GLB
Dirt Disciple
Basically I'm an old roadie, but have done a lot of resting in the past years. With retirement not too far away, I'm aiming to spend more time riding. I lost my bikes in a fire in 1988 (a hack Peugeot, my beautiful time trial Roy Thame - which I still really grieve for - and a restored 1965 Moulton deluxe - all with well broken in Brooks saddles, but's that's another story), and since then have built up a bit of a collection which I thought was just out of date until my son introduced me to this site.
After the fire and having decided I didn't want to go back to racing, the first acquisition was one of those newfangled mountain bikes - a Saracen Trekker (on 18 Nov 1988 from Cycleland in Bromley - I have the receipt). Then a year or two later, wanting the feel of skinny tyres under me again, I put together a halfway decent road bike on a Ken Bird frame. The Saracen only got used after that for keeping my growing son company - until he got more independent and then it stayed in the shed. Somewhere along the line in the early 1990's I picked up a Roy Thame road/track frame and resumed my old love of fixed gear riding (at least a decade before it got trendy).
I did very little regular riding between 1994 and now, though I did buy a Marin Point Reyes about 4 years ago to start exploring some of the National Cycle Route network (Erith to London along the river is a favourite), and also Ian Whitehead of Ruxley Cycles, who I knew as a junior in my old club, upgraded the Roy Thame fixed for me with new Ambrosio wheels and Miche chainset. That's really become my main bike now. Next to last acquisition is a Brompton folder that lives in the boot of the car, but is useful to have around.
Latest (re)acquisition is the Saracen Trekker. My son unearthed it from the shed, pumped up the Panaracer Smoke Lites 1.9's (yes I know it should have had a Dart on the front), I tweaked the rather tight rear hub cones and I've had great fun remembering the feeling of riding through treacle. According to the Huret belt driven mileometer I've added 30.7 miles this week to the 1538 I'd done on it in the previous 21years 5 months. It still has some North Kent mud on it from the last time I used it in August 1997, so I won't be using the bike in the rain to keep the muddy patina from getting damaged.
I'm sorting out some photos, old and new, and will post a bit more info in the relevant places in the next couple of weeks. I'm not particularly into the retro thing, these are just my bikes that are old friends so I'm not planning to add to the collection (although if ever I found anything like my Roy Thame TT frame -22.5" please - I'd be in there like a shot). But it's good to know there are other people with a similar affection for these middle aged bikes.
So who's doing the London Bikeathon in June, and what on?
After the fire and having decided I didn't want to go back to racing, the first acquisition was one of those newfangled mountain bikes - a Saracen Trekker (on 18 Nov 1988 from Cycleland in Bromley - I have the receipt). Then a year or two later, wanting the feel of skinny tyres under me again, I put together a halfway decent road bike on a Ken Bird frame. The Saracen only got used after that for keeping my growing son company - until he got more independent and then it stayed in the shed. Somewhere along the line in the early 1990's I picked up a Roy Thame road/track frame and resumed my old love of fixed gear riding (at least a decade before it got trendy).
I did very little regular riding between 1994 and now, though I did buy a Marin Point Reyes about 4 years ago to start exploring some of the National Cycle Route network (Erith to London along the river is a favourite), and also Ian Whitehead of Ruxley Cycles, who I knew as a junior in my old club, upgraded the Roy Thame fixed for me with new Ambrosio wheels and Miche chainset. That's really become my main bike now. Next to last acquisition is a Brompton folder that lives in the boot of the car, but is useful to have around.
Latest (re)acquisition is the Saracen Trekker. My son unearthed it from the shed, pumped up the Panaracer Smoke Lites 1.9's (yes I know it should have had a Dart on the front), I tweaked the rather tight rear hub cones and I've had great fun remembering the feeling of riding through treacle. According to the Huret belt driven mileometer I've added 30.7 miles this week to the 1538 I'd done on it in the previous 21years 5 months. It still has some North Kent mud on it from the last time I used it in August 1997, so I won't be using the bike in the rain to keep the muddy patina from getting damaged.
I'm sorting out some photos, old and new, and will post a bit more info in the relevant places in the next couple of weeks. I'm not particularly into the retro thing, these are just my bikes that are old friends so I'm not planning to add to the collection (although if ever I found anything like my Roy Thame TT frame -22.5" please - I'd be in there like a shot). But it's good to know there are other people with a similar affection for these middle aged bikes.
So who's doing the London Bikeathon in June, and what on?
