SAY HELLO, WAVE GOODBYE

Twenty twenty-two was the year Vladimir Putin let loose his war machine on Ukraine. A year the rest of us, in response, turned off our central heating.

But plenty of other stuff happened in the second half, too. There were some welcome additions to our national life and, of course, one very difficult farewell. Events, with apologies to Harold Macmillan, dear oh dear…

JULY

Spring gave way to summer and, boy, did it become a sizzler. The 19th of the month was the hottest day on record with Coningsby, in England, seeing the mercury rise to a blistering 40.3 C. Fortunately, Pearson’s new spring-summer range had already been deployed to keep riders cool(ish). Our most sustainable range yet, it was a welcome touch of green as Britain plunged into the red. At our Richmond store, Olympic marathon runner Steph Davis dropped by to collect her Minegoestoeleven.

The MKIII edition, launched the previous month, is a bike Cyclist magazine described as ‘sublime’. Given Steph completed her very first marathon in 2018 and only her first Olympic marathon in 2022, don’t be surprised if she pops up in the women’s pro peloton sometime soon.

On the subject of sporting versatility, this was also the month Britain’s Cameron Norrie made it to the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. Cam didn’t quite have the gas to get past Croatia’s leading anti-vaxxer but, over the course of the championships, he at least had the wheels to get himself to and from the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Specifically, his trusty Pearson single-speed, Now You See Me, which he kindly paraded across the pages of, among others, the Daily Mail.

AUGUST

Our new colours of Hammerandtongs bike arrived, once more to rave reviews. Also available in black, our best selling road bike to date, continues into 2023 with a new additional option of 105 Di2 electronic gearing.

It also saw the start of the Silk Road Mountain Race. Ultra event rider, Tim Wortmann, loaded up his Pearson Off Grid carbon gravel bike to take on the 1900km course, with 34,800m of climbing across Kyrgyzstan's high mountains (4,185m being the event pinnacle), and impressively finished 66th just two weeks later.

Stateside, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, decided to go on holiday. The fact she chose the island of Taiwan, a destination long coveted by senior members of the Chinese Communist Party, brought us to the brink or world war; it was the closest we’d come in, goodness, months. In yet another blow for freedom of expression, the novelist Salman Rushdie was attacked at a literary event in New York state. 

SEPTEMBER

This month saw the launch of our new autumn-winter range, our most environmentally friendly products since, well, our spring-summer collection. 

Liz Truss was appointed prime minister, not so much rave as raving. A politician so unable to read a room that Dominic Cummings dubbed her ‘the human hand grenade’. As PM she proved even worse, putting Boris Johnson’s statesmanship on a par with that of Nelson Mandela.

As the Truss express departed the station (downhill, no brakes), her philosophy was immediately put into practice – move fast and break everything. Job done, seven weeks later so was she. While one Liz will be remembered for almost nothing, we bade another farewell, grateful for everything. The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on 8th September, prompted an outpouring of national grief, with condolences sent from around the world following seven decades of service. And Britain had a king once more (the last being Colin the Firth).

OCTOBER

The passing of Her Majesty led, rightly, to the suspension of sporting fixtures up and down the land. Among them, the autumn edition of our Inside Out gravel series, which was rerouted from September to the weekend of 8th/9th October. The event was more notable still for the participation of Stephen Roche. The combative Irish rider famously won the Tour de France in 1987, the same year he bagged the Giro d’Italia and the World Road Championships to win the elusive Triple Crown.

This, however, was his first gravel race; we’ll say that again, his very first gravel race. And, it transpired, held on the same weekend his two sons, Nicholas and Alexis, took part in the inaugural UCI World Gravel Championships, in Veneto, finishing 47th and 51st respectively. Roche senior, for his part, posted an (undisclosed) top-half finish.

NOVEMBER

In our Richmond store, a small group of lucky Pearson customers was granted an audience with another legendary rider, Belgium’s Tom Boonen, in conjunction with Classified.

Other in-store highlights included our Racing Vines evening, at which wine expert Tom Gilbey hosted a panel of pro riders and customers to fine vintages from parts of Europe which also, occasionally, host the pro peloton.

Elsewhere, it was a bad month for Narcissists Anonymous, thanks to the appearance of a certain Matthew Hancock, in a jungle somewhere Down Under, if not quite under enough. What can we say, he fell in love.

The football World Cup also got underway in Qatar amid much controversy, the brouhaha in Doha proving, perhaps, a bridge too far for Fifa (Forfar, five). It was also the month of Black Friday (the 25th), a great success in-store, where we like to break with tradition by persuading customers not to trade blows over the last 50in plasma television. 

DECEMBER

In another triumph of pointless hype, Harry and Meghan debuted on Netflix, the Sussexes giving up far too much of their own time to dispense gossip of little interest to anybody but themselves. And possibly Nicholas Witchell. In news that people actually cared about, England were knocked out of the World Cup following their quarter-final against France; Kyle kept Kylian calm but Harry hoisted it high. Ah well, defense de fumer, as Derek Trotter might have put it.

It was also the month of no-shows, as rail workers were joined by posties and nurses – three strikes and, apparently, everyone’s out. There was also a snow-show, thanks to the British weather, which doubtless had Vlad the Impervious rubbing his hands with glee. Clearly, he hadn’t reckoned with Pearson customers who, thanks to products more sustainable than European energy supplies, continued their park laps and club runs.

Argentina squeezed past France in the greatest ever World Cup final, and Lionel Messi turned into a goat.

2023…

As the new year approaches, Pearson will once again be on hand to sprinkle a few rays of sunshine. Including the launch of our new Pearson Steeplechase, sure to be one of the cycling highlights of 2023.

By challenging riders to navigate their way from spire to spire across the Surrey countryside, it will likely be the closest some riders get to church these days, given 2022 was the year we renounced our collective Christianity. (What, you’re a Jedi too? No way.) The coming year will also bring the arrival of Pearson’s new fleet of e-bikes, a range of road and gravel machines that combine state-of-the-art technology with Pearson’s extensive bike-fitting data and knowledge.

With all that yummy stuff to come, we hope you enjoy the festive period and manage as much rest (and riding) as you can; look out, too, for an exclusive new playlist to fuel your seasonal cycling, courtesy of our good friend and 6 Music DJ, Nemone. We wish you a healthy 2023.

 

If you missed our round up of the first 6 months read 2022: The Story So Far.