Hi, all. After registering in July I thought it was about time I submitted my first post to introduce myself – I just hope it’s in the right section! Maybe some of the details that follow will ring a few bells, especially with fellow Lancastrians.
I got my first new bike for my 11th birthday – a flat handlebar Royal Enfield for £19 19s 11d from Tom Hargreaves bike shop in Colne. Around that time (late 50’s), many towns held annual Safe Cycling Rallies and I was lucky enough to win twice. On the second occasion, the prize was one of the new £1 Premium Bonds and it won nothing for over 20 years. Then it won £50 and the same week there just happened to be an auction of all the remaining stock from Ossie Jackson’s bike shop in Nelson.
Ossie had sadly died recently and anyone who remembers his shop will appreciate just how much stock there was! I managed to get a Peugeot 5-speed drop handlebar ‘tourer’ with my winnings and that re-ignited my interest in bikes.
A few years later, a Raleigh Road Ace from Geoffrey Butler Cycles came along and I did three of Bike Events’ ‘Manchester to Blackpool’ rides on that. Then, along with some friends, we decided to have a go at mountain biking during our caravan weekends so that meant buying a Diamond Back Sorento from Riley Brothers in Crosshills. This bike went C2C from Workington to Sunderland and has also been up Alpe d’Huez (2h 55m to go up, 20mins to come down!)
Retirement has seen another resurgence in interest and last year I treated myself to a Colnago Move Tiagra. The Tour de France starting in Yorkshire provided an excuse for ‘Le Petit Depart’ and I completed the shorter of the two routes offered from Skipton to Kettlewell and back, using part of the Stage 1 route. Also planned for ‘sometime in the future’ is the ‘Way of the Roses’ from Morecambe to Bridlington.
Hope this hasn’t been too boring and has brought back a few memories for some of you.
Cheers, Eric
I got my first new bike for my 11th birthday – a flat handlebar Royal Enfield for £19 19s 11d from Tom Hargreaves bike shop in Colne. Around that time (late 50’s), many towns held annual Safe Cycling Rallies and I was lucky enough to win twice. On the second occasion, the prize was one of the new £1 Premium Bonds and it won nothing for over 20 years. Then it won £50 and the same week there just happened to be an auction of all the remaining stock from Ossie Jackson’s bike shop in Nelson.
Ossie had sadly died recently and anyone who remembers his shop will appreciate just how much stock there was! I managed to get a Peugeot 5-speed drop handlebar ‘tourer’ with my winnings and that re-ignited my interest in bikes.
A few years later, a Raleigh Road Ace from Geoffrey Butler Cycles came along and I did three of Bike Events’ ‘Manchester to Blackpool’ rides on that. Then, along with some friends, we decided to have a go at mountain biking during our caravan weekends so that meant buying a Diamond Back Sorento from Riley Brothers in Crosshills. This bike went C2C from Workington to Sunderland and has also been up Alpe d’Huez (2h 55m to go up, 20mins to come down!)
Retirement has seen another resurgence in interest and last year I treated myself to a Colnago Move Tiagra. The Tour de France starting in Yorkshire provided an excuse for ‘Le Petit Depart’ and I completed the shorter of the two routes offered from Skipton to Kettlewell and back, using part of the Stage 1 route. Also planned for ‘sometime in the future’ is the ‘Way of the Roses’ from Morecambe to Bridlington.
Hope this hasn’t been too boring and has brought back a few memories for some of you.
Cheers, Eric
