ONE MILLION MILES!
Cyclist Russ, 82, is set to pedal in to record books
AFTER hitting his peak as a timetrial racer in the 1950s and 1960s, Russ Mantle inevitably shifted down a gear in terms of speed.
But his passion for pedalling has never dimmed – and tomorrow, at the age of 82, he will saddle up to ride into the record books as the first person in the UK to cycle one million registered miles.
The retired civil servant is set to make the historic five-mile journey from his home in Aldershot, Hampshire, on a Holdsworth bicycle which he has owned for 55 years.
He will then be presented with an award from Cycling UK, if he crosses the finishing line at a cafe in Mytchett, Surrey.
Nicknamed ‘mile-eater Mantle’ by cycling friends, his feat can be verified because he has meticulously recorded all his mileage in diaries for the past 67 years.
Cycling one million miles is the equivalent of pedalling from Land’s End to John o’ Groats well over a thousand times, or circumnavigating the Earth 40 times, according to Cycling UK.
Mr Mantle learnt to cycle as a 15-year-old in 1951 because he ‘loved getting out in the countryside’ and began logging all his journeys the following year.
Yesterday, he said: ‘My diaries are full with the day’s mileage and things like the temperature, wind direction, different routes and the places I have visited, such as a particular cafe.’ He added: ‘I was at my peak when I was racing in 1953, I got 13 records from the Farnham Road Club from 1953 until 1968 but then I stopped for three years until I made a comeback from 1972 until 1975.’
He worked for the Department of Environment for 25 years until he retired at 57. Meanwhile, in his free time, he has pedalled up some of the world’s highest mountains, including a 14,127ft climb up Mount Evans in the Rocky Mountains in 2001.
If he clocks up one million miles, it would mean he has on average cycled around 14,925 miles each year or 287 miles per week since 1952, the year that the Queen ascended to the throne. His ‘best year’ was 2001 when he cycled 22,550 miles – nearly enough to circumnavigate the globe.
He still averages 25 to 30 miles every other day and is on course for a total of around 8,000 miles this year, his ‘lowest ever’. Mr
Mantle, who owns five bicycles and got rid of his car four years ago as he was only driving 50 miles a year, said: ‘My fitness has always been great but over the last three years it has deteriorated.’
On the prospect of clocking up his one millionth mile, Mr Mantle, who has never married, added: ‘When I think about it, it is quite remarkable’. Paul Tuohy, Cycling UK’s chief executive, said: ‘Cycling a million miles is not only incredible it’s almost incomprehensible. Russ never set out to break any records, cycling is simply a part of his life. Russ is an inspiration.’