Cycle makeover is a dream come true

The couple, from Hove, East Sussex, were given an amazing ‘Cycle Makeover’ after Paul took first prize in the Big Bike Revival draw.

The couple won Raleigh bikes of their choice plus equipment including clothing, helmets, luggage, lights and locks – a prize package worth thousands of pounds.

Accompanied by eight-year-old son Ralph, they were also Raleigh’s guests of honour for the day in Nottingham – where the company has been creating bikes for 125 years.

Paul struck lucky after filling in a survey as part of CTC’s Big Bike Revival – a two-week campaign supported by the Department for Transport aimed at getting thousands of forgotten cycles fixed and back into use.

The 56-year-old, who works as a pharmacist in Brighton, said: “Winning was a huge and very pleasant surprise. We were really excited to be able to choose our own bikes and it was a great experience to have a look round the headquarters of such an iconic British cycle company.

“Ralph was particularly fascinated by the wheel building and they had such a fantastic range of bikes in their showroom I think we all felt like children in a sweet shop!

There was such a fantastic range of bikes in their showroom I think we all felt like children in a sweet shop!" Prize winner Paul Bessant

“We enjoyed talking to some of the employees there. A couple had knocked up almost 100 years of service between them for the company. It was a great day.”

Paul, a CTC member for just under 15 years, is now the proud owner of a Raleigh Militis Race while Hermione went for a Raleigh Strada 8. The pair were fitted for their bikes and chose various accessories at Raleigh’s HQ as part of their bumper prize.

They were given a tour of the premises – including the Velo Park, the wheel-building shop and showrooms – by Adrian Finnis, Raleigh’s National Accounts Sales Director, who said: “We are delighted to have been involved with CTC’s Big Bike Revival initiative and it has been a pleasure welcoming Paul and his family here at Raleigh.”

Paul added: “I do a fair bit of road cycling and I’m really looking forward to putting the Militis through its paces. I also cycle to work most days, which is only a six-mile round trip but is still good exercise over the course of a week.”

The Big Bike Revival involved 1,645 family-friendly events at more than 100 Active Centres throughout the country in the summer – including Cranks, a do-it-yourself bicycle workshop run by volunteers in Chapel Street, Brighton, and Brighton Bike Hub in Circus Street.

Ian Richardson, CTC’s Head of Cycling Development, said: “The aim of the Big Bike Revival was to get that unloved bike out of the shed and back into use, learn how to look after it yourself by mending simple things like a puncture, and rediscover how much fun cycling can be. It was a huge success nationwide.”

Paul, Hermione and Ralph were joined in Nottingham by Ian Richardson and Tim Janes, CTC’s Big Bike Revival Co-ordinator.

Paul added: "I joined CTC after picking up a copy of Cycle magazine nearly 15 years ago, when I was in a Youth Hostel in Welsh Bicknor in the Wye Valley with my other son Ben, who is now 26.

"I saw all the trips advertised at the back of the magazine by CTC Cycling Holidays and was amazed by the range and really wanted to try one out. When I got home I joined CTC there and then - and before long I was off on an amazing trip to Thailand. I cycled through Cambodia and Laos, and went down the Mekong River on a boat.

"I've also found the CTC touring guides on the website really useful, and have cycled around Holland and Belgium."