When you have real passion for something, you can’t leave it behind. Despite winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, competing in the Olympics and overcoming life threatening injuries, Joe Waugh of M Steel Cycles in South Gosforth continues to put everything he can into the sport he loves. Joe’s story proves that what comes up doesn’t always have to come down.

“Cycling is in my blood,” Joe told us. “My father was a cyclist before the war and from a young age, since I got my first bike, I’ve just been hooked.” It wasn’t long until Joe’s passion for cycling saw him competing on a wider scale, “That came by chance in a way in that I was approached by a club after they saw my racing bikes outside the house and asked if I’d be interested in joining a club! We thought it’d be good fun and within a few months we taking part in local time trials. Then, as they say, the rest is history.” Joe has achieved many accolades both in and outside the world of cycling. Now managing the North East’s longest serving cycling shop, he continues to us his wealth of experience to provide the best service to both the casual and passionate bike rider. With his days of international competition behind him, it becomes apparent that his achievements, as well as his set backs, make him one of the most skilled in his line of work. Joe’s rise didn’t come quickly and after years of competing locally, his hard work paid off and he was asked to compete in a big international event. Joe proved his worth in this event which led him to bigger and better things. His snowballing success saw him competing as part of the 1976 Olympic team; an honour which he never thought possible. “From being an arm chair sports fanatic to sitting with some of the greats in the sporting world was surreal. “We rode in the Olympic Games in both Montreal and Moscow and came extremely close to winning a medal. We won a Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1982 which was such an amazing achievement. I’d have been over the moon with any medal, but the way we came from behind to win in the last few seconds was a bit like a film!