Steven Abraham’s “One Year Time Trial” visits Lowestoft

Half a dozen Velo Club Baracchi riders enjoyed a good club run on Sunday, going south through Halesworth, Saxmundham via Peasenhall and returning via Dunwich.

Lowestoft has just featured in the itinerary of a very intrepid long distance cyclist, whose exploits are very much more notable.

Steven Abraham (from his Facebook page, with acknowledgement)

Steven Abraham of North Bucks Road Club, who has embarked on an attempt to beat a 75-year-old endurance record visited Lowestoft, staying overnight at the home of VCB member Kate Churchill.

Abraham is gunning for Tommy Goodwin’s 1939 record, in which he cycled 75,065 miles in the year, an average of 205 miles per day.

Tommy Goodwin

In the year that war broke out, Godwin rode his heavy steel-framed bike with only four gears and nobody has previously made a determined attempt to emulate his stunning ride.

The UMCA (Ultra-Marathon Cycling Association) is overseeing this record attempt, for which there are special rules, and Abraham has a team of volunteers who organise everything from sponsorship and donations to providing food, accommodation and maintenance each night.

By Tuesday of this week Abraham had reached Lowestoft, having set off from Milton Keynes in the morning and by a route with some extra twists and turns he covered 200.2 miles in a time of 12-55:26that day to bring his total so far to 9,018.4 miles.

His host, Kate Churchill said, “All the hosts have had strict instructions about what we have to do in order to look after him. Basically, it’s tea-shower-food-tea-sleep. Once he’s in bed, I have to wash and dry all his clothes, charge all his batteries, check his bike, upload (his day’s ride statistics) to strava.”

She added that then she had to get some sleep herself, “and then be up in time to wake Steve at 4am. If possible we are supposed to get him on the road within the hour.”

Abraham’s attempt is known as the One Year Time Trial and is funded by sponsorship. His website is http://www.oneyeartimetrial.org.uk/