Raleigh DL-1

My sister is as devoted to riding bicycles as I am to riding horses. Maybe more so. We both get to wear spandex when going on long rides and are not embarrassed to be in public in our “garb” so it could be some bizarre quirk in the DNA. I have been talking for the last couple of years about fixing up my bike and starting to ride again but had the excellent excuse that tires and tubes for my vintage bike are almost impossible to find.

For Christmas, my sister appears with two new 28″ tires and tubes. End of excuses.

My memory puts hanging the bike in the attic sometime right after buying the building I work in now. That would put it at almost 20 years since I have ridden that bike. The only thing wrong with it when it went into storage was a loose rear fender. So 20 years in dry storage. I found out from the bike store owner when I picked it up after its tune up, new tire placement and new seat, that the hub shows the manufacturer date as 1964. I bought the bike for $99 in the early 70s, rode it to work every day I could, biked with my daughter on the back until she was too big to ride there and put it away around 1988. I still have the original manual.

My last visit to my daughter’s she showed me a web site she found amusing: “Stuff White People Like” and I was amused as well until she brought up the article http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/61-bicycles/

and I saw a photo of MY bike. Don’t worry, there is probably a photo or a description of your bike there as well.

My bike looks a lot like this one, but I am in search of the basket and the rack which seem to be only available from “Retro” bike places if at all.

Things like the head lamp that was powered by a generator that rubbed on the wheel and the saddle bag were long gone. The original leather seat needed replacing with a new modern cushy seat with a built in safety light. A new chain and gear link and it was ready to hit the road again.

I polished it up a bit after getting it home and took it out for a short spin. I had forgotten how much fun and how fast these things can tool around town! I took another loop for good measure.

Let’s see. Fast, efficient, fun. I can load it into the back of my truck or car and it doesn’t need its own trailer if I want to ride it somewhere new. I hung it upstairs for 20 years without any care and $138 brought it back to life. No vet. No feed. No need to keep fence fixed so it doesn’t go to visit the neighbor’s bikes. Hum. My sister might just be on to something here. Wonder if I can get it to nicker when it sees me?

~ by bethanycaskey on April 25, 2008.