I cycle a lot in the warmer months. I also use my bicycle for a good amount of transportation in the summer when not at work.

I don't have anything exciting.

1985 Panasonic
1986 Bridgestone

I had a aluminium bike in the late 80's, it was a Raleigh, can't remember the name now. Also had the classic Raleigh Europa in a six speed from 1982. That got knicked.

I am down to a classic black Brompton at the moment, but I am in the market for a new bike come the end of March when the weather changes. A classic Dutch road bike will do me, looked at the e-bikes, but they seem to have shot-up in costs. They could be handy for cutting through the North Sea wind.

At the weekend I have a good cycle line run that takes me around a couple of lakes and meres and back again. On the way back I normally hit the prevailing winds, so a good extra kick from a motor would help and likely extend my range somewhat.

I have a couple of Marin Bear Valley mountain bikes from the mid-90's. I have been looking to buy a road bike but find that cycling on UK roads has become far too dangerous. Back in the 90's I did the London to Brighton ride as part of a team. I also rode the London to Cambridge charity event. When my road bike was stolen I stopped cycling on roads and started running. My new UK residence is close to the London Olympics mountain bike trails in Hadleigh so I might go and give that route a try.

I drive an old Raleigh "campus cruiser" with a 3-speed Sturmey Archer and a Brooks saddle.  Gets me around the neighborhood.  Obviously not an avid cyclist.

/\  ha ha AC me too, my Chopper was proper

Last edited by stanshall (2016-02-06 13:29:17)

/\  Word.  On that note it's off to the beach to see if I can photobomb another shoot!

Ah yes, the Chopper, came with a warning not to give seaties.

Having looked at the cost of the version of Brompton I have, it is now selling brand new for over €2,100. I think I bought it for around €1,200, that would have been early 2008. So I took it for a service, €126 with several replacement parts and now it's running like a fine oiled racing machine. Which it is!

When picking it up - the bike shop which is not exclusively selling Bromptons - there was one chap buying a second hand "any colour you like" black version for €900 and two people coming with Bromptons for services behind me. Looks like they're still mega popular and that bike shop was a doing a roaring trade.

The electric bikes are still expensive, so I will stick to my Brompton and I must say, I do like the bright coloured ones too. They look sharp.

I've been out the game of cycling game since October 2014, so it's been a relief to get back in the saddle these last two days. It's Liberation Day here today, so everyone's off, it's sunny too, so time to hit the Dutch bike lanes. And you can say what you like about the Dutch, the dedicated bike lanes that run across the country are modern infrastructure wonder of the world.

Right on brother! ✊

It held Syd Barrett together for all those years