Re:
Thanks HM, it's definitely rough around the edges but I kind of like it that way! Not sure what it weighs as I don't own any scales... it's no lightweight but not massively heavy and surprisingly practical; I'd say it's somewhere between my modern road bike and my wife's modern Cinder Cone for road jaunts. Have a look at some of Epicyclo's pics on here for inspiration - not sure I'd manage such big mileages on mine but for local jaunts of an hour or so I'm really enjoying it.
I thought the three gears would be a serious limitation and I suspect that in a very hilly area you might want slightly lower gearing but for my area the three gears are quite well chosen; I find that 2nd is perfect for riding on the flat, 1st handy for crawling into headwinds or very steep hills and 3rd keeps you bowling along when the wind is behind you. The riding position is obviously less aerodynamic than the road bike but much better than the Cinder Cone.
My biggest practicality concern was the lack of bottle cage so have riveted jubilee clips to a side-entry cage to mount on the handlebars - a nice Carradice saddlebag like Epicyclo's would be prettier but ten times the price... I'll maybe put one on my wishlist as a birthday present idea!
The one place where this bike beats pretty much anything modern for practicality is the completely enclosed drivetrain - despite having sat unused in a garage and shed for 30 years and more, the original chain is still in perfect condition, having sat in it's oil bath all that time. Having spent this morning putting yet another chain onto my '94 Fire Mountain (its 9th or 10th by my reckoning) and yet another set of dérailleur jockey wheels I think properly retro is the way forward!