Cycling history interviews

Posted on by Allison Jordan
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In the late 1990s, Tony Hadland and the late John Pinkerton decided to conduct in-depth oral history interviews with some of the most interesting people on the British cycling scene. The aim was to capture their reminiscences for posterity. In the case of Jack Lauterwasser, the last time he ever rode a bicycle was for the opening sequence of the interview video.
To ensure good production values, Tony and John recruited Alan Luckett, former head of video with Rover group, the car manufacturer. It is somehow fitting that the Rover car company had its origins in the Rover safety bicycle. Alan is a skilled video editor and for these interviews used cutting-edge digital editing equipment, at a time when analogue was still widely used.
Tony and John researched their subjects carefully and spent a lot of time gathering material for cutaway shots. John did the interviews on camera and Tony did the camera and sound work. Most production and direction was by Tony. Alan did most of the editing and graphics, and contributed many good ideas to the productions.
The recordings were a labour of love for all involved. However, to recover some of the costs incurred, VHS copies of most of the videos were put on sale. You can buy these from the Veteran-Cycle Club and, in the case of the Alex Moulton interview, from the Moulton Bicycle Company. Please note that the David Duffield interview exists only in audio form. Also, the John Pinkerton video has not yet been released.
The files here are from the soundtracks of the videos. They are made available, free of charge, for private and non-commercial use. We hope you enjoy them. In February 2015, we added the new Vic Nicholson interview, which exists in audio form only.

Listen to the soundtracks

Jack Lauterwasser at 92
Olympic medallist, record-breaker, pioneer of the lightweight racing bike, wheel builder, gearing guru and Moulton man. Here Jack is interviewed in his own home in Wiltshire.

Alex Moulton – a lifetime in engineering
Steam engineer, aeronautical engineer, automotive engineer but most famously, creator of the iconic Moulton bicycles – still attracting a cult following after 50 years of development. 94 minutes.

John Woodburn – time trial legend
John Woodburn is one of Britain’s favourite amateur riders, still going strong as a veteran. Whilst a young 25 mile champion, he became part of Alex Moulton’s development team and broke the Cardiff-London record on the Moulton small-wheeler. He went on to many other successes on more conventional machines, including breaking the End-to-End record. 47 minutes.

Derek Roberts – cycling author and historian
Co-founder of the Southern Veteran-Cycle Club (now the Veteran-Cycle Club), Derek Roberts has led a crusade to uncover and uphold the truth in cycling history. He has demolished myths and corrected many errors. Derek is no mere pedant but a man who loves cycles, cycling and cyclists – as you will discover in this fascinating interview. 58 minutes.

John Pinkerton – cycling author and historian – part 1
When cycling historian John Pinkerton knew he was dying of cancer, he was determined to record his reminiscences for posterity. Pinky therefore became interviewee and Tony Hadland the interviewer. Alan Luckett was cameraman and sound recordist. 86 minutes.

John Pinkerton – cycling author and historian – part 2
53 minutes.

David Duffield – more than just a voice
Known best these days as a cycle sport commentator, David Duffield has had an amazingly varied career. He worked at various times for Phillips, Moulton, Raleigh, Falcon, Peugeot and Halfords, and was an accomplished sportsman, breaking the End-to-End tricycle record. He was Alex Moulton’s marketing man and later introduced BMX to the UK. In this 1999 interview, David reveals the depth of his involvement and interest in cycling. 73 minutes.

Vic Nicholson – won more races on the Moulton than anyone else
In 1965, Vic Nicholson won 15 major time trials on the Moulton, was placed in 9 others and won the Reading Track League. In 1967, again on the Moulton, he broke the Birmingham-Bristol-Birmingham record by more than 25 minutes and regained the Cardiff-London record for Moulton by an 18 minute margin. In this interview, recorded in February 2015, Vic talks to Tony Hadland about his cycle racing career, with special reference to his time on the small-wheeler. 32 minutes.

Technical stuff

These audio files are in mp3 format. It may take several minutes between clicking on the file name and the file being ready to play. (Some web browsers will start playback before the download completes, others won’t.) You will need to plug in loudspeakers or headphones, if your computer or monitor does not have built-in speakers.