The Veteran-Cycle Club’s ‘Boot and Back Bash’

Early History

The first Boot and Back event, advertised in the SV-CC’s News & Views as ‘a club New Year get-together organised by Bob Hardy’ was held on 6 January 1967.  Twenty-six members turned up and fourteen raced a five-mile course from the Watton Road to The Boot at Dane End and back before settling down to lunch at The Three Harts, Stoneyhills.  Bryan Harrison set the fastest time of the day, 11:22 on a Chater–Lea, with Roger Armstrong second on a BSA at 13:00. It was commented upon that the day was very cold; that still seems to often be a feature of the Boot and Back.

Next year, in an effort to get more clement weather, it was moved back to 25 February and had now received its name as the ‘Boot and Back Bash’.  Cycling took an interest and sent Mal Rees to report on the event.  This time Roger Armstrong must have been doing some training: he set the fastest time of the day in 11.56 on his H Bowra BSA.  Bill Bush, Derek & Peggy Roberts, and Charlie Bowtle were other riders on what turned out to be another day with a bitter cold wind.

The first Boot and Back trophy was a hand decorated chamber pot that Bob had had made.  Bob relates ‘… sadly, one of our more prudish members got hold of it and broke it secretly, never knew who but I could hazard a shrewd guess!  So then good old Eddie Watts who is a gifted and brilliant model maker, crafted and mounted a really lovely model of an Ordinary and put it on a plaque calling it the “Hardy Trophy”.’

The Hardy Trophy

The next year Mal Rees reported on it once again for Cycling; this time the RTTC had got wind of it and was threatening to penalise any of its members who rode for riding an unauthorised time trial.  This did not of course stop Bill Bush, Charlie Bowtle, Frank Armond, and Eve Engel, who were all members of RTTC-affiliated clubs from riding.

The Boot and Back has gone from strength to strength since.  We have Bob Hardy to thank for this wonderful event.

Venues

The first runs centred on The Boot at Dane End in Hertfordshire.  There was limited space for the pre-ride jumble so the event transferred a few miles away to the Plough with The Boot

The next venue was the Lytton Arms at Old Knebworth with a circular route instead of an ‘out and back’.

Having outstayed its welcome at the Lytton Arms, it moved to Weston: Weston Barns was a base that didn’t clash with a pub’s Sunday lunch trade.  The normal route was still a circular one but there was an emergency out-and-back route when bad weather made the circular route unsuitable.

2021 saw the last ‘Boot & Back Bash’ at Weston; this year it was delayed until October because of the Covid lock-down.  This would also turn out to be its last year in its home county of Hertfordshire.

Members of the V-CC’s Flat Section (which covers Suffolk & Norfolk) have always been enthusiastic attendees at ‘The Boot’ so, with no sign of a new organiser in Hertfordshire, they took up the reins and moved it to Suffolk in 2023.

The Current Route

The Boot and Back Bash now centres on Rattlesden Five Bells, where there’s a large meadow for the pre-ride jumble.  The start is outside the Village Hall (on Lower Street).  You follow the road until you get to the house with the sagging white railings:

Then you take the next right turn up Gedding Hill.  At the next three T-junctions, turn left.  Finally, follow the road back to Rattlesden.

2027

The next ’Boot & Back Bash’ will be on Sunday 7 March 2027.