Friend and, former Scottish and British Champion Ben Forsyth tragically passed away in 2018, aged 20 from a sudden cardiac arrest, having been previously diagnosed with a heart irregularity that stopped his racing career a couple of years previously.
The group became closer together, as Forsyth’s former clubmate Hamilton explains:
“Obviously with Ben passing away it became more poignant to have these meet ups on an annual basis. It became a thing from there and everyone was going to get a tattoo, but I was the only one silly enough to go through with it. I now have a Lettuce on my ankle.
“Lettuce Club started off just as social group of friends, having fun, but obviously now has a kind of deeper meaning about.”
Raising awareness for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) is a major part of what Lettuce Club stands for, and is the driving force behind the group chat becoming a cycling club. The lettuce acts perfectly as a conversation starter; through its absurdity it provokes questions as Hamilton found out in his grass track career:
