Back in the early 1920's Charlie Staples and Tom Peden were the fellows responsible for starting, what in its time, was probably the city's premier sport, bike racing. It was a young man's sport and Tom's nephew, Torchy Peden, was always pursuing them. Torchy became the top rider and went on to the 1928 Olympics. After turning pro, three young newcomers vied for the local leading roll.
Those three Victoria racers and Torchy, the team's coach, formed half of Canada's 8- man cycling team at the 1932 Olympics.
After bettering the Games qualifying times Lew Rush, Glen Robbins and Stan Jackson were issued uniforms, then made and paid their own ways to Los Angeles to be awed by the facilities, crowds and their European competition.
Lew Rush's love of cycling began when he purchased a fixed wheel racer and entered a meet in Royal Athletic Park. Yes the grandstand was once at the Central Park corner! The affair lasted eight years. He was good enough to win local major races and the 25-mile Pacific Coast Championship.
At the 1932 Olympic trials, Lew shattered the qualifying times over one kilometer from a standing start. Olympic cycling was staged at the Pasadena Rose Bowl where the Canadian pursuit team, that included Rush and Robbins, registered the 6th best time to qualify. Then they finished 4th in their heat and failed to make the finals. Upon returning home, Lew found that a six-day event was being promoted in Vancouver and he tried his legs in the big cities pro circuit from 1932 to 1936.
While the bike racers were in Los Angeles, actor Joe E. Brown, was producing a Six Day Rider movie and Lew obtained a part in the filming. But an unfortunate collision with a motorbike ended his acting and bike racing days.
Lew later returned to Victoria, renewed old friendships and memories when he owned and operated the Mortimer's Monumental Works.
He and his wife Doris married in 1940. Both were avid lacrosse fans and traveled to Los Angeles to see the 1984 Olympics.
13 year-old Glen Robbins first bike was a rusty old "bone shaker" that he raced at the Keating Fairgrounds where he finished second best to a well known racer. Bike racing was a big sporting event and at 16, Glen was the owner a new racer and the B.C. Junior Road-racing champion.
The Colonist Cup road race and Beacon Hill Park Moody, Penwill and Pendray Cup meet drew large crowds.
Competition was keen and no one rider dominated for long. Glen Robbins won the Colonist, 8-mile road race twice and was unbeatable in the mile sprint with three successive victories to gained permanent possession of the Pendray Cup.
In 1932 he raced the clock for 60 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes to qualify for the Olympic road race. He and Lew started a campaign to secure funds for their trip to LA. By the SS ALEXANDER departure time they had collected $105 of the $500 return fare costs. A loan covered the remainder.
Three Canadian bikers including Glen Robbins and Stanley Jackson took part in the 62 ½ mile road race and Glen was the third North American and first Canadian to cross the finish line but finished 18th overall.
He came home, continued to race locally and won the1933 Penwill race. Luckily a young lad from Vancouver blew a tire on the closing lap allowing Glen to coast to the finish line.
But it was the same sign as those great riders Glen had challenged as a teen --- Bike racing was a young man's sport so he switched to soccer and lacrosse.
Local soccer followers knew of the seven Robbins brothers and their dad who had coached Glen, Will and Cliff on this 1933 championship Royal Oaks junior team.
Glen, a master of the centre-back position, later played for Victoria's rep teams and was on the Victoria United roster when they entered the Coast Soccer League in 1939. He was picked as their outstanding player when United met the visiting Scottish Selects.
Through the war years he saw action with Esquimalt and the VMD squads then wound up his football career in 1947 playing with two brothers on the Legion side.
His first fulltime job was a short stint with the BC Provincial Police Department, before joining the Saanich Fire department in the early 1940's. Glen Robbins became a deputy chief in 1949 and the Fire Chief for the Municipality of Saanich in 1971.
We have not been able to trace Stanley Jackson, however the bike racing results of the early 1930's, regularly listed his name finishing in 2nd or 3rd place behind Robbins or Rush. It seems the lanky, likable, fun loving guy was named as an alternate on the bicycle racing team.
The story is that some of the B.C. Olympians traveled south in Torchy Peden's 1928 Ford touring car with their bikes and gear stacked on top. Each morning they would bike or run some distance while Stan, who was just going along for the ride, got to drive.
Upon reaching Los Angeles, they registered at the newly built Olympic Village where four shared the two-bedroom, one bathroom tidy little cottages. For $2.00 a day the male athletes got their bed, three meals and a daily bus pass. While the women athletes stayed in upscale hotels.
The Victoria boys agreed that their biggest thrill of the Games took place at the Opening Ceremonies when the Canadian contingent marched into the Los Angeles Coliseum to be greeted by 105,000 cheering spectators. And the most enjoyable was the warm California sunshine and social life between their workouts and competitions.
To his surprise, Stan gained a spot on Canada's 100 K road race team. And guess what !! Once again Stan was the third racer to cross the finish line ---- 2 minutes and 25 seconds after Glen Robbins.
Although all three of Victoria's best young cyclists came away empty handed, YMCA athletic director, Archie McKinnon, who was at the Games as a volunteer Canadian diving coach, consoled them. "For strictly amateur young athletes, a trip to another country, as representatives of Canada, is an ample reward."
After the Olympics, Stan partnered with Torchy as a pro on the six-day circuit but we have been unable to find any further information.
The boys had one final story to tell of their Olympic adventure. It seems that Torchy's car was packed to the limit for the drive home. With bikes and baggage tied to the roof and running low on money, they took turns driving non-stop. Reaching the outskirts of Seattle, with little time to spare before the night boat departed, they were a little heavy footed on the gas pedal. A motorcycle cop pulled them over and after their appeals of no funds, being Olympic athletes and just having to catch that boat to Victoria, found no sympathy the policeman demanded "Who is the car owner?" The boys replied Torchy Peden "That guy sleeping in the back." "Torchy Peden" the cop responded, "You mean the six-day racer... follow me I'll get you to the boat in time"
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