Remembering Jocelyn Lovell

On June 3, 2016, almost five years ago, like many fans of Canadian cycling, I was deeply saddened when I learned that Jocelyn Lovell had passed away. The rider, who won numerous medals at Commonwealth Games and Pan Am Games throughout the 1970s, was also known for being mischievous or downright mean, depending on whom you asked. In August 1983, his cycling career came to an end when he was struck by a dump truck while he was on a training ride, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Roughly three years before Lovell passed, I was gearing up for my first call with the legendary rider. I was working on a story about another legend, Torchy Peden, and knew Lovell could provide me with some information. A photographer I worked with warned me to be on my toes when I spoke with Lovell. I thought I was prepared when I dialed his number. Then I made a rookie mistake: I mispronounced his last name. “And you would have typed it that way, too,” he teased. Soon after, he tried to mess me. He said he went dancing with Peden’s daughter. (Fact.) When? In 1942. “The Germans were marching in,” he said. I waited for him to continue the fib. (He was born July 19, 1950.) But he could tell I wasn’t buying it. It was as if I passed a test of his. He then told me stories of his days racing and of an inadvertent insult he levelled at a future Canadian pro. Some material was even pertinent to the article I was working on. The teasing didn’t stop. “You know I can’t let up on you, eh?” he said. I didn’t want him to because it was hilarious.

The call ended with Lovell inviting over to his place just west of Toronto the next time I was out on a ride. It was an honest, heartfelt invitation. I had always meant to take him up on it. It’s one of my great regrets that I didn’t.— Matthewpioro