ONE of Linden’s most popular characters and cycling pundit, George ‘Georgie’ Binning, will be laid to rest today.

George, also called ‘Speedy,’ aged 74, passed away on Saturday 18th March, at the Georgetown Public Hospital and will be buried at the Christianburg Cemetery.
Binning was responsible for the emergence of some of Linden’s greatest cyclists, including United States-based former two-time Olympian Joelyn Joseph and Vibert Rose, Gaylen Williams and Ignatius Titus, all of whom were national cyclists.

When contacted, the United States-based Joseph said ‘Speedy’ contributed ‘big time’ to cycling in Linden.

He recalled that Binning took him with some other Linden cyclists to Trinidad by a bauxite ship to compete in a cycling meet in the early 1970s.

The man known to have formed one of the earliest, if not the first cycling club in Mackenzie, Linden called Sunjet Wheelers, was also a racing cyclist back then in the 1960s.
Joseph said “Georgie had one of the first ‘custom made’ cycles in the country, which was made by his father, because those days they never used to have racing cycles for Georgie’s size because he was under five feet tall.”

Joseph recalled those days with ‘Speedy’ riding on the Mackenzie circuit and “any two- or three-lap race covering say 800m, Georgie would win because he was a sprinter, but in longer than that they would catch him.”

He said in the latter 1970s, the Sunjet Wheelers Club was overtaken when the Bauxal Cycle Club was formed and the handful of those Sunjet Wheelers cyclists would join the new club.
Another former national cyclist, Victor Rutherford, based in Florida in the United States, also heaped praises on ‘Speedy’ as well. Rutherford offered: “Speedy was an outstanding cyclist and he represented Mackenzie/ Linden well. After he completed racing he went into the administrative role.”

But Speedy was an outstanding person and in the latter years residents only remember seeing him with his grey beard and hair, but he had, through the years, single handedly promoted cycling in Linden

Rutherford said “Speedy had contacts with prominent cyclist and administrators in Trinidad and, in fact, he was the one who introduced me to a number of them there. And it is because of him that they are my friends until now.”

Former Linden cyclist Lennox ‘Diswaz” Sampson added: “Speedy was a good planner. He was a man who used to plan a whole year’s programme and he used to make sure it comes off. He took us all over the country to ride. To Kwakwani, Ituni, Georgetown, Berbice, you name it, all over and he just used to make things happen.”

George ‘Speedy’ Binning will be laid to rest at the Christrianburg Cemetery in Wismar, following a church service from 11.00hrs at the Christ The King Anglican Church, on Republic Avenue in Mackenzie, Linden.