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Introduced to cycling in the 1960s, Ray English has never tired of the sport. He never raced professionally but has reported on it from the sidelines for years… he talks to Rob Arnold as part of RIDE Media’s ongoing ‘Talking Cycling’ series of interviews.
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Ray English uses cycling for many things. At 74, he still rides for transport. Admittedly, he doesn’t go as fast as he once did but he still gets around on a rudimentary bike which also helps him manage a condition he was diagnosed with nine years ago. Parkinson’s disease makes him shake a little while he speaks and yet he gets on with life and tries to see the good not the bad.
“I have Parkinson’s,” he says, “I won’t die of it, I should die with it. That’s the way I look at it.
“I try and exercise and eat well, live as close to nature as possible.”
As he does with many things in life, he jokes about his condition. “There are all sorts of job opportunities you can do with Parkinson’s. You could be a cocktail shaker, play maracas in a Cuban band… and when you fly, you don’t know if you’ve hit turbulence or your medications needs to be taken.”
The condition doesn’t define Ray English. He has Parkinson’s, and that’s that. Next question please…
Ray loves to chat. He has been visiting the RIDE office for many years and we talk often, usually about cycling, sometimes about his kids or mine, sometimes about Parkinson’s… but, inevitably, back to cycling.
It is a common thread: bike riding united us years ago and it keeps us in touch.
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Click the link above to watch the interview with Ray English.
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He likes to write and has penned a few stories for RIDE Media over the years. His long-hand is getting more difficult to read but he persists, largely because he enjoys telling stories.
Often we have spoken about recording some of our discussions but we never got around to it… until now.
During another typical visit, I asked if he’d mind going on the record. “No problem. It’s easy for me to talk about cycling…”
I pushed the button and off he went.
We cover several themes including old- and new-school cycling; the good and bad of both… as well as a couple of other topics that he enjoys talking about.
This is little more than a chat between two friends. We may be from different generations but the connection is cycling and it has kept the discussion alive for many years already and, I’m sure, we’ll keep talking about cycling for a long time yet.
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A little ditty about cycling and Belgium, by Ray English (above).
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Ask about any pro rider in the last 50 years and Ray is likely to have an opinion on them. He’s seen it all, and done a fair bit himself. A racer in his 20s, he moved to the US before settling in Australia. He served in the US military in Vietnam and lived to tell his stories.
There are many things in life that make him happy and it often comes back to cycling. He is opinionated and charismatic and doesn’t mind saying how things ought to be done. But he also has empathy… and a little history.
He admits that his memory is fading but when it comes to cycling it’s as sharp as ever.
Who is his favourite rider? “Rik van Looy.”
Why? “He was an animal.”
There’s no hesitation but he goes on to explain the strengths of the Belgian Classics specialist, and Ray talks about him – and many others – with fantastic recall of details.
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Rik van Looy (above)… “he was an animal”, according to English. The Belgian is Ray’s favourite cyclist but Charly Gaul (below) also earns special mention.
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It’s a pleasure to hear people talk passionately about any topic. When someone has a considerable knowledge of one topic, they are often even more interesting to listen to. Ray English has forgotten more about cycling than most people will ever know and there may be times when he misses a date or a name but it doesn’t happen often.
His understanding of the sport is amazing and his attention to detail impressive. He is a joy to be around and I hope you like the interview as much as I enjoy speaking with him about cycling.
– By Rob Arnold
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