8th March 2026 is International Women’s Day and Coventry CTC Women’s Group are again holding a celebratory ride
Last year the theme of our ride was to celebrate the achievements and influence of George Eliot, one of Warwickshire’s most renowned women.
This year we celebrate a local woman whose renown is both more recent and very different, and also directly engages with the history of our own club.
Eileen Sheridan was born in Coventry in 1923 and took up recreational cycling in her 20’s, in the closing years of the Second World War, during which time she was a member of Coventry CTC. She began racing in 1945 and was quickly breaking records. The press lauded her racing prowess and branded her the “Mighty Atom”. She brought her racing career to an end in 1954, with nothing more in cycling to achieve, to concentrate on family life and craft work in which she also excelled. But she finished in style, taking the Land’s End to John O’Groats record (870 miles) and the 1000 mile record in one massive 73 hour ride. The 1000 mile record stood for 48 years.
Her press recognition at that time was comparable with that of today’s women bike racers and it is clear from videos which remain of her talking about her rides that, in today’s world, her personality and character could have made her a public face of women’s cycling.
Unlike her contemporary Edith Atkins, also from Coventry, and Beryl Burton, racing 10 years later, Eileen was a professional cyclist, which was, in her time, frowned upon as “not-Olympian” – but women cyclists were not welcomed in to the Olympic Games until 1984, by when she was over 60.
So, join us on our 30 mile 2026 IWD ride on 8th March 2026 to learn more about the record breaking achievements of our former member Eileen Sheridan.
The Route Highlights:
- Start: 9:00 am Coventry Transport Museum in Millenium Place (see Eileen’s racing bike).
- The Butts Arena: view her honourary Blue Plaque.
- Lias Line: visit her silhouette-sculpture erected in 2022.
- Refreshment Stop: cyclists’ friendly The Harvester pub in Long itchington (after 19 miles).
- Finish: Coventry War Memorial Park (at approximately 3 pm).
The ride will be led by Brid, Carla, Marina and Terry. The number of riders is limited to 16 because of the nature of the route and so as to not restrict the scope for discussion at stopping points along the way.
In preparing this celebration we have been greatly assisted by club members who remember Eileen and her family, by Eileen’s daughter Louise and the fantastic records maintained by the Veteran Cycling Club and provided to us by Peter Whitfield, Curator of the Eileen Sheridan Archive.
Marina, Terry, Brid and Carla have learned a lot in planning this ride and we look forward in sharing Eileen’s story with you at our stops on the ride.
You can secure your place by making an early booking at women@coventryctc.org.uk
Also we are putting to gather an Eileen Sheridan resource page which gives more details of her cycling career and provides links to external resources. You can find this at – https://coventryctc.org.uk/eileen-sheridan-history