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A Funny Thing Happened at Herne Hill

Around 30 or 40 Addiscombe members went along to the 2003 Good Friday meeting at Herne Hill Velodrome for a day of top class track racing with Tour de France stars and World Champion sprinters in attendance.

The hot weather bought out the largest crowds ever seen up there for years. (If you look at the middle of the photo above you can see the world champion jersey as Chris Hoy mingles with the fans)

Both Stuart O'Grady and Bradley Wiggins were racing...

...as was BMX and team sprint World Champion Jamie Staff

Anyway my apologies Dear Reader, we appear to have gone a bit conky. Back to the story - As me and my pal walked along in our lovely new yellow black and white club colours, past the entrance to the riders changing room , where the showers are a bit on the cold side by the time the riders get there after the race, a familiar voice bellows out "Hello, I like the new Addiscombe kit!" . We looked up and couldn't believe our luck! For there standing before us was Mr Duffield looking resplendent in white and blue with a big smile on his face. We had a laugh and a chat and I think perhaps he remembered me from our last chance encounter and then I said "Have you got a minute, there's a lot of people who want to meet you.." to which he replied  "oh crumbs - Righto!". We made our way around the back of the main grandstand and people were all watching this tall man being ushered along by a couple of Addiscombe herberts probably wondering what was going on. I couldn't believe we were dragging him away to have him all to ourselves and our plan almost backfired when he spied a tricycle under the seats and stopped to take a good look at it.

Still it was an ideal photo opportunity and Agreeable Monty came in on one of the shots as well. After the tricycle jokes we managed to keep walking around the track and up to the bar where our fellow club members were enjoying some of the fizzy brown stuff. As we approached I checked he was still there and then announced to everyone in the vicinity, which was probably around a hundred or so including the 30 Agreeables crammed in watching the racing "LISTEN EVERYONE I'VE BOUGHT SOMEONE VERY IMPORTANT TO SEE YOU". They all looked up but didn't recognise the face of the man that they had only ever heard before. They looked at me strangely. "ITS DAVID DUFFIELD!".

That did it. Addiscombe let out a huge cheer! Then Duffers let out a huge cheer!! Then Everyone let out a  HUUUUUGE cheer and it all got a bit hectic for about 10 minutes. He was telling jokes and anecdotes, we were asking him questions, people were coming up to him for photos and autographs, he was talking about these webpages and how he checks them and how fantastic it is that people write in about Eurosport and things like that. A few tentative plans were made about a possible official get together at some time in the future and we filled him in a little bit about Addiscombe incase he ever gets a quiet patch in a race and then we talked about the best ways to get beginners out cycling , amongst a million and one other things.

Dave was happy to chat with everyone and ever the professional he carries a small pad around with him to write little bits down for use in future Eurosport broadcasts

Eventually we finished up with an Addiscombe team photo for those members who could squeeze in without disrupting the other spectators who had been pushed a bit to one side while all this was going on.

David then made his way back to track centre where he was required to pull a raffle ticket out of a tombola for a prize draw. The top prize was a Trek mountainbike hybrid type thing which Mr Duffield then proceeded to ride along the grass and onto the track where he did an impromptu lap of honour on a bike that for a big lanky fellow like him was a bit small on account of it being set up for a little diddyman and we were surprised that he never got chain oil all over his white trousers! When he was safely back the meeting could continue and he could be seen chatting to all and sundry in the track centre.

After the meeting had ended I saw David getting his trusty Moulton, which had a Eurosport sticker on the front forks, took a photo and then watched as he pedaled off into the sunset.