Lilian Irene Bartram known as Billie Fleming and Billie Dovey (13 April 1914 – 12 May 2014),
was a long-distance cyclist who set the woman's record for greatest distance cycled in a year in 1938 at . At the time of her death in 2014 she continued to receive letters from people saying how much she inspired them to cycle; her record still stood until 2015.
Cycling record
She had taken up cycling around the age of 18 and, following the ideas of the
Women’s League of Health and Beauty, she rode across the United Kingdom on a mission to promote the health benefits of cycling. She gained sponsorship from
Rudge-Whitworth
Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pug ...
to provide a bicycle and financial support so that she could ride every day of the year in a wide variety of weather conditions. She was also sponsored by
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
chocolate. She was self-reliant on her journeys, cycling alone and calling in at cafes to eat. She did not carry any water. The distances were authenticated through a cyclometer on the bicycle and cycling check cards signed by witnesses that she submitted to the Cycling Magazine (now
Cycling Weekly
''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic". ) offices.
Her cycling record bid started 1 January 1938 from Mill Hill in London. The summer weather was good, but December 1938 was snowy.
The distance she travelled each day averaged , but was up to in summer. Her mammoth tour included many evening engagements requiring her to give a talk at the end of a long day's pedalling. Fleming's ride attracted a huge amount of interest and press attention as the year progressed. Her record attempt finished with a reception at the Agricultural/Horticultural Hall in London that included cycling journalists and Mr England.
Her mileage set a women's record and attracted international attention. Her subsequent plan to cycle across the USA had to be called off because of the Second World War.
She also later met
René Menzies
René Menzies (c. November 1889 – c. 1971) was a French long-distance cyclist who at 48 held a record for the greatest distance ridden on a bicycle in a year. He rode in 1937. He was decorated with the Croix de Guerre in the First World War ...
and
Tommy Godwin, who successively held the men's record for greatest distance cycled in a year, among other achievements.
In 1940 she broke three records riding a
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...
— the 25-, 50-, and 100-mile distances.
Personal life
She was born Lilian Irene Bartram on 13 April 1914 in Camden, north London. Her father was a toolmaker. She attended the
Lyulph Stanley Central School, Camden and left aged 16 to become a typist and secretary.
During the Second World War she worked in the buying office of an aircraft company.
Her first marriage to Freddie Dovey ended in divorce, with one son.
She subsequently married George Fleming (d. 1997) after the Second World War, a cyclist with a huge racing pedigree who had a number of cycling records. They had a stepson from his previous relationship. In later life she lived in Devon. She died at the age of 100 years on 12 May 2014 after a short illness.
Legacy and similar record attempts by other women
In 1942
Pat Hawkins set out to take the record from Fleming but her total mileage of 54,402.8 miles was disallowed after a review of her log books by the Australian cycling authorities.
The Billie Fleming Tribute Cycle Ride in 2015
aimed to recreate Fleming's ride over 2015, with different women riders each day.
By the end of the year 400 riders had covered 107,000 miles.
Kajsa Tylen
Kajsa Tylen is a competitive, record-breaking cyclist.
On December 31, 2016, the Sweden-born cyclist living in Nottingham beat the 78-year-old standing Guinness World Record for the number of miles cycled in one year by a woman. The distance c ...
was inspired by Fleming, and started to cycle on New Year's Day 2016, aiming to cover at per day.
[ She said that she wanted to motivate people to exercise rather than raise money for charity.]Amanda Coker
Amanda Coker (born 1992, in North Carolina) is an American ultra-cyclist and the current record holder of the World Endurance record for distance in a calendar year.
Career
Coker first began riding alongside her father, Ricky, as a teenager, ...
began a certified attempt to surpass Fleming's record on 15 May 2016.Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
overall record (male or female) on 15 May 2017 when she finished with 86,573.2 miles (139,326.34 km).
References
Further reading
*
External links
Interview with Billie Fleming in Cycling Weekly Magazine
* BBC Radio4 Last Word
Interview with her stepson Peter Samwell and David Barter of Cycling Weekly.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Billie
English female cyclists
Ultra-distance cyclists
1914 births
2014 deaths
English centenarians
Women centenarians