Who is Winnie
 

Proudest moment since you opened SE20 Cycles?

The proudest moment was the day I actually opened SE20 Cycles.

The banks had closed on me the day before I opened the business. I went through a charity called Leonard Cheshire who were working with Barclays Bank at the time to help people with disabilities get into business. I’d been liaising with them for a year beforehand and they’d helped me.

The next step for me was to find a shop; did that. Pay the rent, did that. Order the stock, did that. And then the day before opening they said that they couldn’t help me any further. The year before, I had met all of their requirements for a loan, and then the day before I opened the shop I didn’t meet their requirements for the loan?

This all happened when we had the credit crunch come along in 2008 and no one saw it coming. I was due to open in the September, and the credit crunch started at end of August that year. The banks turned around and said that they couldn’t help me. So, I had £20,000 of stocking coming in that was cancelled and £8000 of tools coming in which were also cancelled; I had no stock, I had no tools, but with the support of a loving family and friends, I still opened.

So it makes me so proud to see what it is now.

I could probably top that with having lunch with the queen (as you do). I was put forward for an award by some local councillors in recognition for some charity work I had carried out through the shop to help young people in the community.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you do differently?

I wouldn’t have gone to university to study a degree in Spanish (laughs) and would have become a cyclist straight away. As a kid, Herne Hill was my nearest venue, but cycling was for rich kids and I wasn’t a rich kid. I didn’t own my first bike until I was 12, and my mother finished paying for it after 3 years and by the time I got it. It was too small for me and I couldn’t return it. But I rode it proudly so my mum wouldn’t feel bad. The next bike I owned wasn’t until I was 19, so it took me a while before I could afford to get into cycling. All the people locally had bikes, that I would take apart and fix for them but I never owned a bike for such a long time, hence the delay in my career!

Taken from an Interview with Winston, SE20 Cycles by David Ward

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