About

Where it all started

So let’s start with the basics. I was born on 22nd June 1951 in the maternity ward of Bairstow Street Hospital in the Lancashire town of Preston, son of Kenneth and Dorothy Cookson, joining my sister Anita, who had been born five years earlier. 

I was brought up on two council estates around that town, first of all on the north side in the suburb of Ribbleton then, when I was aged 7, we moved to the other side of town, Penwortham. My earliest memories are of riding my bike. Or to be more precise, my trike. It wasn’t new, it was second-hand, and it had been repainted in a rather dull maroon colour, which I now realise was the same colour as the local municipal buses of the time. Here’s a photo my dad took of me and my sister Anita.

By the time I was a teenager, I was roaming the countryside on a proper bike, and finally, in 1965, aged 14 and inspired by Tom Simpson winning the World Pro Road Championship, joined the local branch of the CTC, and the year after began racing with the Preston Wheelers.

I’ll continue this story over the next few months, as I write more of my life story with a view to publishing my autobiography - and when I find an interested publisher, you’ll find out about it here. Watch this space!

Cycling Career

Club level cyclist at road, track, cyclo-cross and mountain biking. Lakeland and Lancashire Road Champion in 1971.

Still cycle regularly on the road and track, competing at Masters level. British Cycling National Masters Champion - Circuit Race I category, 2022.