Regular riders - John French

  John has been riding with the Beginners since 2009, starting with riding from Beddington Park. He heard about the rides from seeing a notice on a tree in Carshalton. The impetus was needing exercise after a heart attack and finding attending a gym boring.

  At the time he had not been on a bike for 43 years since leaving the Addiscombe CC youth section when he was 17 and bought a motor scooter. In that time had had been a sprint athletics coach with Belgrave Harriers and also,ran numerous marathons.

  His current bike is a Schwinn Sportera 2013 model from Wallington Cycles. This has a lighter aluminium frame and carbon forks than his previous bike, a hybrid with suspension forks and he uses it for leisure rides along with tending an allotment. His favourite ride is to Ashstead and Bike Beans cafe.