Alf Engers
Encyclopedia
Alfred 'Alf' Robert Engers (born 1 June 1940) was an English
racing cyclist
who set national records and won national individual time trial
championships from 1959 to the late 1970s. He established a British
25 miles (40.2 km) record of 49 minutes and 24 seconds in 1978, averaging 30.364 mph (49.190km/h). He was the first rider to beat 50 minutes and thus the first to average more than 30 mi/h.
in North London
. He worked night shifts as a pastry cook in Whitechapel
while pursuing his cycling career. He first got a bike at 10. It weighed 45 lb (20.4 kg) on his bakery scales. He was a runner and swimmer at school but could do neither well after an operation to his kneecap after a fall from his bike when he was 14. The operation removed his right kneecap and tied the ligaments together.
He was expelled from school for "misbehaving on every level" and received his first Road Time Trials Council
(RTTC) official written warning at 16.
He started club cycling, joining the Barnet CC, in 1952. In 1961 he was offered and took up an independent contract with Ted Gerrard Cycles for the 1962 season - independent status was a halfway stage between amateur and professional. Work and family commitments meant he rode only two races that season. He applied to be reinstated as an amateur in 1963 but was refused. He applied and was rejected every year, hampering his cycling career, until being reinstated as an amateur for 1968.
Engers' career included track racing - he raced against Tom Simpson
and Barry Hoban
at Herne Hill
velodrome
in 1963 and he won medals in the national pursuit
championship. In July 1969 he won the national kilometre time trial
on the track. His 1959 25 miles (40.2 km) time-trial record of 55m 11s, set when he was 19, was ridden on an 84 inches (2,133.6 mm) fixed wheel
gear.
and Hatfield
. He finished in 1h 12m, riding on a bicycle with derailleur gears, which he was told by older riders added two minutes to his time. Thinking at the time was that it was faster to ride a lighter bike with a single gear and no freewheel.
He also trained by the dictum of the day, which was that every extra mile counted.
At first Engers had no preference for either time-trialling or road racing. Then he saw two leading brothers, the Higginson twins, riding a national championship.
In 1953 he rode his first 25 miles (40.2 km) race in less than an hour, riding a 78 inches (1,981.2 mm) gear fixed wheel, the highest gear he had ridden. In 1959 he beat the record for the distance with 55m 11s.
The cycling bodies - the British Cycling Federation and the Road Time Trials Council - turned him down. He applied and was turned down again annually for the next seven years.
(RTTC) over interpretations of the rules and the laws of the road. His technique of riding near the centre of the road was controversial.
Engers' reputation in the British time-trial community rose through the 1970s. He gained the nickname of The King because of his dominance. He won the national championship in 1969 (at 29, then the oldest winner) and every year from 1972 to 1976. Between 1959 and 1978 he broke the 25 miles (40.2 km) record four times and captured the 30 miles (48.3 km) in 1975.
His August 5, 1978 25 miles (40.2 km) record of 49m 24s was ridden on a course based on the A12 road near Chelmsford
(the course is no longer used because of increasing traffic). Conditions were slightly damp and windy. Engers' old record of 51m 00s was beaten by an earlier starter, Eddie Adkins, with 50m 50s (the only person, apart from Engers, to hold the record between 1969 and 1990). He held the record for only a few minutes until Engers finished. Engers said that he had been in a state of grace that day, and that he had an out-of-body experience during the last part of the ride. The record stood until 1990 when a new era of cyclists and cycling technology came along.
Engers also used large gears, creating a fashion that led to increasingly higher gears being used by many competitors, often inappropriately. For all this technical innovation, Engers' records were set in the days before low profile bikes, tri-bars, disc wheels and skin suits.
, established by the magazine Cycling
, on 23 November 1991.
. He also competed in triathlon
s.
"Alf Engers, Alf Engers,
Drills holes in his bicycle,
Lightening it up for the bicycle race.
Drills holes in his seatpost, drills holes in his handlebars,
Brake levers, chainset, derailleur cage."
The cartoonist and former racing cyclist Frank Dickens (a former clubmate of Engers), creator of 'Bristow', occasionally included headlines in the small newspapers seen in the Evening Standard cartoon, such as 'Alf Breaks Another Record' or 'Alf Wins Again'.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
racing cyclist
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
who set national records and won national individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
championships from 1959 to the late 1970s. He established a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
25 miles (40.2 km) record of 49 minutes and 24 seconds in 1978, averaging 30.364 mph (49.190km/h). He was the first rider to beat 50 minutes and thus the first to average more than 30 mi/h.
Background
Engers was born in SouthgateSouthgate, London
Southgate is an area of north London, England, primarily within the London Borough of Enfield, although parts of its western fringes lie within the London Borough of Barnet. It is located around north of Charing Cross. The name is derived from being the south gate to Enfield Chase...
in North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He worked night shifts as a pastry cook in Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
while pursuing his cycling career. He first got a bike at 10. It weighed 45 lb (20.4 kg) on his bakery scales. He was a runner and swimmer at school but could do neither well after an operation to his kneecap after a fall from his bike when he was 14. The operation removed his right kneecap and tied the ligaments together.
He was expelled from school for "misbehaving on every level" and received his first Road Time Trials Council
Cycling Time Trials
Cycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council in 2002.-Time trialling:...
(RTTC) official written warning at 16.
He started club cycling, joining the Barnet CC, in 1952. In 1961 he was offered and took up an independent contract with Ted Gerrard Cycles for the 1962 season - independent status was a halfway stage between amateur and professional. Work and family commitments meant he rode only two races that season. He applied to be reinstated as an amateur in 1963 but was refused. He applied and was rejected every year, hampering his cycling career, until being reinstated as an amateur for 1968.
Engers' career included track racing - he raced against Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson was the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967...
and Barry Hoban
Barry Hoban
Barry Hoban is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the previous holder of the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 to 1975...
at Herne Hill
Herne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
in 1963 and he won medals in the national pursuit
Individual pursuit
The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track.The event is held over 4 km for men and 3 km for women. The two riders start at the same time and set off to complete the race distance in the...
championship. In July 1969 he won the national kilometre time trial
Track time trial
In the track time trial, a track cycling event, cyclists compete individually against the clock to record the fastest time over the specified distance from a standing start.-The bike:...
on the track. His 1959 25 miles (40.2 km) time-trial record of 55m 11s, set when he was 19, was ridden on an 84 inches (2,133.6 mm) fixed wheel
Fixed-gear bicycle
A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast, as the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving....
gear.
Early racing
Engers rode his first 25 miles (40.2 km) time-trial on a course starting at Bignall's Corner, at the junction of the A1 and A6 between LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
. He finished in 1h 12m, riding on a bicycle with derailleur gears, which he was told by older riders added two minutes to his time. Thinking at the time was that it was faster to ride a lighter bike with a single gear and no freewheel.
He also trained by the dictum of the day, which was that every extra mile counted.
At first Engers had no preference for either time-trialling or road racing. Then he saw two leading brothers, the Higginson twins, riding a national championship.
In 1953 he rode his first 25 miles (40.2 km) race in less than an hour, riding a 78 inches (1,981.2 mm) gear fixed wheel, the highest gear he had ridden. In 1959 he beat the record for the distance with 55m 11s.
Semi-professionalism
Engers became an independent - a category between amateur and professional that existed until the mid-1960s - in 1960. His sponsor was Ted Gerrard, a bicycle dealer and one of the first to sell by mail-order. The independent category was intended to be a stepping stone to professionalism. Independents could ride in both amateur and professional races but were expected to decide after two years which they wanted to be.The cycling bodies - the British Cycling Federation and the Road Time Trials Council - turned him down. He applied and was turned down again annually for the next seven years.
Records as an amateur
Engers succeeded in regaining his amateur status in 1968 and dominated 25 miles (40.2 km) time-trialling for ten years. He frequently clashed with the sport's governing body, the Road Time Trials CouncilCycling Time Trials
Cycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council in 2002.-Time trialling:...
(RTTC) over interpretations of the rules and the laws of the road. His technique of riding near the centre of the road was controversial.
Engers' reputation in the British time-trial community rose through the 1970s. He gained the nickname of The King because of his dominance. He won the national championship in 1969 (at 29, then the oldest winner) and every year from 1972 to 1976. Between 1959 and 1978 he broke the 25 miles (40.2 km) record four times and captured the 30 miles (48.3 km) in 1975.
His August 5, 1978 25 miles (40.2 km) record of 49m 24s was ridden on a course based on the A12 road near Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
(the course is no longer used because of increasing traffic). Conditions were slightly damp and windy. Engers' old record of 51m 00s was beaten by an earlier starter, Eddie Adkins, with 50m 50s (the only person, apart from Engers, to hold the record between 1969 and 1990). He held the record for only a few minutes until Engers finished. Engers said that he had been in a state of grace that day, and that he had an out-of-body experience during the last part of the ride. The record stood until 1990 when a new era of cyclists and cycling technology came along.
Equipment
The bikes Engers rode pioneered lightweight techniques, frequently featuring drilled out brakes, chainwheels and other components. The bikes were often designed and built by his friend and mentor, the late Alan Shorter. It was not uncommon for Engers to arrive at a morning event with a Shorter bicycle frame built the previous night and thus unpainted.Engers also used large gears, creating a fashion that led to increasingly higher gears being used by many competitors, often inappropriately. For all this technical innovation, Engers' records were set in the days before low profile bikes, tri-bars, disc wheels and skin suits.
Golden Book of Cycling
Engers was added to the Golden Book of CyclingGolden Book of Cycling
The Golden Book of Cycling was created in 1932 by Cycling, a British cycling magazine,to celebrate "the Sport and Pastime of Cycling by recording the outstanding rides, deeds and accomplishments of cyclists, officials and administrators." There exists only a single copy of this compendium of...
, established by the magazine Cycling
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
, on 23 November 1991.
Later career
In later years Engers spent more time on fishingFishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. He also competed in triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
s.
Tributes
In 1977, rock band Establishment paid tribute to Alf Engers in their debut album, "Odin Session". The song's title, "Alf Engers (Drills Holes in his Bicycle)", alluded to Engers' use of drastically lightened bicycling hardware. The chorus went:"Alf Engers, Alf Engers,
Drills holes in his bicycle,
Lightening it up for the bicycle race.
Drills holes in his seatpost, drills holes in his handlebars,
Brake levers, chainset, derailleur cage."
The cartoonist and former racing cyclist Frank Dickens (a former clubmate of Engers), creator of 'Bristow', occasionally included headlines in the small newspapers seen in the Evening Standard cartoon, such as 'Alf Breaks Another Record' or 'Alf Wins Again'.
UK time trial competition records
- 1959 - 25 miles (40.2 km) - riding for Barnet CC - 55m 11s
- 1969 - 25 miles (40.2 km) - Polytechnic CC - 51:59
- 1969 - 25 miles (40.2 km) - Polytechnic CC - 51:00
- 1975 - 30 miles (48.3 km) - Woolwich CC - 1:02:27
- 1978 - 25 miles (40.2 km) - Unity CC - 49:24
UK 25 mile time trial national championships
- 1969 - riding for Polytechnic CC - 54:42
- 1972 - Luton Wheelers - 53:40
- 1973 - Luton Wheelers - 54:58
- 1974 - Archer Road ClubArcher Road ClubThe Archer Road Club is a cycling club in London, England. The club has produced national, world and Olympic champions.-Formation and early history:...
- 54:50 - 1975 - Woolwich CC - 54:01
- 1976 - Woolwich CC - 54:37