An alternative perspective from a private member

The Adventures Of The Solidarity Cyclist

- DAVID HAMBLIN

Yet it suits me well. The step through frame, the broad seat, the prodigious carrying capacity courtesy of the pannier rack and capacious front basket mount (although in the interests of full disclosure I have foregone the delightful wicker basket it came with as a tad too ‘vicary’ and instead utilise a collapsible crate in its stead). All work as one to deliver something of a ‘Hobbit’ bike. It is reliable, unassuming and comfortable – all I have asked of it. All work as one to deliver something of a ‘Hobbit’ bike. It is reliable, unassuming and comfortable – all I have asked of it.

Not least of which being cycling down to the RMT pickets on the occasion of the

I wear my politics on my sleeve and indeed atop my head as my helmet is adorned with stickers acquired from the fine people at the Trade Union Football and Alcohol Committee (tufac.org.uk) declaring my anti-fascist intent as well as a penchant for the odd beer. The piece is rounded off with the images of James Connolly and ‘Big’ Jim Larkin adorning the Red Flag. It is not, I grant you, a subtle piece of apparel. If we are to embrace the legacy of the Clarion Cycling Club let it be done by using our bikes to support those on strike.

Mine is not a bike (or cycling style) suited necessarily to a commute (too unwieldy for the train) or for a Time Trial (it being the weight of two other bikes) but it is admirably suited for the shopping run, taking the air, and indeed small acts of solidarity. We follow in the tyre tracks of those that went before so get on your bike and look for a picket to support. Workers of the world unite - you have nothing to lose but the snags in your bicycle chains.

– David Hamblin

FELLOWSHIP IS LIFE – 2ND REVISED EDITION

A review by Andrew Livesey MA

This edition revised by Christopher Goode, 2022, with an introduction by Wendy Pye. This edition contains new information on the history of National

Fellowship is Life was originally written by lifetime Bolton based cyclist Denis Pye. Denis was a historian and local school master. It tells the story of the Clarion Cycling Club from its inception in 1895 to 2021.

The Clarion Cycling Club took its name from the socialist newspaper, called The Clarion. The clarion call is defined by most dictionaries as, ‘a very clear message or instruction about what action is needed.’ It was the start of socialist democracy. Clarion cyclists delivered newspapers and tracts promoting social democracy.

The book traces the cycling club through both world wars and the Spanish conflict in between. It is a good read about twentieth century political history on two wheels.

The publication of this book also marks a line in the sand drawn by bicycle wheels in the spring of 2021. The National Clarion Cycling Club chose to remove the word ‘socialism’ from their documents. The National Clarion 1895 was formed to ensure that socialism remains a unique selling point of this cycling organisation. The banning of cycling club outings during the Covid pandemic was a large factor in this situation, there was no place to talk. So, as you close the last page of this book, look out for the next book which is being written with the turning of bicycle wheels – which are now increasingly becoming assisted by electricity.