Eileen Sheridan was born in Coventry in 1923 and was one of the first female professional cyclists in the world. She was a natural athlete, the best at all sports at school, so when she tried cycling, she quickly became the best at that.
She set British records for 30 miles in 1948, 50 miles and 12 hours in 1949, and 100 miles in 1950. She was British champion at 50 and 100 miles in 1959 too, but it was at longer distances where she really excelled.
Her 12-hour record was set on a day when only 4 men rode further in the same event. The winner, Des Robinson, brother of pioneer pro Brian and who rode for the Great Britain team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, only beat Sheridan’s distance by six miles. Sheridan was also British Best All-Rounder in 1949 and 1950.
Her victories and records, and how close she came to beating the best male riders, attracted the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company. Hercules offered her a lucrative professional contract to attack place-to-place road records riding a Hercules bike.
And the longer the record the more Sheridan beat the previous figures. Five of her records have yet to be beaten, and her 1000-mile record of 3 days and 1 hour took 48 years to better. When it was, it was by another formidable long-distance cyclist, Lynne Taylor.
Sheridan’s 1954 Land’s End to John O’Groats time, set in nowhere near perfect conditions, beat the previous record by 11 hours. Then after taking a two-hour break, Sheridan carried on to her phenomenal 1000-miles record.
In 1952 she featured in a documentary film called Spinning Wheels: Cycle Sport 1950s Style. She also featured in national advertisements. She became the first female cyclist to really capture the imagination and the hearts of the British public.
