January 1990 Tony Slater started at OMC Ford, Oldham. Tony noticed a man turned up at work each day riding a bike. The man was Frank Leigh, a 63 year old life member of West Pennine CC. He had been with them for 40 years. Tony and Frank became good friends and would spend many hours talking ‘bike’ as Frank still had a huge enthusiasm for cycling. He had worked at the company for a ling time and knew everyone. He mentioned to various people employed there that Tony was a cyclist, including one Keith Ogden. It then became evident that there was a large number of cyclists at the motor company.

In June 1991 Frank and Tony rode the Hope Hospital (Salford) to Southport and back charity ride of some 76 miles. Keith heard about this and became obsessed with joining them the year after but sadly, in 1992, Frank died.

In 1992 Keith Ogden read an article in Cycling Weekly about a club in the USA who were looking for a British chapter. They were attached to the Los Angeles police force and used the club to get youth off the streets and away from crime. Keith asked various friends and workmates if they were interested in starting their own club under the guise of the Law Enforcement Cycling Association (LECA), as the yanks were called.

The response was favorable, and in September after Keith had advertised for members, the club started to meet for rides. The parent club let us use their motto and crest. “Cycling Against Drugs” was their motto, and now it was ours. In October we had our first meeting and a committee was formed. Our colours and kit were designed with our own logo. Now we were a real cycling club with a real racer in our midst – Paul Radford.

A policeman from Sheffield had joined us and promised more members from the city, so in respect for them and in area in between, the club was named “Trans Pennine”. Sadly, the policeman left soon afterwards and we never did see any of his promised members. But the name stuck and the clothing (derived from the L.A. Sherrifs – the original name of LECA and the Australian national kit) to this day still looks excellent.

In 1993 and 1994 the club went through some turbulent times as some tried to turn the club into a race only organization. Members left and started their own short lived racing club, leaving only six members of the TPCC.

The years have certainly passed very quickly since the start of the club back in September 1992. I thought that due to the influx of new members and a reminder to the more established in the club a quick overview of the formation of the club was warranted.

After leaving Sheffield Polytechnic in July 1992, for whom I raced whist studying, I saw an article in Cycling Weekly by one Keith Ogden who was considering forming a new club in the Shaw area. I contacted Keith and arranged to meet him. We spoke about the affiliations and governing bodies, what we wanted, the objectives and establishment proper of the club, and I also met Tony Slater and a big chap called Derrick and his son.

Keith had been in liaison with an American Team called the L.A. Sheriffs, which was a professional team based in Los Angeles. It’s policy was to help promote a healthier lifestyle against drug culture through cycling. Members and representatives from that team would go into schools and colleges and tell them of the benefits of cycling and the high you can get rather than smoking crack and other drugs which were prevalent in L.A. Working with the law enforcement over there they saw some success. Keith was active in youth work and was keen to emulate this policy.

Over the next weeks we had a number of meetings and one chap called Guy Aldworth from Sheffield attended. The most important meeting thus far was to decide on a name and team colours for the club. Several suggestions were put forward including ‘Trans-Atlantic C.C.’ and ‘Shaw Jubilee Wheelers’, but a consensus was finally reached on ‘Trans Pennine C.C.’ as we wanted to show the link between members on both the east and west sides of the Pennines.

The club shirt design changed little over the ensuing years. It was designed emulating that of the LA Sheriffs, but in place of their ‘Chevrolt’ sponsor logo, we had a cyclist passing through the hills. The C.A.D. or ‘cycling against drugs’ was retained from the American jersey showing our affinity to the promotion of cycling against socially unacceptable activities such as drug abuse. The sheriff star logo on the sleeves was a derivative form the L.A. police department and has the script LECA or ‘Law Enforcement Cycling Association’ circling the inner of the logo.

On entry forms for road races and time trials we originally entered the team as ‘Trans Pennine CC / LA Sheriffs English Chapter. However, after the demise of the American squad and cessation of links, this secondary side was dropped.

For several years the club went through a turbulent period. About half the club left to form an off0shoot road team. When this happened there was only six of us left and we debated whether it was viable to keep going. That team lasted for only one season, but the TPCC remains stronger than ever.

I am pleased to see the club growing in prestige both on the racing front and in the promotion of rides in conjunction with the BCF etc. The TPCC is going places and I would like to thank all the members new and old for their input to the club and their friendship over the years. Happy cycling.

Way back in 1990 a work colleague died from cancer, and in his memory and in aid of Christies Hospital my work-mates (including Keith Garlick and Big Gaz) organized some sponsored walks. By 1992 a few of us had fomented the idea of building a three-seater bike and riding it from Scarborough to Blackpool. We accomplished this in the summer and the following year we did a similar event from Portmerian to Christies. The radio and tabloid publicity from this last event was noticed by Keith Ogden who contacted us and suggested that we meet for a training ride.

Gary and I had already had a few rides out on mountain-bikes with a proper cycling club in Glossop, but neither of us felt particularly welcome or experienced enough to fit in. So we met Keith at the foot of Crompton Moor with some skepticism and were even more doubtful when he came without a bike. Apparently he had had an accident the previous weekend when he had crashed through a hedge during a time trial and needed to rest. Being a friendly and persuasive character, Keith talked Gary and I into joining him and his newly formed ‘Transpennine Cycling Club’ on the upcoming annual Manchester – Southport – Manchester ride. As we had already taken part in a Manchester to Blackpool ride, we felt we could at least have a go at keeping up with these ‘professionals’ and if we dropped off there would be plenty of others to ride with. I had recently purchased a cheap road bike, and Gary borrowed one from a friend.

On the day of the event I was particularly impressed with the club when we rolled out from the start. They all had on their new club jerseys and as I followed at the back of the line I thought they looked fantastic. I had never ridden with a group on the road before and I found the teamwork and sheer speed exhilarating. And what’s more I could keep up! I remember Keith and Tony on that ride and they and the other members were very encouraging, helpful and friendly. By the time the event was over I was hooked.

A year or so after joining the club I was finally persuaded to have a go at a time trial. I had long admired our experienced racers such as John and Paul Radford but had lacked the confidence to race. Now I was fitter and faster and ready for a ten-miler. I entered a two up event in Cheshire with another new member – Neil Stansfield. We both enjoyed the event, and it was the start of many years cycle racing. Soon the club was organizing it’s own time trials and road races. Our two-up and four-up events became quite famous – especially with Keith Garlick’s ‘tombstone’ trophies, and our ‘Horse and Jockey’ road race became an annual fixture for several years. This was organized jointly by our club and the late Chris Knight of the T.L.I.