Photo of Frank Beale, it was taken at the start of a 10 mile TT at Ratcliffe on the Wreak in the early Eighties....... Sent in by Philip Drury

RIDER PROFILE - FRANK BEALE --- Taken from the Acorn News, December 1999 by Ed Ward

When did you start cycling?...............In 1946

When did you first join Sherwood?.........1947. The clubroom was then at a pub on Glasshouse Street.

What was your first race?...........A club 25. I did a 1-17

What are your fastest time trial performances?

10 miles 22-10;                        25 miles 1-0-7;             50 miles 2-5-6              100 miles 4-31-12

What are your best road race performances?

1^st Notts Junior Mass Start Champs 1948, 1^st Senior Mass Start Champs 1949, 1^st Apex Trophy 75m RR 1950 (won holiday at Butlin’s Holiday Camp plus spending money), 3^rd Weald of Kent Grand Prix and "Most Meritous Performance" award 1950.

What do you rate as your single best race performance?

1^st Apex Trophy at Coventry.

What do you rate as your worst ever performance?

The 1953 London- Leamington Spa RR riding in the RAF Team. I finished about last then had to ride home to Nottingham arriving at 3 a.m. Next day I rode back to camp near Cambridge.

What type of cycling do you enjoy most?

Riding with fellow vets at a steady pace.

Who is your cycling hero?

Fausto Coppi.

Do you have an ambition in cycling?

Just to keep on cycling while I am fit enough.

What is your ideal holiday?

Cycling in Majorca.

How do you like to relax?

Snoozing in the sun.

What do you like to drink?

Red wine, Carlsberg Lager.

What do you like to eat?

Roast lamb and mint sauce.

Four words to describe yourself

Boring old age pensioner.