Jim Krynen could outsprint the bunch back in the 80s and 90s. He won 62 state championships and 6 national titles in the master’s division. In the course of a 30 year career he finished twice in the national professionals.

Born in the Midland, Jim grew up behind Flash Cycles. One of his earliest memories is of Carmine Prieato pinstriping his scooter in the Flash workshop in Midland. His dad Lex rode with Midland Bassendean Cycle Club, competing in races that have long disappeared from the calendar - the Norseman to Kalgoorlie, Midland Traders 100 and the Douglas Jones.

Jim’s return to the Netherlands in 1969 was the first of many international trips. Back ‘home’ his first racing bike was a ‘72 Gazelle and, aged 16, he rode it in the local Kermesse in Grave, challenging a club near Nijimegen, up near the German border. It was a win for Jim!

“I fell off three times, but I ended up winning it and it was such a euphoric feeling you know, and it really spurred me on, so next week I became a member of the club.”

For the next decade, splitting his time between Holland and WA, Jim rode and won state titles and was nominated for State Sports Star. Strong sprinting won him the “all-round track champion” for 5 years. He rubbed shoulders with greats like Peter Panton, Neville Veale and Mal Barker.

“Western Australia at the nationals; we’d be lucky to come back with a bronze medal - that would be sensational. We were the good dudes riding with the black duck on our back. I still got some of those shirts and that's funny because after you take your shirt off you would have a big red duck on your back.”

A whole new world opened when he turned professional in 1984. Jim rode European classics as well as Australian events. In Holland his family hosted Australian riders like Phil Anderson, Gary Sutton, Kevin Nichols. Jim toured and raced with Anderson, the first Australian to wear a yellow jersey in the Tour de France. It was here that Jim honed his race craft and earned a reputation as a ‘tough Aussie’.

Winning the 1986 Beverley on a Tommasini sporting gold-plated components earned him the nickname ‘Jim Mickleburg’. The plating peeled off and ruined the groupset but a comeback saw Jim win the Beverley again in ‘93 and ’96.

Through his work with BikeWest and the Public Transport Authority Jim has been involved in the development of Perth’s cycling infrastructure for over 20 years.