How I Came To Enjoy CyclingThe first cycle I remember was in fact a trike, a blue one I had as a sprog. Loved it. Moved from that to a succession of hand-me-downs from my sister (who'd had at least one of them handed down from our brother) as M&D couldn't afford new ones for us all and were canny enough to know we'd only grow out of them... Downside of this was I ended up with a very girly 20" thing with a rear basket and Sturmey 3 speed gears which was *incredibly* uncool, but it got the paper round done every morning which mattered more, and marked the start of bike == Very Useful Thing as well as potential fun. When I was (just) big enough for a full size bike M&D got me a Raleigh Olympus, a 5 speed "racer" (i.e., it had drop bars, big wheels and a bloody uncomfortable seat!), which took me on all local trips and went to Uni with me for more of the same. It had acquired a double chainwheel by then (thanks Dad!). Was eventually knicked in '89 from outside my flat in Edinburgh, so armed with the insurance settlement I wandered round the corner to EBC and bought one of their Country tourers with a Falcon frame and [big drumroll] indexed Shimano gears (6 x 2). That was my only transport for several years and is still in the shed as a spare and loan bike, though the only original parts left are the bars, shifters, brake mechs and rear rack.
It was joined by an EBC Contour 400 MTB in '97 when I wandered in for a new helmet and had a Visa card accident! I like the odd hack off-road, but I was pleasantly surprised with my old trusty tourer successfully drawing me back for road use: indeed, more use than I'd had before the MTB.
I'd wanted a go on a 'bent since I'd read about them on the 'net, but the opportunity to own one came up quite by accident, chatting with a member of the sea kayak club I'm in who happened to have one, and knew of a cheap one up for grabs. Some 'phone calls later and I was in Blairgowrie looking over an Orbit Crystal. My plan to ride it home (18 miles and some big hills) proved quite ridiculous as I could hardly ride the thing in a straight line after half an hour, but I knew enough to see that I Must Have It, so I arranged for it to get delivered to Dundee, practised on it and got it re-geared at the LBS, and that was me out of the light. MTB got used even less after that.
The Crystal was, unfortunately, destroyed in an unfortunate prang and I got the Streetmachine GT as a replacement. Not as fast and furious as the Crystal, but it finally meant my old tourer could be retired (the Crystal would only take two panniers so wasn't an ideal shopping machine) and I had a benchmark tourer that would take me anywhere in comfort. Just before I got it I saw an ad for a 2nd hand Brompton, and knowing a friend interested in one for her mum, I got in touch and we went round to look at it. She wasn't sure, but I was hooked (I'd borrowed one before then) and promised I'd sell it on for the same price if she hanged her mind. Foolishly lent it to her, and she did change her mind, so I bought a new one for myself.
As a fun sideline I'd got a Muni the year before the Brompton, and I'm now starting to really get to grips with it. Can ride 50m over rough ground now! Shame about the cornering, but I'm sure that will come...
Next stop, a hot 'bent, though whether 2 or 3 wheels I'm not sure yet.
Peter Clinch |