Letter to Cycling Weakly

(Letter Below Sent Together With the PM's Letter)

Dear sir/madam,

Last year, (1999) I sent to your offices a poem of mine entitled, Progressive industrial ruin of the word ‘Quality’.
 

That was obviously too close to the truth for comfort, as it was not printed in your ‘Cycling’ magazine, or should I say Disposable Cycling accessories, frames, wheels, and posing equipment, magazine! Which in it’s self isn't quite completely wrong! If ninety–nine percent of the products were ‘British’! Money that would be pumped back into the sport of cycling in Britain and also in to its economy! A positive circle instead of the present viscous one!

Here is a copy of a letter that I have sent off to number ten Downing Street. You can ignore this and throw it in the bin too! for all I care about the worth today of a once Great British ‘Cycling medium,’ Once full of REAL characters, character and to a lesser but better extent foreign products.

A British Cycling magazine that for quite some time now has been ignorantly brainwashing its readership into paying the wages of other countries riders! with month after month, week after week, page after page of souped up glossy dross, Taiwanese and Far East sourced frames etcetera, badged and built up at the highest possible price (in more ways than a monetary one!) from every country under the Sun; apart from our own?

No I doubt it, but there is not enough belief in our own bull, so let us push our British ‘only in name’ products to the forefront! Instead of trek, cannondale etc.. let us bullshit like they all do and put for example Churchill on these frames, a British tag of recognition to show the World that we are at least still a player!

It means a damn sight more than trek! trek? what’s that? A long walk home when your three grand carbon fibre frame and fork snaps in two going down the first pothole or blows over in the wind.! (I’d reckon actually worth (?) £5 to manufacture, and after the first million not even that! If it was actually worth a million pounds I wouldn't buy it for three thousand, in fact they couldn't pay me enough to ride pencil lead because I value my life (and the product’s shite!)

The name trek gives it away, don’t you think? To anybody with anything about them it does! It is not human sounding like Donohue, Barker, Dolan, Edison, Caygill, Lloyd, Wilson, Taylor…. If people still want to ride carbon or alloy after that, at least guide them as much as possible to waste their money in Britain, buying the same products but under British marquees, make them realize that it is the only way, (with the help of the help of the none Cycling media as well) to find future British Tour de France winners - not just one, and other riders of that ilk on a relatively regular basis!

Because at least they will be helping to fund British riders through some semblance of our own cycle industry, an industry that is more likely to sponsor British ‘growing’ riders than the American, Taiwanese or Italian industries.

If you don’t want to know about Quality Hand built British bikes this is the only way to compete. (Its no good just leaving it to the National Lottery!)

But I’am telling you now, Armstrong, Cav & Wiggo et al would ride just as well, even better! on a hand built 853. Especially when made to measure! Why don’t they ride them then? Because they are paid to ride easy to produce tat!

Any company trying their hand at producing Light Weight steel Craftsmanship with the ‘steel’ hallmarks of Quality and Longevity goes belly up these days, there is no quick resell in a long lasting Quality item. They call Quality Over- engineering these days!

If it’s all about weight, build a frame and / or bike out of paper! and if you find this a dash heavy, try sugar paper! There’s a point where lightness becomes a disadvantage and you lose the ideal transition of power, and the most power is being used when you start to climb! So a slightly heavier, well-made frame & forks, or if you like bike would ironically send you to the top quicker!

Maybe that’s why Armstrong has had to develop a fast pedaling action to overcome the disadvantage of having to ride a carbon wavy bike that is far too light for his power! Ullrich has to keep seated lest he should break his disintegrable and disposable stead.

Nobody needs this! there are no real advantages, only a host of Real disadvantages; people are paying good money, to the wrong people, for bad fallacies, and they are out there riding these replicas! around in traffic, when they make better and are much safer as hanging ornaments or wall decorations!

Italian bikes are pushed in this Country by the British cycling media as if they were being built by the Pope! and blessed by God Almighty himself! no wonder the Italians have heaps of big professional teams, with plenty of well paid riders; because they have a thriving cycle industry for one! courtesy in no small part to thousands upon thousands of British media led mugs!

Again I feel sorry for the young kids, who follow by a misinformed example, and have not been fortunate enough to know or realize a superior past of World renowned, long lasting Quality and Craftsmanship, one that flickers today in the ashes and the debris of alloy and is all but lost in the carbonfires.

Depending on which one, some World cup races have eight Italian teams, six French, six Spanish etc.. and not one British Team! NOT ONE! What kind of a World cup is that? How fair is this? How unlevel a playing field can this be said to be? Well? Heinz Verbruggen and your forunners!

EVEN IN BRITAIN ITSELF! THERE IS TO BE FOUND NOT ONE PROPER PRO TEAM! (at the date of this letter) THIS DOES NOT SURPRISE ME! Do these people that influence and run our sport know anything about cycle racing tactics, Business, and the working combination of the two?

You, the Cycling Weakly, and then the seemingly unknowing public, indirectly support this massive sporting discrepancy! On top of this some of these Continental riders/teams (funded in good part by the u.k.’s misled fools) have been caught cheating and continue to race to applause and acclaim! get them out of your magazine and out of the SPORT! and give my team's riders coverage who are clean; and then indirectly a ride in the biggest races in the World, with these British muggins’ money, along with two other clean British teams!

If you want to hype and bullshit, promote the home scene - in every facet - with as much gusto as you do pushing this massive production foreign Crap! that you keep touting.

For one there is no comparison, when the British Bull dog of Industry and Commerce becomes fit. Backed by its Nation’s people, there is no other Country with as much grit. With the right British Team I could put Armstrong out of ‘le Tour’ in four days! Sooner if the Spanish teams were to stop riding round like a bunch of fairies.

At the moment we stand with a lost heritage of traditional sporting and business nous, and with it a big part of our Nationalistic pride; without a mutual invested interested in its own Country’s cycle Industry! by its people, even its own riders! THIS HAS TO BE REFOUND!

If you were an Italian living in Italy, especially someone involved in their Cycling federation! and you were foolish enough to suggest that the Italian National team should ride for example British J.F.Wilsons, Mercians or Bob Jacksons you would probably find yourself bumped off a cliff!

Yet we have the British National Team on Treks! Money and commerce that is all going to Taiwan and America, before that what was it? pinnerello, colnago, potato, play dough, whatever! I know it wasn't’t British! Why? Why should we as a proud people care to sponsor other nations’ athletes and industry? THROUGH AN ABSOLUTE BLINDING IGNORANCE and MISMANAGEMENT TOO BIG TO SHAKE A LIGHT WEIGHT STEEL TUBE AT! What’s an Italian ever done for you!? Do you think that the Italians, or any other country, are going to be good enough to say to our young talented riders living in the United Kingdom, “we are going to sponsor you in British teams to ride at home and abroad all season.”

It’s no good these British riders training their hearts out, on their de rosa, scott, fondriest or other pop cans, getting as good as any other Country’s riders and then them turning round and saying "where’s my British team and sponsors to take me to the tour?"  

Gone Bust Sunshine! While You Where ALL Living in your Continental fantasyland!

Young riders, any riders shouldn't have to go abroad to make it! They will always be at a disadvantage doing this, one in a million might struggle through, USELESS! to make any definite lasting impact and inspire a Nation!

We need to support ourselves and each other’s interests to have a fighting chance! The theme running through my letter to the Prime Minister is a call to help Cycling in Britain and its people in every possible way! And for cycling in all its forms to be constant and respected pillar of British culture and society; one that it truly deserves.

Yours in Sport,

Nigel Wilson