| Ray Booty | |
| Fullname: | Raymond Charles Booty |
| Nickname: | The Boot |
| Birth Date: | 3 September 1932[1] [2] |
| Birth Place: | Nottingham, England |
| Death Date: | [3] [4] |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Amateurteam1: | Ericsson Wheelers Cycling Club |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Raymond Charles Booty (3 September 1932 – 25 August 2012),[1] sometimes nicknamed "The Boot", was an English road bicycle racer. In 1956 he was the first man to beat four hours for the 100miles 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 100miles 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 84inches 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 – 100miles. 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'[5]
He was awarded the F. T. Bidlake Memorial Prize in 1956. The citation read:[6]
Booty recalled:[7]
Also in 1956 he signed the Golden Book of Cycling.
In September Booty attempted the 100miles record under Road Records Association(RRA) rules. These allowed him to take advantage of tailwinds and gradient drop (time trials in the UK must be on out-and-back courses). He recorded 3h 28m 40s. For the event he used a Sturmey-Archer hub gear. The record stood for 34 years. It was beaten by Ian Cammish.[8]
Booty won the season-long British Best All-rounder competition three times from 1955 to 1957. The BBAR is based on averaged speeds over 50 and 100miles and for 12 hours. He was 100miles champion from 1955 to 1959 and 12-hour champion from 1954 to 1958.
He first broke the 100miles record in 1955, lowering it to 4:04:30. He broke it three times. He twice broke the 12-hour record: 265.66miles in 1956 and 266miles the following year.
Booty won the gold medal in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games road race in Cardiff.[2] He won a bronze medal in the national championship road race in the same year. He also won the Manx International road race in 1954.
Booty was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2012 and died in August of that year. He was survived by his wife, Shelagh, who he married in June the same year.[9]
The cycling wholesaler and patron Ron Kitching said of Booty:[10]