Fierce sun and a gusting easterly backdropped the Clarionites fifth annual ‘Deal Or No Deal’ run at Thermidor’s zenith. Taking in 105 Kentish miles from Rotherhithe to the Cinque Port, more than a dozen riders passed hop fields, headlands and holidaymakers on their way to what was once England’s busiest logistics hub. Departing the Surrey Docks at seven, the progressive peddlers cleared Greenwich, Woolwich and Dartford as suburbanites slumbered. Sustaining a blistering pace,

The story of Charlie Denny, the Battersea joiner and Clarion cyclist who won Olympic silver at the 1908 London Games — after a crash, a puncture and a bike swap in pouring rain.