About Me

If you’ve read my other pages then you already know something about me, but if you still want more and you’re a glutton for punishment then here it is…

I was born on 22nd December 1951 in South London to mum, Nellie Light and dad, Frederick Light (AKA Tim). During the first few years of my life we were all living with my Father’s parents in a terraced house in Ingleton street, Brixton – yes we had the outside loo and tin bath which was only used on a Friday night (that’s the bath not the loo) and the food ration books as well – but let’s not go there as I can here the violins playing as I write.

Opposite our terraced house the whole side of the street had been completely razed to the ground by German bombers during the 2nd world war and was never to be redeveloped. This provided a fabulous playground for me and all my mates and we would spend our spare time playing on this huge bomb site imagining we were cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. It was the equivalent of today’s adventure playground but with shards of glass, rubble, tin roofs and probably a few unexploded bombs! The whole area was demolished in the early 60s and turned into a park, the very park that I was later to use as a short cut to my secondary school – Stockwell Manor. This was a new modern comprehensive school with lots of space for football, rugby, cricket, athletics, indoor swimming pool and gymnasium. I took advantage of all these facilities and represented my school at most sports.

This isn’t meant to be a ‘This is your Life, Barry Light’ so I’ll move rapidly on to my cycling days. It’s funny how life turns out and how chance plays a big part in our lives, but my decision to start bike racing and join the ‘34th Nomads CC’ was literally made on the toss of a coin and a bizarre meeting with Ron ‘Bugsy’ Stevens (but that’s another story for the future). I joined the Nomads when I was 16 and for the next few years I was completely consumed by bike racing, training and the great social side that went with it in the short ‘off’ season. I was racing with the likes of Ron Keeble (Bronze medallist in the 4,000 meters team pursuit at the Munich Olympics) Rik Evans (Olympic and Worlds team pursuit) Dave Carter (National junior sprint champion) Colin Christie (Tour of Britain rider) and other really good riders of that period. I loved bike racing and like most others had dreams of becoming a pro and competing in all the major events in Europe like the Tour de France and the classics. Of course there was one crucial element missing which all the training in the world couldn’t provide – talent, still I did get a reputation as a gutsy and determined rider. I rode two ‘Raleigh Dunlop Tours of Ireland’ (1970 and 71) a tough 800 mile race all around Ireland starting and finishing in Dublin, raced in France a few times and competed in a few Star Trophy events. I did win a few road races and time trials and got regular places in the top six. 34th Nomad riders were featured every week in our local rag the ‘South London Press’ and here’s a couple of clippings (when I had hair) taken from my old scrap book.

In 1973 I had by best racing bike stolen and in March 1974 Patsi and I were married and started a family. Bike riding was no longer my top priority as family life and a career had to come first. I made a comeback a few years later and even won a few more races but found I just didn’t have the commitment or the time to race at the level I previously had. So I turned to running, squash, and even a few triathlons purely for enjoyment and to help keep fit both physically and mentally, perhaps I’ll write a bit more about all that later.