Team Best All Rounder award at 21.331 mph. The high point of her season, described by the Nottingham Evening Post as “the best performance by a local girl cyclist in living memory”, came in the national 50 mile championship at Wisbech in August. She caused a major surprise by beating the country’s leading riders, including Eileen Sheridan and Susie Denham, in a time of 2.17.09. Not unusually for the fens there was a strong headwind for half the course and times were slower as a consequence, but Janet was the fastest at all stages and the win took her “right to the top of the tree in women’s cycling”. (NEP). 7000 people were present at the Empire Hall in London in December when she collected the cup at the RTTC Cycling Champions’ Concert. A couple of years later the BBC asked Janet to appear on a young people’s radio programme, “Under 20 Parade”. It entailed a visit to a studio in the heart of Soho, where she was interviewed about cycling, and the recording was played later on the Light Programme. I don’t know what she had to say on that occasion, but in a newspaper interview at about the same time she talked about her training methods. She thought that young riders did not need too much training and should be careful not to overdo it. “My pre-season programme (February – March) includes a daily ride to work and longer club runs on Sundays. Evening training begins about three weeks before the first club event….During the racing season my routine is as follows: Monday, no riding at all; Tuesday, ride to and from work (total 16 miles), followed by a 15-20 mile spin;
June 2018
20
By Jeff Wynch
Above: Janet Gregory in action, 1949. Left: Janet Gregory, 1948. Right: BLRC Champion’s Medal, 1947. Below: The championship winning Derby Mercury team. 1947
Wednesday 16 miles to and from work, 14 miles to the clubroom and back; Thursday ride to work plus 15-20 training spin; Friday, no riding; Saturday, ride to the event (up to 50 miles); Sunday, event and ride home (up to 100 miles). Average weekly mileage, 250.” Janet eased up on the training by June, as she could maintain her fitness level with the weekly events. She also
recommended plenty of sleep, and, “One thing is important. If you don’t want to go out training – don’t go!” Sir Dave Brailsford, please note! Janet Gregory’s story continues in next month’s Ilkeston Life.