'Cycling's been a life-saver': The record-breaking 87-year-old who still rides 150 miles a week

Downing his gardening tools, pensioner Martin Harvey got on his bike and set about writing his name into the long-distance record books

Close-up of Martin Harvey's head and shoulders. He is wet and wearing a fluoro rain jacket
(Image credit: Richard Butcher)

This article was originally published in Cycling Weekly's print edition as part of the long-running MY FITNESS CHALLENGE series.

"We married in ‘62, but I’d taken a break from riding – my wife didn’t know me as a cyclist.” Martin Harvey is telling me about his late wife Jackie, who died in 2010, two years short of their golden wedding anniversary. It was a good job he had stopped riding, I joke, else it might have put her off. Harvey lets out a big laugh. “You’re right, it doesn’t mix with family life. I was busy with other things, keeping fit by digging the garden.” 

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David Bradford
Senior editor

David Bradford is senior editor of Cycling Weekly's print edition, and has been writing and editing professionally for 20 years. His work has appeared in national newspapers and magazines including the Independent, the Guardian, the Times, the Irish Times, Vice.com and Runner’s World. Alongside his love of cycling, David is a long-distance runner with a marathon personal best of 2hr 28min. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2006, he also writes personal essays exploring sight loss, place, nature and social history. His essay 'Undertow' was published in the anthology Going to Ground (Little Toller, 2024).