Fred Lloyd

The above photo taken by Simeon Orme.

Fred who sadly past away on 20th August 2013 at the age of 85, he will miss by his many friends and remember as master runs leader and as gentleman. Fred was part of the cycling establishment in Lancaster for over forty years, a founder member of Lancaster CTC Section when it reform in the 1980 and later in its President, he was chairman of committee that organize the highly successful CTC Birthday Rides in Lancaster 1996 and after retiring from work, he spend several months each year touring overseas and in the British Isles with his partner and best friend Pat Lloyd. One of Fred’s oldest friends Roy Davies sum him up in article he wrote for the Rough-Stuff Journal in 1994, which you can read below. Fred Lloyd by Roy Davies Fred Lloyd is good companion for any run, he is an erudite conversationist with an optimistic attitude to life, and has an apparent ability to do any repair by the roadside. He started life in Newton-le-Willows, and served time as an electrician at a foundry, specialising in colliery maintenance. This was a works that did not buy equipment, they had the skill and capacity to make anything themselves that they required. Fred had good grounding in cycle touring and camping being tutored by cyclists of the old school. One discipline he learned was how to read a map, pace himself out, and estimate his time of arrival accurately. This was an asset was very useful once, when he had to cycle straight through 258 miles – after camping on Mull – in order to be on time to start work on Monday morning. At an early stage in his cycling career when aged sixteen, to make a Saturday morning start for camping, it was necessary to work a 48 hour shift first on maintenance down the mine. In those days of punctuality, even if only a minute late his companion had gone. For many years every weekend was spent with the cycle campers, a membership drawn from across South Lancashire. They had an 8 month camping season together with New Year and a Winter camp, hostels taking up rest of the year. There were splendid years when they welcomed as friends by farmers on some 40 private sites, as indeed they were at the local hostelries, which they generally took over with piano and song. During this period, in the early fifties , on two occasions he toured Europe for six months. With a companion he attended an early R.S.F. meet at Walton-le-Dale, and whilst they both done a fair amount of pass storming, the expert knowledge revealed by those present when slides were shown so overwhelmed them that they retreated and did not join till some later. Raising a family, added to travelling at home and abroad with a new job curtailed his activities, till firstly he helped form Preston C.T.C., then in 1978 he was a founder member of Lancaster C.T.C., from this time he been an active Chairman of both section and D.A. He has built a reputation for heading interesting runs that are well planned, but not recommend for the fainted-hearted. Retirement has given him and Pat more opportunities to plan expeditions and meet other groups, to extent they would require a biographer to record their travels. Fred cannot resist the challenge of any unknown track, weather he is struggling with fences on Rannoch Moor, or one that simply finishes round a disused quarry. He has a saying “ We may not know where we are, but we are never lost”. However, readers of Pat’s detailed articles will know how well she corrected this. The above was first published in the January-February 1994 issue of The Rough-Stuff Journal a fitting tribute to Fred written by his best friend the late Roy Davies.

Photo of Fred on the South Lakes Group President Ride in 2006

Fred’s Poem Who will ride with me along life’s merry way A comrade blyth and full of glee Who dares to laugh out loud and free And let their frolic fancy play like a happy Child through the flower gay That fill the fields and fringe the way Where they ride a mile with me. Who will ride a mile with me along life’s weary way. A friend  whose heart has eyes to see The stars shine out o’er the darkening lea. And the quite pace at end of the day A friend who knows and dares to say Those  brave sweet words along the way Where they ride a mile with me.  With such a comrade, such a friend, I fain would ride to journey’s end Through summer, sunshine and winter rain And then, farewell, we’ll meet again