It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of a great friend and co-founder of Oxford Cycling Club, Johnny Morrison.
Johnny was loved and respected by everyone, and remained an integral member of our club, even after he returned to his beloved Wollongong, New South Wales, in 2022. He was carving out a new life in Australia, alongside his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Izzie, but whilst cycling with friends last Saturday, in a rural area he loved to pedal through, Johnny sustained a serious injury after falling on a descent. He passed away on Wednesday 12th November.
We have lost a wonderful club mate, but our thoughts and prayers go out to Sarah and Izzie. They have lost the most adoring and devoted husband and father. We cannot even imagine their sense of loss and we are heartbroken for them, and for Johnny’s mother and father, his two sisters and close family.
Just a few short weeks ago, Johnny was back in the UK, riding with OCC once again. He so enjoyed being back in Oxford – linking up with old friends and meeting the new members who had joined our club since his return to Australia. How lucky we were to have his company again, to ride with him and laugh with him once more. It was like he had never left, and he was so delighted to find the club in such rude health.
Johnny’s warmth of character was unrivalled. He reached out to all and treated everyone like an old friend. He possessed that rare knack for making everyone lucky enough to enter his orbit feel both included and valued. A stalwart of (the now defunct) Zappi’s Cycling Club from 2012 to 2016, Johnny was a pivotal figure during the genesis of Oxford Cycling Club in 2016. The core values we sought to establish were those that Johnny believed in so strongly: friendship and respect, keeping it tight and disciplined in the bunch, supporting fellow members and nurturing new riders. His golden rule, however, and the one he always espoused, was to never, ever, take oneself too seriously!
Both on and off the bike, he was a true gem of a man: generous, curious and erudite. He saw the good in everyone. His conversation was peppered with insight and humour, the latter always self-effacing. Just like the serpentine routes he was famous for planning, a chat with Johnny could take one down unexpected paths, but one would invariably arrive at the right destination. At least, on most occasions! Lastly, and rather annoyingly, he was devilishly handsome, too. He had it all, in spades.
We are all aware of the inherent dangers of cycling, but we pedal on regardless, silently praying that tragedy will never visit one of our own. On this occasion, it most certainly has, and it’s taken the very best of us.
We will be organising a memorial ride for Johnny in due course, but our club ride this Saturday went ahead yesterday. We knew Johnny would be absolutely furious with us if we didn’t roll out from Ship Street at 9am!
Our club members, and indeed all who knew him, especially his cycling friends from back in the day with Zappi’s CC and, more recently, his new buddies in Wollongong, will miss Johnny dearly. RIP, mate, it’s been the most wonderful ride and you will always, always be in the OCC bunch.
Johnny (centre) holding court at The Punter on Osney Island, after our Saturday club ride during his recent visit to Oxford.