He even delivered flowers to the old Quinta dos Piornais, in the Madeiran capital.
In addition, he entered bicycle races that were held in Funchal.
In historical terms, Hercules Cycle and Motor Company Limited was a British bicycle manufacturer founded on September 9, 1910 in Aston, England. It started producing 25 bikes a week.
The name Hercules was chosen for its association with durability and sturdiness. The company was founded by Edmund and Harry Crane and started in Coventry Street, Birmingham.
Crane's parents bought the Petros Cycle Company, which was later run by Edmund's mother, Edith. His sons, Harry and Ted, left school at 14 and helped their parents with the business.
In 1911, Harry and Ted began using a name they had already registered in 1910, the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company.
They had problems selling it because of the competition, but they soon made progress, dealing with low prices and high quality. They went from 25 to 70 bikes a week in six months. Within months, production doubled, and the company moved to larger premises in Conybere Street, Highgate.
In 1923, a third move was made to a former Dunlop factory, at Rocky Lane, Aston.
In 1928, Hercules exported one in five of all British bicycles and, by 1935, 40 per cent. In 1929, they took over the Dunlop factory in Nechells. The company manufactured its six millionth bicycle in February 1939, making it the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world.
Hercules' success has been attributed to several factors, including the name and production methods.
After 1923, Hercules produced most of its bicycle components, in addition to inner tubes and tires. The factories operated with mass production, producing more than 1,000 cycles a day, each taking less than 10 minutes to assemble.
Hercules exported a significant percentage of production.
In 1946, they sold the company to Tube Investments, which was Hercules' main supplier, namely the tubes with which the bicycle frames were made.
At that time, Hercules had lost its understanding of the market. His racing bike had steel handlebars when alloy was in style. It had five gears when 10 was normal. It had heavy tubes and not Reynolds 531. The last bikes to bear the Hercules name were produced by the Raleigh factory in Nottingham.
The company went through several stages. An attempt, in 1955, to diversify into moped production was unsuccessful.
In 1956, Tube Investments laid off 1,250 employees of the British Cycle Corporation after a standoff with the unions over changes in working practices. Many of the workers were from the Hercules factories.
As a result, Tube Investments purchased the Nottingham-based Raleigh Cycle Company in 1960 to form TI Raleigh Industries. Together they controlled 75% of the British bicycle market.
Management of the British Cycle Corporation was handed over to Raleigh management, as that more domestically focused company was larger and better known.
Raleigh quickly decided to cut the number of brands and switch to Raleigh designs and standards.
Production was concentrated in Nottingham in 1960 and, by 1963, there was little left of a distinctive Hercules.
The original company – still part of Raleigh – was dissolved on December 2, 2003. The company's archives are at the National Cycle Archive.
The brand lives on as part of TI Cycles of India.