Ben.

Today is the funeral of friend and old training partner Ben Pedley. He collided with a member of public while riding his bike, knocking his head and sadly passing away a few days later. 

Ben was one of the most hard-working cyclists I've ever come across. His thirst for knowledge drove him to become stronger, fast and more agile on the bike in such a short amount of time than i thought possible. When he was at his best, he would wake up most morning, jump on the dreaded turbo trainer for an hour or so before going to work to get his intervals in. After work he'd always be up for a quick spin in the lanes & thrashing me or whoever he was with up the climbs as we would all struggled to keep up.

He could climb like no one I've ever ridden with, so smooth on the pedals it's like he gracefully and almost effortlessly danced up the steepest roads of escarpment that crescents around Cheltenham and the North Cotswolds. If Ben had a Strava account a lot of you wouldn't have KOM's that's for sure. 

My favourite story about Ben was at the Cheltenham and County Cycling Club annual dinner where Phil Ligget was guest speaker. Within seconds of being able to ask questions, Ben asked Phil about Lance Armstrong asking whether he thought that Lance was using banned substances. Phil gave some spiel about how Lance was one of the most trusted guys in the peloton and how he believes that Lance is 100% clean... Boy did he get that wrong. We then drank about a bottle of wine each before turning our head to real ales that had been proved by the club, before heading into town for more drinks.

For all that had the honour of riding, hearing him play piano or just chatting to him I know you won't forget him in a hurry.

RIP Ben. Gone too soon.

As always keep spinning