Beryl Burton was indeed extraordinary. Beyond her incredible physical ability she had that unbelievable mental toughness and desire to win, almost Merckx-like. She reminds me of another great English female athlete, and a personal hero, Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade. In the late 60's/early 70's I sat courtside in Cleveland, OH, where Davis Cup and Wightman Cup were played and watched Virginia Wade walk past within 5 feet to play Chris Everett (I routed for Wade). The look in her eyes was like a tigress, total focus. The photos of Beryl Burton show that same focused ferocity. BTW, as I recall Virginia Wade and my greatest hero Arthur Ashe both won Winbledon in 1980, late in both their careers. By tradition, I believe the Gentlemen's and Ladies' champions have the first dance at the post-tournament ball. I wish I could have seen that. Too bad women's cycling in Beryl's day didn't have the status of women's tennis (and still doesn't).
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Meant to respond to this one myself .
>
> Yes , I agree with Jerry . That had to have been Beryl Burton . She not
> only set many records for time trials in the U. K. , she also pushed very
,
> very big gears .
>
> Loved those photos of her standing up on her 5-speed machines . She
always
> seemed to be on a 5-speed with a monster chainring in front .
>
> Also loved those pictures of her , beside Mr. Ron Kitching , advertising
> those T.A. chainrings .
>
> As I recall , it was something like , "Chainrings up to 60 teeth , in
> stock . Larger sizes slight delay due to special order . "
>
>
> "C'est Milremo , C'est Magnifique"
> Raoul Delmare
> Marysville Kansas
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry & Liz Moos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> To: C. R. List
> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 6:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Ballila brakes?
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <Bikerdaver@aol.com>
> > To: C. R. List
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 5:23 PM
> > Subject: Re: [CR]Ballila brakes?
> >
> > snip>>
> > > As an aside I should mention that I once saw a late 60s add for
> these
> > > brakes with an English female racer as their spokes-person. If I had
the
> > add,
> > > I could spell her name correctly, but I think it was something like
> Beryl
> > > Beesum(??), [other folks, please correct me].
> >
> > That would be the great Beryl Burton, generally considered to be the
> > greatest female cycle racer of all time. She regularly trounced top
male
> > cyclists in UK TT events.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry Moos
> > Houston, TX