Tommy Godwin's record was well documented at the time both during and after his successful attempt. He was a pro rider sponsored by Sturmey Archer and Raleigh cycles. He certainly did not draft cars - this sort of thing was (and still is) heavily frowned on in England. It was only one in a series of record attempts on the year's mileage record during the 1930s. I think perhaps the more remarkable record was Walter Greaves who cycled 45,383 miles in 1936 despite only having one arm. He reported that his greatest trouble was repairing punctures! He later worked as a framebuilder.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
> In forwarding a message from Danny Chew (the former Race Across America
> winner) about the British Cyclist, Tommy Goodwin, it appears that the body of
> the
> message wasn't shown, so here it is:
>
> In my 1982 Guinness Book of World Records, Tommy
> Goodwin [1912-75] of Great Britain in the 365
> days of 1939 rode 75,065 miles or an average of
> 205.65 miles per day! He then completed 100,000
> miles in 500 days to May 14, 1940.
>
> Could this be possible considering how LOUSY
> technology was for bicycles back then? At this
> rate, he could ride my million mile lifetime goal
> in just 5,000 days or about 13.7 years!
>
> What do people like Lon Haldeman think about the
> feasibility of this claim? If anybody on this
> e-mail list knows anything about Tommy Goodwin,
> please post a reply ASAP!
>
> Did Tommy have any type of job which would cut
> into his riding time? Did he draft cars on open
> highways so that he could ride 200 miles in just
> 8 hours per day? What bike shop[s] sponsored or
> helped him out since he would be going through
> bike equipment like crazy?
>
> What was Tommy's lifetime mileage when he died in
> 1975 at age 63? Keep in mine I rode my first
> double century back in 1973 just beofre my 11th
> birthday?
>
> James "Myhee" Mergler of AZ claims to have ridden
> a months worth of consecutive 200+ mile days, but
> this was done in recent times and only lasted for
> 1 month!
>
> Dan Wyman
> Oceanside, CA