Scooping a top business award has given Lynne Biddulph the same satisfaction as breaking a world record for a long-distance bike ride.
The high-achieving amateur cyclist became the quickest female in the world to cover 1,000 miles solo in 2002, and she still holds the title.
Now she is a key player at Bridgtown Cycles in Cannock which has gained the accolade of Premium Bike Shop of the Year in the Midlands Enterprise Awards.
Lynne is front of house as Assistant Manager at the family firm with her brother Mike Taylor, the bike fitter, as Director.
Bridgtown Cycles is known throughout the UK for its Bike Fits, with customers travelling from afar afield as Scotland and Doncaster for advice on how to turn their bikes into competition winners.
“I am so happy that the Midlands Enterprise Award recognises our work as a family business and the way we encourage people to cycle, giving them the benefit of our own personal experience,” said Lynne, pictured above.
“For me winning the award is definitely on a par with getting the world record for my cycling.”
Lynne covered 1,000 miles by riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats and then further around North Scotland, carrying on through two nights with only short cat-naps. Her time was a never-been-bettered 2 days 16 hours 38 minutes.
She is also a former multinational 12 and 24 hour champion and was part of a women’s pursuit team which was crowned World Champions in 2019.
Along with her husband (also a top cyclist and the firm’s manager) and brother Mike, Lynne still competes on the amateur circuit as a member of the invitational Born to Bike team.
She claims the bike shop is so successful because the team has inherited the passion for the business shown by her father, who set up the shop in 1981.