98. Alan & Nigel Verity, motorcycle dealers. Photo: Stuart Littlewood/Ricoh XR7/Ilford XP2 Super
Alan and son Nigel run the family motorcycle business A&D Verity Ltd in East Street, St Ives, with the assistance of their long-suffering wives. Alan came to St Ives 40 years ago as manager of Hallens, St Ives branch. He started his own business in 1973 and Nigel joined him the following year as soon as he left school. Father and son have both thrived on competition work. Alan was a grass-track racer in his younger days and in the 1970s became Chief Scrutineer for the Isle of Man TT events and the British Motorcycle Grand Prix held at Silverstone. He retired from the race scene in 1993 and, now a member of the Vintage Motorcycle Club, enjoys outings on his 1924 Rudge Whitworth 350 single-cylinder 4-valve. "Multi-valve engines are nothing new," he reminds people. Nigel opted for road racing and competed from 1981 to 1992. He rode in the TT 3 times and the Manx Grand Prix 4 times, mostly on Kawasaki and Yamaha machines, and also campaigned with superbikes. He retired from racing when he became a family man. A&D Verity work closely with Cam Rider Training to help learners and those returning to biking to ride safely
All Photographs © St Ives Photographic Club 2001. Presentation, design & code © S.Horton