JUNE SMITH was just 16 when she left the extraordinary note for her grandparents.

"I miss my bike, I've gone home to get it," the message read.

It was the third day of a holiday in Norfolk with her grandma and grandfather, but the pain of being separated from her beloved new bicycle in London was too much to bear.

"I spent all my savings — £33 out of the Post Office — on this super new bike, which I had to leave at home, and I missed it," said June.

"So I got the train from Yarmouth to London, and the bus back to where I lived in Kilburn, and I rode the 110 miles back the next day, on a bottle of Ribena and two KitKats."

That was 57 years ago, but June's love for cycling remains undiminished.

Now 73, she cannot wait for August 13 when, as a national competition prize winner, she will ride on an indoor velodrome track for the first time, at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.

"I have only ever attended as part of the audience or as a helper," she said.

"It's got 45-degree banking and I would like to ride to see if I can go up that banking like Sir Chris Hoy."

Hoy won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but, if it was not for people like June Smith, British cycling would not be the best in the world.

During a near lifetime of involvement in the sport, June has been in the back-up team of many a top British international, including former world champions David Millar, Roger Hammond and Rob Hayles.

Now, underlining her dedication, she is a founder member of new North Devon cycling club, Taw Velo.

It is Tuesday evening and she is on hand at the North Devon Karting Centre for the final round of the Barnstaple Circuit Series.

"I'm always interested in the younger riders, bringing them through and seeing them improve," she said.

The karts are at rest in the pits and the 650m undulating track is clear for cyclists up to the age of 16 to line up in a form of competition which is a hybrid of road and track racing.

"It's a short circuit but this kart track is quite technical for cornering and control, so it teaches the youngsters something while they are riding the circuit," said June.

They can learn, too, from a personal treasure she has brought along to show them, a framed yellow jersey from the 2000 Tour de France.

It was the one worn by Millar when he won the prologue and he has written on it: 'For Aunty June — as promised when I was a junior'.

Although Millar was subsequently suspended for taking drugs, the 2003 world time trial champion rebuilt his career and is again one of Britain's top riders, as are Hammond, the 1992 world junior cyclo-cross champion, and Hayles, the 2005 world team pursuit and Madison champion.

June worked as a masseur for the Southern Centre of Excellence in the 1990s when Hammond, Millar and Hayles were rising stars and later for Team Energy.

Now, if Taw Velo achieve their ultimate ambition, she is beginning the process again.

The club was formed last November and another founding member, chairman David Luggar, said: "The long-term strategy is to work towards hopefully getting someone from the club in the Olympics."

An achievable goal, according to one who should know.

"With David and our club secretary, Jo Shackleton, their links with British Cycling and the knowledge they have to pass on as coaches, there is an excellent chance of it happening," said June.

Already the best young riders are faster than some of the karts.

When Jack Hogg won the under-14 time trial on Tuesday his lap time was 50.64secs. The record for a Formula K kart on the North Devon circuit is 51.755.

Admittedly the Formula K karts are the slowest of the three resident groups of machines, but how much longer before the Bullit Pro karts record (41.550) and the Rimo 200cc Pro karts mark (35.944) are within range?

Hogg won three under-14 races, taking the scratch over 10 laps and the Scratchipad. He might have had a sweep of victories had he not crashed in the Devil Take The Hindmost.

Instead James Binmore took the victory while his brother, Matthew, dominated the under-12s, taking the scratch race, the Devil Take The Hindmost and the time trial. Dominic Cork won the Scratchipad.

In the under-16s, Alex Challis and Ollie Sharp recorded two wins apiece, the former winning the Devil Take The Hindmost and the time trial, and the latter the scratch race and the Scratchipad. Each received prizes from sponsor the Bike Shed.

Taw Velo provide a rare opportunity for young riders in a safe environment, away from the roads.

The karting centre is their solution to the problem that none of England's 17 indoor and outdoor velodromes are situated in the South West. And they also make trips to the National Velodrome for Wales in Newport.

The club certainly are not letting the small matter of distance get in their way. Like June Smith on her holiday 57 years ago.