Mr Phoebus

Sir Edward Elgar started cycling in 1900 when living near Malvern, and his first bicycle were Royal Sunbeams. He purchased two of the machines with 28inch frames and three brakes and nicknamed them both Mr Phoebus. He was proudly pictured with it in an article appearing in The Sketch in 1903.

Elgar's most creative period, the first decade of the 20th century, were his cycling years. He would often cycle 50 miles in a day, and found inspiriation for his music when riding in the countryside of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and occasionally Shropshire. One of his cycling companions remembered: “As we rode, he would often become silent and I knew that some new melody or, more probably, some new piece of orchestral texture, had occurred to him”. In his birthplace museum there are maps of the area on display on which Elgar traced the routes of his rides.

Worcestershire County Council has installed cycle stands and a plaque celebrating Edward Elgar's status as a keen cyclist behind the Elgar Statue in the High Street, Worcester.

Five stands and a plaque have been installed at a cost of £2,000 following requests from the South Worcestershire Cycle Group.

The Malvern Hills Brewery have named one of their ales after Elgar's bikes.

Sculpting Elgar, Jemma Pearson talks about her creation of her cycling statue of Elgar - BBC Video Nation.