BOLTON'S grand old man of cycling will have no shortage of company to help him celebrate when he reaches the age of 80 next weekend.

For cyclists from a wide area will be coverging on Rivington Barn to make sure Albert Winstanley has a birthday to remember.

And sprightly Albert, of Bradshaw Brow, Bradshaw, will be where he can usually be found - in the saddle, pedalling to the venue alongside his younger companions.

Albert is one of the best known characters in cycling - not just in the Bolton area through his long association with the Clarion, the CTC and the Autumn Tints, but nationally as a prolific writer on cycling touring topics for most of the major magazines.

And he still clocks up the miles on his bike almost every day of the week with the same enthusiasm as when he got his first bike as a lad.

Over many years, Albert has combined his interest in writing, cycling, photography and local history to produce countless articles. One of his long running columns appeared in the BEN's former Whatever the Weather page. He has written two "Golden Days" books on cycle touring and is in big demand as a raconteur and master of the monologue at cycling dinners.

Bolton Clarion press officer Rachel Brown said: "He's a wonderful man and cyclists off all ages think the world of him."

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