When, in 1982, Gerald O’Donovan, then head of Raleigh’s elite Specialist Bicycle Development Unit (SBDU), discovered that Tommy Godwin was riding time trials at the ripe old age of 61, he didn’t hesitate to build the veteran Olympian a bike suitable for a champion.
“As well as being a remarkable engineer with a natural gift for marketing, Gerald was one of the most generous people I have ever known,” explains current owner, Dave Marsh, of the Universal Cycle Centre, Rotherham.