Richie has something in common with my wife, they both married a Belgian, my wife went for a Flemish one, and Richie wife Nadette is a Walloon girl from Doornik (Tournai in French) in the province of Henegouwen (Hainaut) who actually borders with the West Flanders where I was born, the world can be small. Cycling has no borders and brings people together (see the brand logo of the Belgian Project where the “Walloon Cock” high-fives the “Flemish Lion”) I met Richie only a few times at major events, as I do with most photographers in this series, as we all live km apart from each other (in this case about 575 km) Chuffed that Richie agreed to partake in this series, it brings another angle and different riders to the foreground. But here his introduction to the wider public. “My name is Richie Hodges, West Cork, at the end of the world, Allihies. Born in London, my brothers and I all got into cycling. One of my brothers came 8th in the Ras a few decades ago, and I was fairly good at the cyclocross in the UK as a schoolboy. Eventually, I moved to Belgium to be with my girlfriend and now wife, where we lived for many years. Neil our second son and a rider now himself was actually born in Belgium. I think, in Kanturk cycling club, Dan Curtis calls me “Allez Allez” as I often shout out to Neil in french. Photography has been a pastime of mine for years, I am not brilliant with a telephoto lens though, so I make up for it with a bit of work in Photoshop” Love the B/W and colour mix Richie, thanks for your input into the series, it deserves a place here! (Feature photo John Coleman)
Pour vous Nadette xx
