Bryn Tully RIP

 

A couple of days ago, I was shocked to hear that Bryn, our last and long serving Racing Secretary has died. It was so unexpected and at present I have no further details.

Bryn was not only our Racing Secretary, but also active in organising and promoting events of both the Croydon and District Cycling Club and Southern Counties Cycling Union. Hence there will be a great many racing cyclists who will have benefitted from all the long hours that he has dedicated to our sport. There will be no shortage of those who will be thinking of Bryn, and offering their condolences to his wife Jan, and his daughter and son, Vicky and Richard.

Bryn joined Anerley B.C many years ago, so I had to do a bit of quick research into his club history. The earliest reference to Bryn that I found was in a 1993 Anerley Gazette. Finding Bryn’s appearance in Anerley’s annals was a bit like the long wait at the bus stop, when three arrive all together!

In the Racing Round Up was this notation “Bryn Tully will have to look to his laurels as his son Richard, in only his second event, finished in 28:09, only one minute and one second behind his dad”

And in the same report “Riding in her very first race young Vicky Tully, whose cycling career only started this year with the Easter Hostel Tour, turned in a very creditable time of 31:34 for the 10 miler”

However, our current Racing Secretary, Mark Hancock, actually remembers those long ago days. Starting the years with the 100k winter time Reliability Rides and ending the seasons with hill climbs. He recalls that when Bryn and Richard started racing they used to arrive at events with their bikes on the back seat of an old blue Mk1 Ford Escort. Vicky started a bit later and also did racing on the track at the Crystal Palace Criteriums.

And so from little acorns grow.

The first Anerley Gazette of 1999 provides the first reference to Bryn as the Racing Secretary, presumably elected at the November 1998 A.G.M.
And Vicky got better and better, still holding our club’s Ladies records over 10 miles and 50 miles since 1996.

Not to be out done, Richard still holds our club records over 30 miles (2002) and over 50 miles (2006). In that year (2006) Bryn’s Racing Round-Up shows that Richard competed in 50 time trials, covering 1065 race miles, achieved P.Bs at 18 and 100 miles as well as setting the new club record at 50 miles.

But Bryn records of himself in 2006, that he continued to ride more in hope than expectation but was successful in not falling off or getting banned!
Bryn had a great sense of humour which was reflected in his race reports.
And for those who did not know Bryn, he had an extensive record of falling off bikes whilst racing, and crossing over Croydon’s tram lines.

Cycle racing is an exciting and very rewarding past-time. At least it is when you are getting good results! However, being the Racing Secretary is probably the most unrewarding task in a bike club. Few appreciate the tedious hours spent in organising and arranging events. On event days, instead of racing Bryn would be marshalling, pushing off riders at the start line and doing other chores. Bryn continued doing these onerous tasks for the next 15+ years. So whilst Vicky and Richard got faster, through lack of competitive mileage, Bryn got slower. But only a little bit. Each year he still managed to collect a few items of our club’s silverware at the annual prize givings!

But our indebtedness to Bryn and the Tully family does not end there. A very important part of race day was the after event tea and cakes for competitors, marshals and other helpers. And who did the baking, the pouring, the serving, and no doubt the polishing of the silverware before prize giving? Of course Bryn’s lovely wife Jan.
Yes we do owe a lot to Bryn and his family so let us take this opportunity to say thank you.

Des