Cyclist, 90, eager to ride
HIS memory may be fading and dates and events are beginning to blur but his passion for sport and cycling in particular is far from diminishing.
You can catch Westering resident Jack Allen, at the starting line when the EP Masters and Ladies cycling season starts next month.
Allen – who turned 90 in April – and his wife of more than 60 years, Betty, who emigrated to South African from a little village called Harbury in Warwickshire in the UK, initially joined a hiking club before he was bitten by the roadrunning bug.
Allen has run several Comrades before a wonky knee which saw him walk the closing stage of the race holding onto the railings – he remembers it was a down run – forced him to give up running.
Then someone told him cycling was "good for the knees". The rest his history.
Allen has taken part in numerous races across the country and has won stacks of medals.
He says the Argus is not fun anymore.
"The slow runners start long after the elite cyclists have finished and gone home and that's when the wind and rain starts."
Allen says he does not cycle as much as he would like.
"It is too dangerous on the roads. In addition to the traffic, there's the criminal element," he said.
However he trains three times a week on a stationary bike he set up in his garage.
And, during the off-season he goes for the odd cycle with his friends on Saturdays.
"The group at the masters and ladies are always supportive – even when I take a shortcut to avoid the hills," he said.
"They always wait for me at the finish although I get in long after them".
And when does he plan to get off the saddle?
"Not in the immediate future," he said.