Rarity Value

A Double Elfje…

Tricycle
takes up
more road space
than a bicycle does
but...

Motorists
seem to
be more tolerant.
Perhaps due to rarity
value!

‘Bertie’ Bike

Typical isn’t it? Very shortly after I had published last Monday’s post (which you can read here) my husband finished the refurbishing of my ‘new’ classic road-racing bike, an original locally built ‘Henry Burton’. So here, to remind you, are the before and after pictures:

Before

 

After

As you can see the bike has had a re-spray. Various parts have also been replaced with era compatible components. (You can view the state of the bike when it arrived on my previous post here.) There have been a few teething problems with brakes and gears and some tweaking has taken place. I have taken it on a few very short test rides plus a first trial of about 9 miles and then yesterday a 35 mile ride. Unfortunately the gears are still not completely playing the game – there are only 5 (due to its age) but for some reason it absolutely refuses to go into 5th so at the moment effectively only has 4 gears! I’m pleased to say despite being the only lady amongst 10 men on the ride yesterday and despite my four gears to their (mostly) 16 options on their modern bikes I was able to keep up pretty well. The bike fits me well, has a nice light feel to it and is a joy to ride.

Hubby has had it up on the bike stand several times to try to solve the gear shift problem and all the gears appear to function smoothly but as soon as I get it out on the road 5th gear will just not shift. For the moment it has us puzzled but I expect it will get sorted eventually. Any bike mechanics out there with suggestions?

In case you are wondering, the red bow on the front is there because the bike is my birthday present and I was told to leave the bow in place until the day – it’s today (but I have still left it there)! I have also, you will have noticed, continued to call the bike ‘Bertie’ as the name seems to have stuck now.

Also of interest and something that I have not mentioned before, you may like to know that Henry Burton was a one-time racing cyclist (as was his son John). When he stopped racing Henry learned frame building from Ernie Clements, another ex-racing cyclist turned frame builder whom Henry worked for before setting up on his own. Our eldest son owns a lovely classic Ernie Clements bike which he has also refurbished – a very nice bike.

 

 

 

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Downhill

Downhill
at speed
on my bicycle,
the wind behind me.
Elation.

Cycling Quote 3

This one is specially for the feminists among you! :

“The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.”

Ann Strong, Minneapolis Tribune 1895

Cycling Quote 1

I shall be off-line next week – we are going, in company with our eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandson, for a ‘bucket and spade’ holiday in South Wales – so I thought I would amuse you with some quotations while I am away. Two more to follow, on Wednesday and Friday.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Scientific American (1896)