ANNOUNCEMENT - 17 JUNE 2020

Ralph Walker: An Appreciation

The Club is sorry to announce that our long time member, Ralph Walker, passed away earlier this week.

Until a few years ago Ralph was a regular on club runs and training rides, as well as riding with the AZ pensioners group on a Wednesday. He had a legendary capacity for both big miles - it was no coincidence that he skied for England when he was in the Forces - and big hills. Ralph was also renowned for his use of the big chain ring, irrespective of the steepness of a hill, and was dubbed  “Lord of the One Ring”.  There were many, much younger, riders who came to realise that attempting to hold Ralph’s wheel, let alone try to beat him to the top of a hill, was a pretty pointless exercise.

Stories of his exploits abound. One that he used to tell himself was of the 150 mile ride to Llangollen and Shrewsbury that he took with the late Terry Wesley when he was little more than 15 years old and a novice cyclist. Another is that he ripped the rear end off his bike attempting a “big ring” assault on Winnats Pass.  Having completed a very hilly fund raising ride for the British Heart Foundation, which started in Littlebrough and took in the climb of Cragg Vale, Ralph elected to ride the 50 miles home to Wilmslow.  In 2008 he took part in the legendary Marmotte event in the French Alps (which takes in the Glandon and Galibier before finishing on Alpe D’Huez), completing the174km in 8hrs 8minutes to finish fourth in the over 60s category (and being treated for dehydration after the finish). He was also a regular participant in the annual Wild Wales Challenge although rumour has it that even he failed to climb the legendary Bwlch y Groes on the big ring.

Ralph was a keen roadman and competed in many events organised by TLI Cycling, becoming National Road and Hill Climb Champion (the latter in 2006 on the Cat and Fiddle) in his age group. In 2008 hetook gold in the LVRC National Championships on a tough course at Napton in Warwickshire. Something of a lone break specialist in races, Ralph caught the group of younger riders who had set off 10 minutes before him. He had a fair few spills over the years in both races and training rides, but always bounced back with a smile on his face.

He’ll be greatly missed by all those who rode and raced with him over the years and the Club sends condolences to his family and friends.