The family of former club champion Ken Figg has got in touch with us to share some amazing mementoes of his time with BCC including 14 medals, 2 club record plaques, a photo, certificate, club badge, a 1932 Club Handbook and one great photo. Continue reading MEMORABILIA: 1931 Club Champion Ken Figg
The final extract from the memoirs of former Balham CC secretary and Gazette club magazine editor Ken Smith, covering the post war years. A revealing look into club life and the lives of a group of young men from the Balham and South London cycling community in the 1940 and 1950s. Continue reading KEN SMITH MEMOIRS: Care free and Car free – The ’40s and ’50s South London cycling club scene
The 1904 World Track Championships are worthy of these pages thanks to two Balham greats. Continue reading BACKPEDAL: Balham CC and the 1904 UCI Track World Championships
If 2016 was the year of thumbing through vintage cycling annuals and resurrecting the Balham CC story, then 2017 was the year of the ride. The year a niche cycling blog morphed into a cycling club. Here’s our year in review. Continue reading From History Blog to Cycling Club: 2017 in Review
The 1949 Club Handbook, part of the John Simcock collection, gives an insight into the club rides, members and the records they chased. A list of honorary life members also gives us a glimpse of Balham CC in its formative years. Continue reading MEMORABILIA: 1949 Balham Cycling Club Handbook
We’ve just got our hands on an old photograph of Balham High Road showing the The Dan Leno Motor and Cycle Works. With Dan Leno featuring in The Limehouse Golem, one of the major films of the year, we thought it timely to investigate the connection between Balham, Leno and Cycling and the story behind the shop that carried his name. Continue reading The King’s Jester and the Balham Motor and Cycle Works
One of the most famous rides in London cycling history returns to the sporting calendar. Continue reading Balham Rough Stuff returns 92 years after first ride
A Balham CC contingent travelled to Herne Hill Velodrome for a taste of fixed wheel, single-speed, no brakes velodrome cycling. The iconic South London venue has a strong connection with the club. Continue reading Balham CC return to Herne Hill Velodrome
Our hunt to piece together the story of the Balham CC Club Championships has led us to our oldest and most intriguing find yet. Continue reading BACKPEDAL: 1899 Club Championship re-run at Crystal Palace after dispute
This month, we explore the South London Diaries series for the first time since the blog on June 2016.
What are they all about? Well, a 19th century South London cyclist has set a 21st century Strava challenge. He didn’t know it at the time, but when our Victorian trailblazer was writing about rides and times in his diaries for 1884 and 1885, he was chronicling some of the earliest ‘personal bests’ in London on record. Continue reading Arab Springs and Rational Jackets: South London cycling in 1884 (Part 1)
