Web Page No 2698

26^th June 2020

CYCLING PROFICIENCY TEST

1st Picture. Cycle Proficiency Class  

2nd Picture. Cycle Proficiency Class Badge 

3rd Picture. Cycle Proficiency Class Certificate 

4th Picture. Wolf Cubs cyclist badge

Did you pass your proficiency test? I know, even though I spent a lot of time renovating and rebuilding bikes, I never took the course of the test but I did get my Cycling proficiency badge in the Wolf Cubs.

Learning to ride a bicycle was always a significant childhood milestone, I remember that Colin Pratt taught me to ride. So was acquiring a bike suitable for road use or in our case up and down Portsdown Hill chalk pits as well!. The posh bike often came as a present to mark a special birthday or passing the 11-plus exam.

Owning a cycle offered us independence. Freed from the vagaries of a bus timetable and tedious walking, a bike saved both time and money. It also offered the prospect of days out with friends or even a cycling holiday at youth hostels.

This liberation also carried the risk of being involved in a road or traffic accident.

In a bid to improve road safety and enhance road users’ skills and competence, the Cycling Proficiency Test (CPT) was introduced in Britain as early as 1936.

In the very early years, there was an entry fee of 6d. The enamelled badge cost one shilling and was initially circular. The very first organised course took place indoors in October 1947, with just seven candidates. Participation grew quickly with 10,000 passes a year by the mid-1950s and almost 200,000 a year by the late 1960s it proved to be a great success.

The most popular age to participate was 11 or 12 and the tests were eventually run at schools or youth clubs.

Passing the course carried considerable status and certificates were awarded at school assemblies with the triangular enamelled badges worn with pride on school blazers.

The test was designed to be both thorough and demanding and every aspect that affected the safety of the cyclist was examined and assessed. Candidates had to receive at least 75 out of a possible hundred points to pass. The first perfect score was achieved in 1962 by Stephen Borril of Scunthorpe. He was given the honour of Knight of the Road by the mayor of Scunthorpe and featured on the front of the News Of The World.

Although not actually part of the test, all cycles were inspected for their roadworthiness and safety. Examiners were especially interested in the brakes and the correct height of the handlebars and saddle and of any extra equipment that was fitted.

The actual test itself assessed the rider’s ability to control the bicycle and to avoid wobbling. The main part of the test was devoted to starting, stopping and signalling correctly on a marked course that involved miniature replicas of road junctions, traffic lights and zebra crossings.

In the last part of the test, riders had to weave in and out of a standard pattern of cones placed 5-feet apart to demonstrate their bicycle control during manoeuvring.

Increasing affluence and rising car ownership from the 1970s onwards eroded the tradition of cycling, and a school run in the family car replaced the cycle ride, much as it does today. I know I could not have lived without a bike in the 1960’s but I look round now and neither of my grandchildren have or have wanted a bicycle. It’s a differntworld today!

As cycling became less fashionable, so did the appeal of the Cycling Proficiency Course with its formal and rather institutional image and it almost dropped completely out of sight. However, the revival in cycling in the 21st century led to the courses receiving a thorough makeover in 2007 and is now know as Bikeability.

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Peter

grseditor@gmail.com

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On this day 27^th June 1960-1965

On 27/06/1960 the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

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On 27/06/1965 the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions