Andy Moscardini was an active member of the club well into his 80s - He was also a vegetarian at a time when this was practically unheard of and he remained so throughout his life .

Couriers at the foot the Serpentine Hill  - Rothesay 1958

On the left are Duncan Carmichael and Bobby Sweeney. Bobby moved to Australia in the 1960s and turned professional, winning the Western Australia Professional Road Race Championship. On his return to the UK in the 1970s he fell foul of the rules governing pros returning to the amateur ranks and was refused a racing license. He never raced again. Also in the club at this time was Jim Taylor, currently the longest serving member and the oldest Courier at 117 years of age.

The club continued to flourish through the 1950s  and 60s- current members who joined during this period include Club Chairman Ian Sharp, Bert Hendry, Jim Gunn and Jimmy Barrett.

The early 70s saw a quiet period for the club, although a few members remained active the membership declined and affiliation to the SCU lapsed.

Jimmy Barrett - 1952

The club was 'refounded' in 1977 when SCU membership was renewed and many of the members began racing again. Regular club runs set off at 10am on alternate Sundays from Anniesland Cross and Renfrew Cross. These were usually followed by a 'drum up' and this tradition carried on before regretably dying out in the mid 1980s. Club meetings were held in Central Cafe (Hughies) in Cromwell Street, just off Great Western Road. Sadly, Hughie McCubbin is no longer with us and the cafe, along with the entire tenement block, is now demolished.

Members active during this this period included a 13 year old Geoff Smith -  Jim Taylor, Ian Sharp, Bert Hendry, Duncan Carmichael, Finlay Johnston, Harry Millar, Albert Hendry, David McGonigal, Willie Reid, Derek Robertson, Tony Mooney and John McFadden.

Geoff Smith in the old club colours of orange purple and green.

- doing a 24 minute 10 on Westferry in 1979

- some things never change.

In 1979, the club was the first in Scotland to introduce a 'Gentlemans' event .

Based on a format which is popular on the continent, teams consisted of a veteren (over 40) being paced round the course by a 'pacer'.

The first '"Tour des Gentlemen" was held in autumn 1979 over the Milngavie - Lennoxtown -Strathblane circuit and was won by a Glasgow Wheelers team consisting  of  Alfie Fairweather, paced by the Tour de France legend and 'Polka Dot Jersey' winner Robert Millar in his last season as an amateur.  - Their record time stood throughout the history of the event and is now unlikely to be beaten as the course, like so many others in WOSCA district, has been rendered unusable due to traffic lights.

Duncan Carmichael and Geoff Smith- "Tour des Gentlemen" 1980

Look at the price of petrol - 34p a gallon!

The early 80s was a good time for the club , especially in the BAR distance events-   50 mile , 100 mile and 12 hour - which were still being held in Glasgow district at that time - the club even managed to beat the legendary Regent CC to claim the West Centre team prize on several occasions!  The term ' Best in the West' is still occasionally heard - muttered over an empty glass or two of Belhaven.

In 1991 the club entered the world of sponsorship for the first time and sadly abandoned the traditional club colours in favour of a 'new look' design of Red, White and Green . The sponsor was 'Precision Pallets' based in Hillington.

Precision Pallets Club Presentation - 1991

l - r   Geoff Smith, Stuart, Joe Queen, Nixon Smith, Finlay Johnston, Grant McFarlane, Mr Precision Pallets, Alex Lindsay, Brad, Finlay Johnston (jnr), Duncan Carmichael, Raymond Malloy , Jim Taylor, Andy Moscardini, Bert Hendry, - , Jimmy Barrett.

In 1994 The club was jointly sponsored by Duncan's company CSC - Centrifuge Services and Tetra Pak.

Centrifuge Services - Tetra Pak team presentation- including John Hunter, John McFadden, Alex Lindsay, Don Bennett and one time member - Dooleys RT's Andy Torrance.

Any suggestion that we stole our kit design from 80s superteam 7-Eleven is completely unfounded.

A more likely source of inspiration for the design.

Don Bennett - Bennett Developments stepped in as club sponsor in 2001 and remained our main sponsor throughout the 'naughties'

With Don's help the club grew in strength each year and we owe Don a debt of thanks for all his support over the years.

As for the future- with a strong and enthusiastic road team going into next season and 

the  support of multiple scottish champions and record holders to draw upon , the Couriers can look forward to a lot more success in the years to come!