fbpx
Wikipedia

Eileen Sheridan (cyclist)

January 01, 1970

For the beauty pageant contestant of this name, see Eileen Sheridan (model).

Constance Eileen Sheridan (née Shaw, 18 October 1923 – 12 February 2023) was an English cyclist who specialized in time trialing and road record-breaking. She broke all the records of the Women's Road Records Association during the late 1940s and 1950s. They included Land's End to John o' Groats, set by Lilian Dredge.

Amateur career edit

Eileen Sheridan, 4 ft 11in (150 cm) tall as an adult and described by historian Bernard Thompson as "a dainty lady",[1] was an athletic girl at school in Coventry, where she was born Constance Eileen Shaw in 1923.[2] Cycling dominated other sports at the age of 15 and in 1944 she joined the Coventry Cycling Club.[3] There she went touring and joined club rides without being interested in racing.[4] She said: "It is on club runs that the club spirit is found, if they have a spirit at all, and retained for all time. Coventry club runs number among the happiest moments in my life."[3] She rode her first race, an informal 10-mile (16 km) time trial, in mid-1940 and finished in 28m 30s "to the great amazement of the club as well as myself."[3] She intended to race formally that summer but the event she entered was canceled. She began racing instead in 1945.[5] Her first race was a 25-mile (40 km) time trial run by the Birmingham Time Trial Association and she was seeded to start first. She hoped to ride 1h 15m and finished in 1h 13m 34s,[3] breaking her club's record and winning the event.

She then won the national time trial championship at 25 miles (40 km), saying she "rode as never before."[3] She married Ken Sheridan in 1942 and gave birth to their son, Clive, in April 1946.[2] She started cycling again seven weeks later and within five months won a club time trial.[3]

She reduced her 50-mile (80 km) time to 2h 22m 53s in 1947 and rode 25 miles (40 km) in 1h 7m 35s. She won the Birmingham and Midland track championship. She moved to a conventional racing bike on her 25th birthday in 1948 and, in the words of The Bicycle, "rocked the racing world, setting up completely new standards for women's records."[3]

She won the women's British Best All-Rounder time trial competition in 1949 and 1950. Her ride in the Yorkshire Cycling Federation 12-hour race in September 1949 set a national record with 237.32 miles (381.93 km). Only four men bettered her distance, the winner of the men's event, Des Robinson, by only six miles (9.6 km). She also took national championships at 50 and 100 miles (80 and 160 km) in 1950. She broke records at 30 miles/48 km (1948: 1h 19m 28s), 50 miles/80 km (1949 and 1950: 2h 14m 16s), 100 miles/160 km (1950: 4h 37m 53s) and 12 hours (1949: 237.62 miles/382.41 km). But her time for 25 miles (40 km) never fell below 1h 5m; she said it took her at least that far to get warmed up.

She was awarded the Bidlake Memorial Prize in 1950 "for creating a new high standard in women's cycle racing with an outstanding series of three championships and five record performances on the road in 1950."[6]

Professional career edit

Hercules Cycle and Motor Company signed her in 1951 for three years to break distance and place-to-place records.[7] These included in 1954, the 12-hour record where she covered 250 and a half miles (403.1 km) and the 24-hour record in 446 and a half miles (718.6 km). She broke all 21 of the women's records by large margins and held all 21 W.R.R.A. records in 1955. Five have yet to be beaten, including the London-Edinburgh record of 20h 11m 35s, set in 1954.[8] Her 1,000-mile (1609 km) record of 3 days and 1 hour stood for 48 years until it was broken in 2002 by Lynne Taylor.[9]

Land's End – John o'Groats edit

In June 1954, Sheridan reduced Marguerite Wilson's record for Land's End to John o' Groats, from the southwestern tip of England to John o 'Groats (the northernmost part of mainland Scotland actually being Dunnet Head), to 2 days, 11 hours and 7 minutes. She rode the first 470 miles (756 km) to Carlisle without a break, stopping to attach lights and change into wet weather clothing when it started to rain. The rain and high winds slowed her progress through the Scottish Borders. Despite this, her time was over 11 hours faster than Wilson's professional record, and just under seven hours quicker than the amateur record set by fellow Coventry native Edith Atkins the previous year. After reaching John O'Groats, Sheridan had a break for less than two hours, and then continued riding, as Hercules wanted her to set a new 1,000-mile (1609 km) record as well. After another two breaks and a meal of fried eggs and bacon, she completed the 1,000 miles (1609 km) in three days and one hour, smashing the women's record and finishing two hours and twenty minutes down on the record men's time.[10]

Cycling historian Ramin Minovi said: "Hercules supplied the most bizarre support vehicle ever seen until the Mad Max movies. A caravan was strapped to a vast Bedford low-loader, and a large toilet ostentatiously installed on the front. Access to the monster was via a ladder, and when Eileen needed a comfort break, then the whole world knew about it. Her hands were blistered because there was no padding on the bars, just a winding of rough tape, and she kept going on blackcurrant juice, soup, sugar and chicken legs."[7]

The bicycle she used is on display in Coventry Transport Museum,[7] along with papers, other equipment, trophies and medals relating to Sheridan's career.[10] It carries the Hercules name but was made under contract by another supplier because, Minovi said, "Hercules' frames were so heavy."

Disallowed record edit

The Women's Road Records Association disallowed her attempt on the Land's End to London record, in 1952, because the Daily Mirror had published a story announcing her attempt. The association's rules forbade publicity before a ride.[11] She had beaten the record by 23 minutes.

Life after racing edit

In 1952 she was featured in a documentary film made by Dunlop called Spinning Wheels: Cycle Sport '50s Style. The film also featured Reg Harris, Ken Joy and Cyril Peacock as well as scenes from the Tour de France. In 1955 she was featured in an advertisement for Player's cigarettes. She was a Life Member and President of the Coventry Cycling Club, and was also Vice President of Roads Records Association. Finally, in 1955, at the end of her professional career, she had her daughter, Louise.[2] After ending her racing career, Sheridan remained active as a spokesperson for cycling.[2] She was inducted to the British Cycling Hall of Fame in 2016.[12]

Sheridan was a longtime resident of Isleworth. Her husband, Ken Sheridan, died in 2012 after 70 years of marriage, and she died at her home on 12 February 2023, at the age of 99.[2][12]

Assessment edit

The cycling historian Bernard Thompson wrote:

The 100-mile (160 km) championship was introduced in 1950 and won by Eileen Sheridan, Coventry CC, with 4h 37m 53s. The reign of Eileen Sheridan had begun some five years earlier when in 1945 she won the 25-mile (40 km) title with 1h 8m 38s, and although there had been many highly talented women time-triallists throughout the early years of the sport, it was Eileen Sheridan who set about pushing out the frontiers of women's records to the point of almost complete domination. [She] was a dainty lady and belied her strength and stamina. It was written in 1950 after Eileen Sheridan's second successive Best All-rounder championship that "It may well be that Eileen Sheridan will go down in cycling history as the greatest of all women riders."[13]

Adolphe Abrahams, considered to be the founder of British sports medicine, described Sheridan as "a human machine of the highest grade capable of superlative performance".[10]

Bibliography edit

  • Hilton, T. (2005), One More Kilometre And We're in the Showers, ISBN 0-00-653228-4
  • Woodland, L. (2005), This Island Race, Mousehold Press, ISBN 1-874739-36-6
  • Wonder Wheels; The Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan. (1956), Reprint 2009: ISBN 978-1-903088-49-4
  • Whitfield, Peter, (2006), "Eileen Sheridan: a Cycling Life", out of print
  • Whitfield, Peter, (2007), "12 Champions", out of print

References edit

  1. ^ Thompson, Bernard, Alpaca to Skinsuit, Geerings of Ashford, UK, ISBN 0-9513042-0-8, p15
  2. ^ a b c d e Risen, Clay (17 February 2023). "Eileen Sheridan, Who Dominated Cycling in Postwar Britain, Dies at 99". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g The Bicycle, UK, 18 November 1953, p27
  4. ^ The Bicycle, UK, 27 February 1946, p6
  5. ^ Sheridan, Eileen. Wonder Wheels; The Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan..
  6. ^ The F. T. Bidlake Memorial Trust
  7. ^ a b c . Association of British Cycling Coaches. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Records Place to Place". Road Records Association. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  9. ^ . Association of British Cycling Coaches. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Thurston, Jack (8 March 2017). "Eileen Sheridan – "This Girl Can"". Rouleur. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  11. ^ The Bicycle, UK, 29 October 1952, p16
  12. ^ a b Fotheringham, William (17 February 2023). "Eileen Sheridan obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  13. ^ Thompson, Bernard, Alpaca to Skinsuit, Geerings of Ashford, UK, ISBN 0-9513042-0-8, pp15-16

External links edit

(N.B. Galway-Dublin, Sheridan broke the men's as well as the women's record)

January 01, 1970
eileen, sheridan, cyclist, beauty, pageant, contestant, this, name, eileen, sheridan, model, constance, eileen, sheridan, née, shaw, october, 1923, february, 2023, english, cyclist, specialized, time, trialing, road, record, breaking, broke, records, women, ro. For the beauty pageant contestant of this name see Eileen Sheridan model Constance Eileen Sheridan nee Shaw 18 October 1923 12 February 2023 was an English cyclist who specialized in time trialing and road record breaking She broke all the records of the Women s Road Records Association during the late 1940s and 1950s They included Land s End to John o Groats set by Lilian Dredge Contents 1 Amateur career 2 Professional career 2 1 Land s End John o Groats 2 2 Disallowed record 3 Life after racing 4 Assessment 5 Bibliography 6 References 7 External linksAmateur career editEileen Sheridan 4 ft 11in 150 cm tall as an adult and described by historian Bernard Thompson as a dainty lady 1 was an athletic girl at school in Coventry where she was born Constance Eileen Shaw in 1923 2 Cycling dominated other sports at the age of 15 and in 1944 she joined the Coventry Cycling Club 3 There she went touring and joined club rides without being interested in racing 4 She said It is on club runs that the club spirit is found if they have a spirit at all and retained for all time Coventry club runs number among the happiest moments in my life 3 She rode her first race an informal 10 mile 16 km time trial in mid 1940 and finished in 28m 30s to the great amazement of the club as well as myself 3 She intended to race formally that summer but the event she entered was canceled She began racing instead in 1945 5 Her first race was a 25 mile 40 km time trial run by the Birmingham Time Trial Association and she was seeded to start first She hoped to ride 1h 15m and finished in 1h 13m 34s 3 breaking her club s record and winning the event She then won the national time trial championship at 25 miles 40 km saying she rode as never before 3 She married Ken Sheridan in 1942 and gave birth to their son Clive in April 1946 2 She started cycling again seven weeks later and within five months won a club time trial 3 She reduced her 50 mile 80 km time to 2h 22m 53s in 1947 and rode 25 miles 40 km in 1h 7m 35s She won the Birmingham and Midland track championship She moved to a conventional racing bike on her 25th birthday in 1948 and in the words of The Bicycle rocked the racing world setting up completely new standards for women s records 3 She won the women s British Best All Rounder time trial competition in 1949 and 1950 Her ride in the Yorkshire Cycling Federation 12 hour race in September 1949 set a national record with 237 32 miles 381 93 km Only four men bettered her distance the winner of the men s event Des Robinson by only six miles 9 6 km She also took national championships at 50 and 100 miles 80 and 160 km in 1950 She broke records at 30 miles 48 km 1948 1h 19m 28s 50 miles 80 km 1949 and 1950 2h 14m 16s 100 miles 160 km 1950 4h 37m 53s and 12 hours 1949 237 62 miles 382 41 km But her time for 25 miles 40 km never fell below 1h 5m she said it took her at least that far to get warmed up She was awarded the Bidlake Memorial Prize in 1950 for creating a new high standard in women s cycle racing with an outstanding series of three championships and five record performances on the road in 1950 6 Professional career editHercules Cycle and Motor Company signed her in 1951 for three years to break distance and place to place records 7 These included in 1954 the 12 hour record where she covered 250 and a half miles 403 1 km and the 24 hour record in 446 and a half miles 718 6 km She broke all 21 of the women s records by large margins and held all 21 W R R A records in 1955 Five have yet to be beaten including the London Edinburgh record of 20h 11m 35s set in 1954 8 Her 1 000 mile 1609 km record of 3 days and 1 hour stood for 48 years until it was broken in 2002 by Lynne Taylor 9 Land s End John o Groats edit In June 1954 Sheridan reduced Marguerite Wilson s record for Land s End to John o Groats from the southwestern tip of England to John o Groats the northernmost part of mainland Scotland actually being Dunnet Head to 2 days 11 hours and 7 minutes She rode the first 470 miles 756 km to Carlisle without a break stopping to attach lights and change into wet weather clothing when it started to rain The rain and high winds slowed her progress through the Scottish Borders Despite this her time was over 11 hours faster than Wilson s professional record and just under seven hours quicker than the amateur record set by fellow Coventry native Edith Atkins the previous year After reaching John O Groats Sheridan had a break for less than two hours and then continued riding as Hercules wanted her to set a new 1 000 mile 1609 km record as well After another two breaks and a meal of fried eggs and bacon she completed the 1 000 miles 1609 km in three days and one hour smashing the women s record and finishing two hours and twenty minutes down on the record men s time 10 Cycling historian Ramin Minovi said Hercules supplied the most bizarre support vehicle ever seen until the Mad Max movies A caravan was strapped to a vast Bedford low loader and a large toilet ostentatiously installed on the front Access to the monster was via a ladder and when Eileen needed a comfort break then the whole world knew about it Her hands were blistered because there was no padding on the bars just a winding of rough tape and she kept going on blackcurrant juice soup sugar and chicken legs 7 The bicycle she used is on display in Coventry Transport Museum 7 along with papers other equipment trophies and medals relating to Sheridan s career 10 It carries the Hercules name but was made under contract by another supplier because Minovi said Hercules frames were so heavy Disallowed record edit The Women s Road Records Association disallowed her attempt on the Land s End to London record in 1952 because the Daily Mirror had published a story announcing her attempt The association s rules forbade publicity before a ride 11 She had beaten the record by 23 minutes Life after racing editIn 1952 she was featured in a documentary film made by Dunlop called Spinning Wheels Cycle Sport 50s Style The film also featured Reg Harris Ken Joy and Cyril Peacock as well as scenes from the Tour de France In 1955 she was featured in an advertisement for Player s cigarettes She was a Life Member and President of the Coventry Cycling Club and was also Vice President of Roads Records Association Finally in 1955 at the end of her professional career she had her daughter Louise 2 After ending her racing career Sheridan remained active as a spokesperson for cycling 2 She was inducted to the British Cycling Hall of Fame in 2016 12 Sheridan was a longtime resident of Isleworth Her husband Ken Sheridan died in 2012 after 70 years of marriage and she died at her home on 12 February 2023 at the age of 99 2 12 Assessment editThe cycling historian Bernard Thompson wrote The 100 mile 160 km championship was introduced in 1950 and won by Eileen Sheridan Coventry CC with 4h 37m 53s The reign of Eileen Sheridan had begun some five years earlier when in 1945 she won the 25 mile 40 km title with 1h 8m 38s and although there had been many highly talented women time triallists throughout the early years of the sport it was Eileen Sheridan who set about pushing out the frontiers of women s records to the point of almost complete domination She was a dainty lady and belied her strength and stamina It was written in 1950 after Eileen Sheridan s second successive Best All rounder championship that It may well be that Eileen Sheridan will go down in cycling history as the greatest of all women riders 13 Adolphe Abrahams considered to be the founder of British sports medicine described Sheridan as a human machine of the highest grade capable of superlative performance 10 Bibliography editHilton T 2005 One More Kilometre And We re in the Showers ISBN 0 00 653228 4 Woodland L 2005 This Island Race Mousehold Press ISBN 1 874739 36 6 Wonder Wheels The Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan 1956 Reprint 2009 ISBN 978 1 903088 49 4 Whitfield Peter 2006 Eileen Sheridan a Cycling Life out of print Whitfield Peter 2007 12 Champions out of printReferences edit Thompson Bernard Alpaca to Skinsuit Geerings of Ashford UK ISBN 0 9513042 0 8 p15 a b c d e Risen Clay 17 February 2023 Eileen Sheridan Who Dominated Cycling in Postwar Britain Dies at 99 The New York Times Retrieved 17 February 2023 a b c d e f g The Bicycle UK 18 November 1953 p27 The Bicycle UK 27 February 1946 p6 Sheridan Eileen Wonder Wheels The Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan The F T Bidlake Memorial Trust a b c An Evening with Eileen Sheridan The Mighty Atom Association of British Cycling Coaches 2005 Archived from the original on 27 September 2011 Records Place to Place Road Records Association Retrieved 16 September 2010 Three Days of Sleepless Nights Association of British Cycling Coaches Archived from the original on 20 August 2010 a b c Thurston Jack 8 March 2017 Eileen Sheridan This Girl Can Rouleur Retrieved 30 March 2018 The Bicycle UK 29 October 1952 p16 a b Fotheringham William 17 February 2023 Eileen Sheridan obituary The Guardian Retrieved 17 February 2023 Thompson Bernard Alpaca to Skinsuit Geerings of Ashford UK ISBN 0 9513042 0 8 pp15 16External links editCycling Ireland road records Dublin Cork still held by Sheridan N B Galway Dublin Sheridan broke the men s as well as the women s record British Pathe footage of Eileen Sheridan in 1956 Come on Eileen Biographical Short Film made by Anthony Collins 2014 https www imdb com title tt3771648 ref fn al tt 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eileen Sheridan cyclist amp oldid 1217134425, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.