WNS Reg Howell still cycling

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Reg had just left school when his mother gave him the gleaming black 1939 Triumph push bike. But 76 years on, the retired steelworker still pedals around his village on his beloved present and has no intention of hanging up his cycle clips. He said: “My mother bought it for me from the local bicycle shop when I left school at 14. It cost £9 and she paid it off in 9 pence instalments. “It was quite a struggle because I had three brothers and seven sisters.”

WNS Advert for a similar Triumph pre-war bicycle

I’m going to keep going until I can’t. As for the bike, I try not to bump it about Reg Howell

Reg enjoys regular spins around the village of Pontarddulais, near Swansea, and has lovingly maintained the bike which was built before the Second World War. The pensioner, who was conscripted as a coal miner during the war, said: “You have to be careful. “If I see a lot of traffic I jump off and push. I’m going to keep going until I can’t. As for the bike, I try not to bump it about.” Age Concern volunteer Jane Harris, who lives in the village, said: “He is a real character here.”