We remember the passing of Michael Woolf, a year ago today. He was a leading light with Moulton enthusiasts and many of us will remember the help he gave us in keeping our Moultons on the road.
He learnt to cycle on a Moulton Deluxe in the mid 60s and managed to acquire a rather second-hand one with wobbly steering bearings in the mid 70s. His quest for replacement bearings led him to Alex Moulton and new bearings were forthcoming.
His invitation to The Hall to show his ‘preserved’ F-frame led to his creation of Moulton Preservation, when he was told that there was no (then) existing preservation group.
A chance meeting with Mark Ottaway, Sunday Times Travel Writer and a Moulton rider himself, led to an article in that paper in 1980.
Many letters poured in from Moulton owners who wanted help for their much-loved machines off-the-road for want of unavailable Moulton-unique parts. Michael sent a list of “problem spares” to The Hall and remaining stocks were made available to him.
One of those letters came from Tony Hadland. This led to Tony’s writing of ‘The Moulton Bicycle’, a book about the original F-Frame design launched in November 1962 at the Cycle Show at Earls Court in London.
Alex Moulton requested Michael to re-shape the ailing Moulton Bicycle Club and with Tony Hadland as magazine editor, the Club began its resurgence.
Michael was the guiding heartbeat of the Moulton Bicycle Club for many years. We miss his enthusiasm and dedication to the world of Moultoneering.