Ray Booty
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Charles Booty |
| Nickname | The Boot |
| Born | 3 September 1932 Nottingham, England |
| Died | 25 August 2012 (79) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| Ericsson Wheelers Cycling Club | |
| Major wins | |
| 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Road Race | |
Raymond 'Ray' Charles Booty (3 September 1932 – 25 August 2012), sometimes nicknamed 'The Boot', was an English road bicycle racer. In 1956 he was the first man to beat four hours for the 100 miles (160 km) individual time trial.
Booty rode for Ericsson Wheelers Cycling Club, a since-disbanded Nottinghamshire cycling club, and the Army Cycling Union. He won the national 100-mile (160 km) time trial championship every year from 1955 to 1959.
Booty broke the record in the 1956 national championship with 4h 1m 52s. The next event was the Bath Road '100' on Bank Holiday Monday 6 August 1956. The course was west of Reading, through Theale, Pangbourne, Wallingford, Shillingford, Abingdon and back down the A4 to finish near where it started. Booty rode a Raleigh bicycle with an 84-inch (2,100 mm) fixed gear to 3h 58m 28s. The second man, future professional Stan Brittain was beaten by 12 minutes.
Booty had ridden from Nottingham to the start the day before - 100 miles (160 km). For his race he was awarded a medal by Cycling and a certificate from the RTTC.
The Daily Herald reported the record, speaking of 'Booty the incomparable', and the News Chronicle said: 'Rider crashes four-hour barrier'
He was awarded the F. T. Bidlake Memorial Prize in 1956. The citation read:
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