Ed Hood’s life was a celebration of biking, camaraderie, and journey. A mentor, teammate, and buddy, Ed’s ardour for the game was matched solely by his generosity and love for all times. From supporting budding cyclists with cutting-edge gear and heartfelt recommendation to chasing race routes throughout Europe with unyielding willpower, Ed’s affect was profound and far-reaching. His tales, brimming with humor and grit, paint an image of a person who lived for the moments that outlined the spirit of biking. As we keep in mind Ed, we honor a life that impressed readers to experience, dream, and embrace the street forward.
Martin Williamson – Veloveritas Editor: Ed was an enormous a part of my life for 45 years, I learnt a lot from him and owe him a lot; after I was racing within the ‘Junior’ class (u18), Ed was a ‘Senior’, 10 years older than me and was a prodigious time trialist, I seemed as much as him, requested him questions and sought his recommendation.
After I was at college I used to be lastly invited to hitch Ed’s crew, named GS Modena (as a result of that’s the place Ferraris had been made) and sponsored by Ed’s window and conservatory firm, Mozolowski and Murray (M&M, purveyors of top of the range hardwood equipment). It was an awesome setup for the time, all of the clothes and supplies you wanted, assist with bills, the lot.
Ed loaned me his model new carbon tri-spokes, let me use his new Polar pulse monitor all 12 months earlier than he had even tried it, coached me, helped me devise coaching programmes (normally sitting guzzling pasta in Gennaro’s restaurant in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket), took me to races and supported me in each means he might. He helped me to grasp deal with issues once they didn’t go my means and keep within the second and stay modest on the odd event they did.
Ed Hood with Italian star of the ’60’s and ’70’s, Felice Gimondi on the Tour de France. Photograph©Martin Williamson
He confirmed me how and when to prioritise my research and my racing and he even invented a job for me at M&M throughout my summer time vacation breaks, making use of my earlier work as a draughtsman; I sat with my drafting board in his workplace and used the polaroid photographs the salesmen took when visiting potential purchasers to create ‘artists impressions’ of their home and the conservatory we had been hoping to promote them. It really proved to be a fairly efficient gross sales support but it surely’s protected to say the extra necessary side of my job was to accompany Ed out on the bikes at lunchtimes, on often-very-hard coaching classes round Loch Leven.
We regularly scampered over to mainland Europe to look at races. I keep in mind we drove in a single go from Edinburgh to Luxembourg to see the primary few phases of the 1989 Tour, the one the place Pedro Delgado missed his begin within the Prologue and the place Greg LeMond took the win within the closing TT in Paris.
One other journey which illustrates Ed’s love of biking and never-say-die method was in 1994 when Ed and I travelled to Barcelona to look at the tip of season basic, the Escalada a Montjuïc, a one-day two stage race within the metropolis’s large park. Since we each had a love of structure we bought their a number of days forward of the race in order that we might spend a while visiting Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família and Park Güell, in addition to mooching round among the well-known spots from the Spanish Civil Warfare, one other historic time we had been eager college students of.
The day earlier than the race we returned to our family-run pensión on the Ramblas and had been chatting to the proprietor, who requested us why we had been visiting town. We defined we had been wanting ahead to the Escalada when he exclaimed “Ah sure! Rominger wins!” Ed defined that, er no, really, Maurizio Fondriest gained final 12 months, when the chap produced a replica of the sports activities paper Marca from just a few days earlier and exhibits us the again web page. There on the again web page in wonderful technicolour was Tony Rominger in arms-aloft victory salute … the race had been moved ahead one week in order to not conflict with Delgado’s farewell retirement criterium.
We determined there after which our subsequent plan of action; as Ed stated, ”we got here to look at a motorbike race in order that’s what we’re going to do”. We bought again out to Barcelona airport, employed a automotive and drove for eight hours via the night time to Madrid, arriving within the wee hours at one in every of Ed’s favorite Champagne bars for some, eh… tapas? After a bleary-eyed breakfast we drove a few hours up the street through Navacerrada, to Segovia, Delgado’s residence city, the place later that afternoon he would win his 45 minute celebratory retirement criterium, forward of Miguel Indurain and plenty of different high riders. We had not sufficient time to get again to Barcelona for our flight residence however one way or the other we made it. Every week off work, two flights and 20-odd hours of driving, to look at a brief circuit race – and we wouldn’t have modified a factor.
In Might 2015, I used to be driving our press rent automotive on race route of Stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia, a few hours forward of the race, with Ed within the passenger seat tapping away on his BlackBerry as per traditional, heading for the ‘sterrato’ gravel climb of the Colle Delle Finestre, which might be the principle function of the stage.
We had been wanting ahead to attending to the highest and taking over our photograph positions once we arrived on the backside of the climb solely to search out that it was closed to ALL visitors besides police, organisation and crew automobiles. There was no means we had been being allowed to drive up the climb.
Tour de France King of the Mountains for the primary week in 2012, Michael Mørkøv introduced his chief’s jersey to Ed Hood as a mark of respect. Ed was actually touched by this gesture. Photograph©Martin Williamson
Very quickly a brand new plan was devised; we’d drive to the end at Sestriere, discover and cross the end line in opposition to race course, drive on race route within the unsuitable course and make our means up the descent from the highest of the Colle Delle Finestre. There’s completely no means we might have performed that in France – the roads are locked down early and NOTHING besides the police goes in opposition to race course – however we thought, with this being Italia… and Bingo! We parked the VW 20 metres from the highest and handled ourselves to a celebratory espresso with grappa.
I needed to u-turn the automotive on the high in order that we had been pointing in the best course as soon as the race had handed, on the gravel single observe street with a horrific vertical drop-off ought to I get it unsuitable, with tons of of spectators sitting on the hillside cheering me on, however Ed was as calm as might be as he inspired me to nudge forwards and backwards “simply two extra inches”.
There are such a lot of tales like these, however I’ll end with a really blissful one. Ed and I had pushed on race route on numerous phases on the Tour de France and we beloved each minute of it. We used to cease at Kilometre Zero, an hour or two forward of the race, and simply sit quietly for a minute or two, soaking it up, appreciating how lucky we had been to have the ability to do that.
We beloved driving via the crowds, so excited to see something shifting on the street, listening to all their shouts and the completely different blaring music, and smelling all of the barbecues. We regularly mentioned ‘being followers’ for as soon as, simply having fun with the occasion, the publicity caravan freebies, and the spectacle of the race flashing by, fairly than placing ourselves underneath strain on a regular basis to get the photographs, seize the temper, work out the ways, and so forth the morning of Stage 20 of the 2013 Tour we determined as we speak was going to be the day. We popped right into a backyard centre and purchased an affordable BBQ, then right into a grocery store to load up on the meat goodies, and occasions it completely for the caravan passing because the sausages had been prepared, and we had a good time sharing our cooking with fellow spectators. Ed beloved it, ambition achieved!
Ed’s funeral will happen on Thursday sixth February 2025, 14:15PM, at Kirkcaldy Crematorium, Rosemount Avenue, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6HQ, Scotland, adopted by tea, espresso and a buffet on the close by Dean Park Resort.
PEZ Sez – Thanks for studying, and keep tuned as the remainder of us will honor Ed in with our personal reminiscences shortly.
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