West Suffolk Wheelers? president, Ken Hoxley, has just qualified to join an exclusive band of cyclists. The "300,000 mile club" was formed a few years ago for riders who have covered that number of miles on their bikes. Ken (65) a retired journalist, lived in Southgate Street, Bury, when he started the mileage count. He was given a Lucas mileometer (a kind of rev counter) for Christmas in 1951. He tried it out a couple of days later and covered 33 miles - accompanied by a King Edward V1 Grammar School school friend, Brian Cross.

That same pal was with him when he reached the target - and they planned their ride to finish back in Southgate Street, where they were pictured outside number 35a (now part of the Abbey Hotel), Ken?s old home, from where the adventure started.

"Although I started riding a bike three years before that, I never made a note of those early mileages," he said.

"My first bike was a Rival of Norwich, bought from Blake?s cycle shop in Guildhall Street. Since then I?ve had 18 different makes, including three ATB (mountain bikes)."

Most of the riding has been done in this country, but Ken has ridden 11,712 in Mallorca, 6,306 in France, 2,023 in the United Arab Emirates (where his son Andrew lives) 1,909 in the USA, 1,877 in Belgium and Holland, 604 in Gibraltar and mainland Spain, 65 in Germany and just 21 in Brazil. A keen clubman all his life, he has ridden a total of 1,127 racing events - from cyclo cross and time trials to road races - which have accounted for 32,732 miles. The rest has been training and leisure riding - including touring,

His best total in a year was 10,251 in 1957 - which included riding with West Suffolk Wheelers? clubmates to Liverpool (going to the Isle of Man) and back. Best total in a month was 1,389 (March 1986) best in a week 530 in March 1986 and best in a day - 240 miles in 1967 (racing in a 12 hour event). He has covered 100 or more miles in a day on 176 occasions. But the old Lucas counter has long since been replaced by state of the art cycle computers.

"Some enthusiasts have covered more than double that in the time it has taken me," said Ken, who now lives near Market Harborough, Leicestershire. "Mine is just a modest total, achieved through consistently clocking miles all year round."

Ken?s wife Wendy, who has held WSW time trial women?s records, has clocked 120,000 since Ken started logging her miles for her in 1966.

Footnote: 300,000 miles is enough to take you to the moon and a fair way back - or 12 times round the earth at the equator!