Walter Greaves (cyclist)

Walter William Greaves (* April or June 1907, † 1987) was a British cyclist, in 1936 aufstellte the annual endurance world record over 45,383 miles. He had only one arm.

Personal Background

Walter Greaves grew up in Bradford. At the age of 14, he lost an arm in a traffic accident. Later he became an engineer but had trouble finding work in his home town because he was a committed communist and known as " troublemakers ". He was also a strict teetotaler and vegetarian.

The record run in 1936

1933 had set a year - endurance world record over 43,966 miles ( 70,756 km ), the Australian professional cyclist Ossie Nicholson. The distance was measured, which overcame a cyclist within a year. Greaves decided that record to beat in 1936. His search for sponsors, however, was not very successful. But a bicycle manufacturer, Three Spires Cycles in Coventry, provided him with a bicycle available as well as a small weekly sum, so he was doing publicity for the company. Cyclists from around the country offered him to stay. But he should have had so little money that his clothes " little better than rags " appeared, and he could not sleep at night out of concern for the money.

Greaves should have begun with his record attempt on 1 January 1936 but the promised bike did not arrive until five days later. It was equipped with heavy and thick tires, so it could be driven in snow and bad roads. It had fenders, lights, a saddle bag and a three - speed gearbox. In the course of his record attempt, a special device on the handlebar was mounted, on which he could hang up his stump.

The record attempt began in one of the harshest winter for years, until the end of February ruled snow and ice. In the first five days Greaves managed 800 kilometers, where he rushed 19 times in a day even eight times. A journalist who had followed him to the car, reported that he crashed twice because he was pushed from the car. In Leeds, the steam of a steam locomotive disabled his sight, and he slipped on the rails. The newspaper Telegraph and Argus designated Greaves then as "heroes ". By the end of February, he managed a daily average of 190 km, and although snow and ice have been replaced by hail and rain, he increased his daily quota of around 215 kilometers. It rained all summer long, and in the autumn it was foggy.

In July Greaves came in Yarm with a car together, then he got an abscess that required surgery to the hospital and for two weeks. Still in the recovery phase, he drove 260 km daily. From September 20 to October 8, it increased its daily output to 290 kilometers. On December 13, Walter Greaves reached the Hyde Park in London and drove to the accompaniment of thousands of cyclists several laps around the Serpentine Lake.

In the evening a reception was to honor Greaves ' instead. Journalists offered the abstainers champagne to celebrate, and said, " Come on, we do not tell anyone. " Greaves said, " If I want to poison me, I do it with arsenic. " After his stay in London he drove every day more 210 km and ended his record-breaking year at New Year's Eve at midnight on the steps of the town hall of Bradford. The Telegraph and Argus reported " amazing scenes that recalled the public appearances of famous movie stars ." The Mayor presented Greaves checks and trophies.

The greatest distance covered in a day haul of Greaves were 443 km. His longest drive without sleep went over 602, his shortest about 108 km, because he had fallen and had to repair his bike.

The day after the arrival of Greaves in Bradford, on January 1, 1937, another record run ( 45,801 miles = 73,710 km ), as the Frenchman René Menzies began another English driver, Bernard Bennett, ( 61,561 miles = 99,073 km ). Menzies ended his record-breaking run at the Alexandra Palace in London with Greaves at his side. However, the Australian Ossie Nicholson surpassed by riding over 62,657 miles ( 100,837 kilometers ), these two records.

In 1937 Walter Greaves was included in the Golden Book of Cycling.

Life after the record

Walter Greaves was a member of the British League of Racing Cyclists. He also founded the Airedale Olympic Cycling Club and organized a cycle race in 1949 from Bradford to Morecambe and back. He marked a turn with a big white arrow on the road and caused traffic chaos, because the motorist followed this arrow.

In the late 1940s Greaves ran a bicycle shop in his hometown. He built bicycle frame and was considered a talented and innovative. One of his models, King of the Mountains, is now on display at Bradford Industrial Museum. After a fire in his shop Greaves moved to Craven Forge and operation there Winifred 's Café. Because he alone could not make a living, he took part in yet another place. He also sang in clubs and pubs. He lived with his wife and a monkey in an apartment above his cafe.

Walter Greaves died in 1987 from the effects of Parkinson 's disease.

References and Notes

• Cyclists ( United Kingdom )
• Briton
• Born 1907
• Died in 1987
• Man