Stuff of legends
The advert in The Bicycle magazine in November 1954 didn’t attract all that much attention, but its impact is still being felt today: ‘I believe there is still a small select circle who love the rough and high ways among the mountains of Wales, the Lakes and Scotland,’ wrote Bill Paul. ‘This prompts me to suggest the formation of a fellowship of rough-stuff enthusiasts.’
A few months later, in May 1955, Paul was joined at the Black Swan Hotel in Leominster by around 40 cyclists for the founding of the Rough-Stuff Fellowship, giving it claim to being the oldest off-road cycling club in the world.
Almost 70 years on it’s still here. Now numbering over 1,000 strong, its members are still devoted to exploring the rough-stuff of the UK and beyond.
A rough-stuff state of mind
So what is ‘rough-stuff’? Let’s start by stating the obvious: people have been riding bikes off-road since before there were roads as we know them today.
Nowadays it has become fashionable for road races to include some mild peril in the form of gravel sections, such as the Montée de Glières in the Tour de France, the Colle delle Finestre in the Giro d’Italia, the Strade Bianche
