Despite having had some fairly high BBAR placings, the first real indication (as far as I was concerned) that I'd progressed from being a 'young pretender' to someone who was actually making the grade was when I first broke the National 100 record.  This was on 31 August 1980 with a time of 3-41-41. The event was the Yorkshire Century RC '100' on the famous V177 'Boro' course which was considered to be the fastest in the country at the time (only 60 miles or so of dual carriageway though ... the rest through the lanes around Thirsk and Northallerton).  

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The man whose record I was about to beat, Phil Griffiths, started the event but did not finish.  He was, however, good enough to give me many shouts of encouragement over the last 20 miles or so and was also there to congratulate me at the finish in Cowthorpe Lane.  He looks happy for me don't you think?.  ;-)

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I was going to learn an awful lot from Phil over the next few years.  I was also going to go considerably faster.   

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Photos (right) by Bob Peel.