1973

My first Beverley was in 1973 when I joined the professional cycling ranks.

I rode off scratch with Neville Veale, Henk Vogels Snr, Steve Pember and David Jones with limit riders on 42 minutes.

My memory is of a wet, rainy start and David Jones imploring us to be careful as we approached the diagonal railway crossing five kilometres from the start. Moments later, there was a clatter of grinding metal as Jones came down, never to be seen again.

In the meantime, Henk Vogels Snr was riding like a man possessed, only to blow up on Nine Mile Hill and vanish.

I punctured and was given a wheel, then made my way back through the convoy.

We hit the front at Red Hill. However, Bevan Barron on 12 minutes won the bunch sprint in Midland with Neville Veale and Steve Pember given equal second, Wayne Lally or Les Suckling I believe was fourth.

1974 (Fastest Time)

In the 1974 Beverley there were three of us on scratch… Mike Dye, Warren Rudd and myself. A pretty strong scratch group as Rudd had recently finished third in the Australian 200 kilometre road championship which Dye should have won in a lone breakaway, had he not crashed a few kilometres from the finish.

We caught most of the Beverley to Perth field apart from a few middle markers. All were dropped including Rudd.

That left a cagey Steve Pember from chopping block who had sat on from Northam to the bottom of Gidgegannup. He then unleashed a blistering attack leaving both me and Dye in his wake, although I still managed to get fastest time. Dye finished a further minute back.

Because I was the first rider inside four hours (3.57 for the 165k) journalist Alan Mackley gave my ride a headline that should have been saved for the second coming of Christ! Unfortunately, I wasn't the first. Steve Pember had finished ahead of me and almost snatched fastest time, clawing back almost four minutes of the five he was given. Hewson was the winner off 26 minutes.

1975 (Fastest Time)

The 1975 Beverley got even tougher.

Only Mike Dye and myself were on scratch, chasing 10 minutes to eight riders on chopping block.

According to Stan Fennel who followed us as commissaire, we apparently averaged just over 50 kph to catch block just out of Northam.

Again we didn't rope in the front markers but I think Mike Dye let me have time because usually he was a far better finisher than me. From my unreliable memory, Des Williams was the winner.