A Bike Ride Through My Life. Frank Clements.
Frank Clements admits that there were " so many ups and downs" in his life, personally and professionally but his positive attitude of: "always look on the bright side of life" became his saving grace.
He was ambitious and that is clearly evident when reading his autbiography. In his early days as an amateur cyclist, before becoming a semi-pro then a pro he wanted to be "the best cyclist in the world." A wonderful dream. Later he lamented:" I should have won a gold medal"in the 1956 games in Melbourne, Australia. He just missed being a member of the team.
" I was a likely contender."
"It was 50/50 between Harry and me."
Harry Reynolds.
As it turned out, ironically, the French won the gold and England the silver.
The book is a comprehensive account of cycling during the 50s and 60s and the development of the cycling industry and business. Clements spent many years at a senior level producing bicycle frames and making and selling bikes to world-famous cyclists around the world.
This involved extensive travel and name-dropping is something to be expected when you are working in a lucrative field such as this and mixing with celebrities and world-famous sporting stars.
In spite of missing out on the Olympics there were many moments of success for which the Clement family must have felt immense pride. The price of fame was a gruelling challenge:
"torrential, chilling, blinding, sense-numbing rain" that can only be associated with the UK and the feeling that you were riding a bike in a "washing machine" had to be tolerated.
Competing with his older brother who won a silver medal must have been difficult for Clements and he writes about their difficult working relationship. He commented on when Ernest was in the "wrong mood" he could be "vicious"
"Jealousy seemed to affect our business relationship."
By 1957 disillusionment had set in.
"Why did I have to be like this when continually driving myself on?" He stated that "his brain was not in the right gear." He couldn't race competitively because his "mental approach to the sport was in a terrible state."
One factor was competing against cyclists who were using stimulants-amphetamines known as "charging " to enhance performance. Tommy Simpson, Alan Jackson and Ron Coe all had premature, untimely deaths but no doubt there were many others who died for sporting success.
"Did I want to become a cabbage, no not turn green but would the pills have the effect on my brain that made me think like a cabbage?"
As a contast, we find out about the time spent in Nigeria when Clements "lived the life of a King " in spite of the "three inch pile of surging black cockroaches all struggling to get out" of the cupboard under the sink. "Treated like Gods" during the 22 months there.
On the personal side Clements states that he got married "in haste" and eventually found his soul-mate twenty years into his first marriage which was "stumbling" on but not going anywhere. He described Rosalie as the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. In spite of a life-threatening condition and the business going into liquidation the Clements are still "looking on the bright side of life" in Almeria, Spain not the UK.
"I'm enjoying Spain-you just must see, so I'm staying here until I RIP."
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A remarkable journey. An interesting read.
This review must not be published without the consent of the author.
September 2012. Copyright.
Frank Clements admits that there were " so many ups and downs" in his life, personally and professionally but his positive attitude of: "always look on the bright side of life" became his saving grace.
He was ambitious and that is clearly evident when reading his autbiography. In his early days as an amateur cyclist, before becoming a semi-pro then a pro he wanted to be "the best cyclist in the world." A wonderful dream. Later he lamented:" I should have won a gold medal"in the 1956 games in Melbourne, Australia. He just missed being a member of the team.
" I was a likely contender."
"It was 50/50 between Harry and me."
Harry Reynolds.
As it turned out, ironically, the French won the gold and England the silver.
The book is a comprehensive account of cycling during the 50s and 60s and the development of the cycling industry and business. Clements spent many years at a senior level producing bicycle frames and making and selling bikes to world-famous cyclists around the world.
This involved extensive travel and name-dropping is something to be expected when you are working in a lucrative field such as this and mixing with celebrities and world-famous sporting stars.
In spite of missing out on the Olympics there were many moments of success for which the Clement family must have felt immense pride. The price of fame was a gruelling challenge:
"torrential, chilling, blinding, sense-numbing rain" that can only be associated with the UK and the feeling that you were riding a bike in a "washing machine" had to be tolerated.
Competing with his older brother who won a silver medal must have been difficult for Clements and he writes about their difficult working relationship. He commented on when Ernest was in the "wrong mood" he could be "vicious"
"Jealousy seemed to affect our business relationship."
By 1957 disillusionment had set in.
"Why did I have to be like this when continually driving myself on?" He stated that "his brain was not in the right gear." He couldn't race competitively because his "mental approach to the sport was in a terrible state."
One factor was competing against cyclists who were using stimulants-amphetamines known as "charging " to enhance performance. Tommy Simpson, Alan Jackson and Ron Coe all had premature, untimely deaths but no doubt there were many others who died for sporting success.
"Did I want to become a cabbage, no not turn green but would the pills have the effect on my brain that made me think like a cabbage?"
As a contast, we find out about the time spent in Nigeria when Clements "lived the life of a King " in spite of the "three inch pile of surging black cockroaches all struggling to get out" of the cupboard under the sink. "Treated like Gods" during the 22 months there.
On the personal side Clements states that he got married "in haste" and eventually found his soul-mate twenty years into his first marriage which was "stumbling" on but not going anywhere. He described Rosalie as the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. In spite of a life-threatening condition and the business going into liquidation the Clements are still "looking on the bright side of life" in Almeria, Spain not the UK.
"I'm enjoying Spain-you just must see, so I'm staying here until I RIP."
.jpg)
This review must not be published without the consent of the author.
September 2012. Copyright.
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