Dangerous drivers force Surrey couple to stop riding tandem after almost 80 years

A married couple from Surrey are being forced to give up riding tandem bicycles after almost eight decades because of dangerous drivers.

Lionel and Joyce Joseph, both aged 95, started riding tandems 78 years ago during World War II, reports Get Surrey.

The couple, who live in Forest Green near Dorking, said that two close passes, the behaviour of motorists including not allowing for the extra length of their bike when overtaking and HGV traffic on B roads lay behind their decision not to continue riding together.

Mr Joseph explained: "The road has been in a dreadful state for ages because the big lorries go round there.

"The trouble is, with a tandem you have to take a bigger turn [to avoid hazards such as potholes] and it is not appreciated by drivers who go around there at 40mph.

"The roads are not designed for that size of vehicle," he said of HGVs.

The couple have been married for 71 years and Mr Joseph recalled going out cycling together while they were courting during the war.

"I was serving on HMS Eskimo, a destroyer,” he said. “We had collided with another destroyer four weeks after covering the D-Day landings, and were in dock for repairs. Hence I was on leave for my 21st birthday.

"I rode my solo bike to Ewell, collected my brother's tandem, then on to the West Middlesex Hospital at Isleworth to pick up Joyce at 2pm on the dot.

"We then rode to Walliswood for a tea party, and returned to Isleworth at 10pm. I returned the tandem to Ewell and rode back to Walliswood on my solo.

"Seventy miles for Joyce in an afternoon and 140 for me on that day, and that was after months at sea, training was not necessary."