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In the wider public consciousness, Beryl Burton cuts a lonely figure in the pantheon of great cyclists of the 20th Century; other riders who would wear that crown – Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali et al. – are all male. This is a distortion, fuelled at best by misguided cultural conditioning, at worst, by misogyny.
Burton was exceptional, but she wasn’t the exception. Many women cyclists deserve recognition, few more than Eileen Sheridan. At 4ft 11in, the ‘mighty atom’, as she was affectionately known, dominated women’s cycling during the 1940s and early ’50s, winning multiple national championships and breaking all 21 of the Women’s Road Records Association records.
Among her numerous achievements, always ridden with her signature smile, setting a national record of 237.6 miles during the 1949 Yorkshire Cycling Federation 12-hour race, along with a 1954 LEJOG record of 2 days, 11 hours, 7 minutes, showcase her talent. Nevertheless, a Pathé newsreel belittled her accomplishments with: ‘No wonder she wins races, she has to, to get back in time to catch up with the housework.’
“Eileen was incredible,” says the current owner of her Mercian, Richard Hoddinott, of The Velo Pages. “Amazing riders, like Marguerite Wilson and Lillian Dredge, preceded her, but it was Eileen who kicked the door wide open for women’s cycling, silencing all the naysayers.”
This 1950 Mercian was the last machine she raced, alternating between a fixed-gear and a Sturmey-Archer hub as appropriate, before signing as a pro for Hercules Cycles in 1951. The bike clearly meant a lot to her (the ‘ES’ detailing on the stays is a delight) as she kept it, neutralising the livery due to sponsorship responsibilities. It was repurposed, with Dynamo lighting and a four-speed Simplex setup, so she could enjoy her first love – the simple pleasure of club runs.
This remarkable lady passed away in February 2023, at the age of 99.
