The history of cycling club has been brought sharply into focus by a member who has ensured its rich heritage will never been forgotten.
For, photographs documenting Horwich Cycling Club’s (HCC) near-90-year history have been digitalised in a project undertaken by Tom Maher, a self-confessed cycling addict and member of the club – which was founded in 1934.
He has re-organised HCC’s collection of black and white, paper, and colour photographs so they can be preserved and shared digitally.
Tom, 43, moved to the area in 2009 and has since become the custodian of the archive which were originally kept in ring binders, as well as loose and photographs glued onto paper backgrounds.
He said: “I thought it could only take a house fire, a flood, or a little carelessness such as someone moving on and taking the photographs with them that the long history would be lost.
“We wanted to keep the pictures for future generations and club members past and present.
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“Today, we have people riding modern road bikes, cyclo-cross bikes, mountain bikes, time trial bikes, hybrids, and e-bikes. In the past we have pictures of members on older road bikes, but also on the famous Penny Farthings, as well as tricycles and tandems.
“We have photographs of members wearing bow ties and suits while riding and even some wearing top hats – it was a very different world and has shed a big light onto how the sport has changed so much.”
The photos depict a number of important moments in the history of the club and the town.
They illustrate the club’s yearly festival of racing, when the town centre was closed off, and a series of racing over a weekend in June, featuring the Penny Farthings and recumbents.
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Tom, who became hooked on the sport after receiving a mountain bike for his 12th birthday, says that digitalising the history of the club has secured a precious safety net for its past, as well as its future.
He used the online photograph scanning service ReLOVE to do so.
“I found reLOVE Photos and spoke to the owner about what we had and what we needed,” he added.
“They were able to do the loose pics as well as the albums and those stuck on paper backgrounds with descriptions of the particular event.”
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Tom packed all the photos into box and the company did the rest.
The photographs can be shared with chosen family and friends all over the world via a digital folder with a link to where all the photos are stored.
All the photos and more information can be found at www.relovephotos.com/post/historic-cycling-club-preserves-its-archive-to-illustrate-the-changing-face-of-the-sport.
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18.
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