In 1988 I started buying Tri-Athlete UK magazine to follow the Le Coq Sportif Grand Prix Series. There were 10 events that year. The venues were Swindon, Barry Island, Otley, Ripon, Milton Keynes, Redbridge, Keswick, Wakefield, Leicester and Bedford. 

For the 1989 season the series was sponsored by Carlsberg. I also had club-mates at Berkshire Tri Squad who were driving up and down the country to do as many Grand Prix races as possible. Finding cheap B&Bs or camping at lake complexes and beach towns. 

They wore fluorescent clothing and had the new Scott DH aerodynamic handlebars bolted onto their Dave Russell Bikes. As far as I was concerned they were living the late-80s triathlete lifestyle that I aspired to.

In the spring of 1990 I passed my driving test and bought my first car. A Skoda Estelle. The engine was at the back which left a bike-shaped space under the bonnet.  I was planning to do a mediocre job with my A-Levels to take on the Grand Prix.