Operation Body Swap: RESULT

Yes, it's done! And yes, it is a complete success. 

Lorelei is the London Town Bike, on the road the whole of this past winter. She's a pleasure to ride and completely reliable, having needed not so much as a brake cable adjustment in the past five months. 

Petra is the Modern Retro Road Bike, on the road for the past two weeks and just a dream to ride. 

#Errandonnee 2016 Challenge: Ride 12 (Sunday London Ride)

Errandonnee #12

Date: Sunday, 6 March 2016

Errand:  Sunday London Ride

Category:   Social Call/Ride

Destination:  Hyde Park Corner, London, to Fatboys, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London 

Distance: 37.3km (23.4km on ride itself + 13.9km getting to it and back home again)

Steed: Petra the Puch Princess

What I learned/observations:

The day dawned (or, more accurately, the darkness gradually lifted on an extremely foggy morning) and we were out the door by 7.30am to catch a train to London to join friends for the long-running Sunday London Ride. We were shocked when our calculations suggested that we haven't been on one in three years!

We decided to use the new East-West Cycle "Superhighway" aka Crossrail for Bikes to make our way from Blackfriars towards Parliament Square. I am disappointed to find that this brand new, not yet finished, cycling "superhighway" is woefully inadequate. I don't know when the plans were drawn up but bi-directional provision within the width of one car lane is simply not good enough. After years of dangerous over-capacity, the Tavistock route has been upgraded to one full-width lane in each direction -- and that's not a so-called "superhighway"!

#Errandonnee 2016 Challenge: Rides 7-11 (The Herald of Spring)

Date: Saturday, 12 March 2016
Steed: Petra the Puch Princess
Total Distance: 19.4km

Overall Lesson for the Day: I love doing business with local people, whose names I know. 

Errandonnee #7

Errand: Haircut

Category:  Personal Care (2)

Destination:  Charisma Hair & Beauty Salon, Caddington, Bedfordshire

What I learned/observations:

Not a lesson or observation as such but I realised this morning that Kay, the owner of Charisma, has been cutting my hair for over 3 years. At intervals of 3-4 weeks, I probably see her more frequently than anyone else I know who does not actually live with me! (Which is fine, because she is lovely.)

#Errandonnee 2016 Challenge: Ride 6 (Life Behind Bars)

Errandonnee #6

Date: Thursday, 10 March 2016

Errand:  London Commuting

Category:   Work (2)

Destination:  Fitzrovia, London, W1

Distance: 2.3km

Steed: Lorelei the Puch Princess

What I learned/observations:

Had a guy in a sharp suit and trenchcoat in the Tavistock cycle path this morning -- on his scooter. I can't see I'm too pleased about mixing dissimilar vehicles in the same space but I suppose it's better than having motorised scooters in the cycle lane as is allowed in the Netherlands. And given the choice of footway, cycleway and roadway and considering his overall speed, the cycleway no doubt made the most sense to him. (No photos of him, unfortunately.)

Malet Street between RADA and Birkbeck College.

Bedford Square, where the cycle countraflow is officially on the footpath.

#Errandonnee Challenge 2016: Rides 4 & 5 (Urban Night Riding)

Errandonnee #4

Date: Monday, 7 March 2016

Errand:  Evening Commute from Office to Train Station

Category: Work (1)

Destination:  St Pancras International, London

Distance: 2.3km (each way)

Steed: Lorelei the Puch Princess

What I learned/observations:

I often wish I had my camera to hand when I'm commuting. From time to time, I do stop to photograph things that catch my eye, but these have tended to be on my morning commute and therefore in daylight.

Tonight saw my first attempts at taking photos in central London from a moving bicycle. In the dark. With gloves on. Of course there were 3 bad shots for every half-decent one. Good thing I took quite a few!

I quite like the area I work in (Fitzrovia). It's a buzzy mix of old and new, not at all 'sterile' like the City. 

Liberated from her usual bike stand (just out of sight to the left).
I intended to take a photo of Lorelei at the stand, with the glorious Charlotte Street Hotel behind,
but a couple was standing there having a rather heated debate (in another language)
so I unlocked in a hurry and moved a few yards away.

What's In A Name? -- or, the Anthropomorphisation Diversion

Twins separated at birth: Susan and Sharon,
played by Hayley Mills in Disney's The Parent Trap

Take two (originally) identical bicycles, strip them of all their components, then build them up again with the components from each bike going onto the other bike...

Yes, Operation Body Swap is under way.  Here's the post about the London Town Bike version, using the frame from my first Puch Princess then built up with most of the components from another Puch Princess (same year and model, frame IDs only a few numbers apart) bought from a woman about 15 miles up the road.

When the Road Bike of the two twins is finished, she will look like this. Except with a nicer frame.

London Town Bike #4 -- or, Finally Just Right?

The saga of finding a suitable bike for use on the central London part of my daily commute continues... 

Back in August 2014, I had identified five options: 

1. Find an old frame and build it up with parts already to hand; 

2. Use an existing 'old' bike (of which I had one but wasn't quite prepared to 'sentence' to year-round all-weather theft-risk use); 

3. Buy another (complete) 'old' bike that I didn't have qualms about; 

4. Wait and buy a new bike via Cyclescheme; or

5. Buy a really cheap, new bike "for now". 

At that point, I had tried nos. 1 and 3. After setting out my options as above, I went with no. 5: the Viking Bromley. 

That experiment taught me a lesson: cheap bikes just don't work as well. (Well, d'oh!)

My latest venture is in fact a combination of option nos. 1, 2 and 3: 

This is Phase I of the Puch Princess Body Swap. 

And Then There Were Two

Last year's rebuild of my 1978 Puch Princess has been a complete success. 

With one small niggle.... the paintwork.

Lots of scratches, the "Princess" decal long gone from the top tube, and -- worst of all --
damage to the seat tube where a previous owner apparently draped a lock from the saddle rails.

Ideally, I would love to have the whole bike resprayed, but I felt mired in indecision over whether to go for as-close-to-original as possible (including reproduction decals) or opt for something entirely different. I hesitated to jettison the Puch branding and identity altogether. However, the decals are the distinctive part of the 'livery' and I've never been 'in love' with the distinct 1970s vibe they give off. Don't get me wrong, they've rather grown on me over time. But if I were planning the colour scheme of this bike from scratch, this isn't what I would have come up with! The light metallic green colour might well have made my shortlist of colour options but in the end would have likely lost out to something else -- possibly navy, maybe even red. That would be a crying shame but I know in my heart I could not promise I wouldn't. 

Hence my inaction over doing something about the tired, worn paintwork. 

Over last winter, while the bicycle mostly hibernated (only coming out on dry days for a bit of coffeeneuring and errandonneuring), I shoved this 'first world' problem to the back of my mind. 

There it lie dormant, just waiting for a catalyst to wake it up.

Spotting this on ebay proved to be that catalyst.

N+1 -- or, The London Town Bike Revolving Door

There's a story to be told -- actually, 2-3 stories -- and these will follow in due course but I'll lay the groundwork now with a few announcements: 

Astrid the Viking will be retired before next winter. 

Astrid has done surprisingly well in the role of London Town Bike but she has one fatal weakness and I have another vision for her. This won't be pursued until next winter, at which time I will give a long-term review.

I've acquired another Puch Princess, in astonishingly original condition. (One careful lady owner from new, etc etc.)

In a few weeks' time, she will look somewhat different. (As will Lorelei.)

#Errandonnee 2015 Challenge: Rides 6-8

Errandonnee #6

Date: Friday, 13 March 2015

Errand:  Get drugs (!)

Category:   Personal Care

Destination:  Local pharmacy

Steed: Lorelei the Puch Princess 

What I learned/observations:

I had my timing wrong and reached the village just at school leaving time. The streets were heaving with children... and with people driving their cars for the school run. I saw two other people on bikes: one a young lad cycling slowly on the sidewalk keeping pace with his mum who was pushing a stroller and a small girl about 5. The other was a teenage boy who lives near us, who walked by our house just as I was leaving home. He was hammering back up the street towards the village again, riding no-hands as he shrugged into a jacket. Late for his after-school job, I reckon. I envied his no-hands skills and was pleased to see him putting them to practical use rather than showing off!

Deja vu! Today was warmer and the bike has been rebuilt. 

Puch Princess Reborn: Sacrilege? Or Best Of Both Worlds?

This post comes with a health warning... and an apology. 

Some of you may be offended by what I've done with this vintage bicycle. 

For the offence, I am truly sorry. For what I have done... not so much. 

Because this time I listened to what the bicycle was telling me, what the bicycle wanted. True, I curated this build according to my preferences but at the end of the day, I had a 35 year old frame that wanted to go fast but couldn't due to the limitations of its build and/or its rider. 

The rider, I couldn't change any more than I can for any other bike (those grumpy knees!) but the build, I could. 

This is not a restoration but a rebirth as something else entirely.  

#Coffeeneuring 2014: Ride 6

Destination:  Chilterns Gateway Centre (National Trust), Whipsnade Road, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 2GY

Date:  Saturday, 15 November 2014

Hot drink of choice:  Black Tea

Total mileage:  25km
Bicycle:  Lorelei the Puch Princess

My friend Tim* joined me for today's coffeeneuring expedition. He was quite intrigued by the whole concept! 

"Wow, a whole 2 mile minimum?!"

Which rules out the cafe in the village, unless I want to take the looooonnng way round. 

"Does it have to be a HOT drink?"

Well, yes.

And then he remembered the "hot beverage" designation, which is impossible for an Englishman to say without one arched eyebrow and tongue firmly in cheek. 

"Did you remember to get a photo?" 

Yes, I did. 

"Will I get mentioned on your blog for this?"

Well, of course!

*who I had not seen in... let's see... eight years as near as I can figure out, possibly longer. I remember a camping trip in northern France before I started my law degree in 2005. One dear friend on that trip has since died. It seems a lifetime ago. Tim and his girlfriend Kate (later wife) discovered kite buggy-ing on the beaches around the mouth of the Somme on that trip. The trip was also memorable for all the small snails on our campsite that worked their way into my tent, sleeping bag, everything I owned... and came home with me... mostly squished flat. I didn't own a bike, then. Neither did Tim. He 'found' me this year via this blog. Turns out, we've been crossing each other's paths at various local events for the past two years without spotting each other. It's almost uncanny. Meeting up with him again is one of the very nicest things that has happened as a result of this little blogging lark of mine. 

#Coffeeneuring 2014: Ride 3

Destination: Harpers, Half Moon Lane, Pepperstock, Nr. Slip End, Bedfordshire LU1 4LL

Date:  Sunday, 26 October 2014

Hot drink of choice:  Cappuccino

Total mileage:  11.5km

Bicycle:  Lorelei the Puch Princess

Almost exactly a year ago, I used a new-bike-shake-down ride for coffeeneuring.... or a coffeeneuring ride as a shake-down. Here I am, doing that again. 

This past Sunday, I wanted to check out the new Harpers Food Hall and Cafe the other side of Slip End. Harpers are a family run business going back to just after WWII. They started out basically as butchers, gradually expanding into a range of premium meats and even meat-based ready meals. For decades, they were in Studham, not too far to the west of us, but last year they refurbished an abandoned and delapidated old pub as a spacious "show room" for their wares, with a meat counter, cafe and function rooms. 

In any case, this was a perfect excuse to get away from the books (finally finishing my law degree) and see how the recent re-build has changed Lorelei. 

Amiiee's 40 Mile Smile #determined #icandothis

Ready to Ride
(C) Ryan Browne.

This is a ride report on this year's 100 Mile Smile Ride. 

No, it's not, not really.

This is the story of Amiiee (pronounced the same as "Amy", no connection with the French "Aimee").

The story of a girl who Does.Not.Cycle. The story of an impulsive, stubborn teenager who announced one day a few weeks ago that she wanted to ride 40 miles of the 100 Mile Smile Ride on Sunday, 14 September 2014. The story of a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve but always "has her Game Face on". A girl who chose her own challenge, sought no counsel, did nothing to prepare for it and then chronicled it on the day on social media under the hashtags: 

#determined 

#icandothis

Me? I just wanted a day out and since the weather was looking good, I fancied a ride on Lorelei. But basically, I was along for the ride, keeping Amiiee company, ready to shore up energy levels and flagging spirits as needed, wayfinding and generally just making sure we didn't get lost.

Rural Ramble

I was "supposed" to be #ScotTourTraining today but couldn't quite find my get-up-and-go. To be honest, I just didn't fancy donning all the gear for a serious ride.

So I got the mixte out for a pootle round the neighbourhood.

The road heading south out of the village is still flooded in the dip.

Double The Gears!

My last reports on the renovation of my Puch Princess mixte were back in March: new bars with correct period brake levers, new Brooks saddle, removal of rear rack, new MKS touring pedals with classic French toe clips.

Unfortunately, my experiences with the brake levers were not entirely successful. I like to ride on the hoods, which wasn't the fashion back in the days of so-called non-aero levers. They're just not comfortable on the hands or wrists over a period of time. They had to go.

Somewhere it's spring... but not here

We have snow. Again. It started about 5am, stopped about 9am and has now (2pm) started up again, quite as if it means to carry on for a while. We're going into town to see a movie later - hope the buses are still running!

Meanwhile, we've had a quiet Saturday... starting with a nice lie in (just what the doctor ordered after the week I've had)... followed by what is fast becoming the traditional Saturday omelette... enjoying the cats' antics... then a bit of bike fettling...  Thanks to ebay, Lorelei now has very shiny MKS Touring pedals with Christophe clips and straps. :)

Snowy debut

No pics because we had no time to stop, but this morning Lorelei took me to Harpenden for physio.  In steady falling snow and strong veering winds. Two enforced stops early on -- first to raise saddle (more) and then again to tighten up bolt to keep the saddle's nose from dipping! 

The 'front end' of the bike feels quite strange... partly from not being able to rest hands right over hoods, mostly using suicide levers to brake (meaning hands are closer together at slow speeds and stops -- affects balance more than I expected!). I have no problem with stem-mounted shifters as that hasn't changed, and I quite like friction shifting.

The bike feels quite lively, which confirms what I suspected from the beginning:  the geometry is more "road" than relaxed.  (I can't seem to create a hyperlink for the explanation on this, so here's the URL: http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/buying-vintage-mixte-what-to-look-for.html).

Pity I needed a saddlebag loaded with clothes and two heavy locks.

Proper outing tomorrow. With photos. Else it didn't happen - right?

Oh for a quiet life!

As some readers know, I am enrolled with the Open University after a 5 year gap, to finish my law degree. On top of working full-time! Although it's a short-term job and is thankfully due to finish 3rd April. My first written assignment was due at midnight last night. I don't know how well I did on it... although I must say I did a sterling job of stressing out in the days leading up to it.  (Trying to re-establish good study habits is tricky now, being part of a family rather than living as a hermit!) So I spend some quality time in bed yesterday afternoon with a migraine and a dose of Imigran. And then got up and finished the assignment. And got it submitted online. With an hour to spare.

I did steal a moment Tuesday morning -- and boy did it feel like 'stealing' when I had to own up to Adam that I hadn't in fact spent the ENTIRE day with my nose in the books! -- to hasten Lorelei's transformation.

Rear rack and kickstand removed. Small things but it made me happy.

And Adam has since finished the brakes.

Our Friday overnight ride from Birmingham to the Rollright Stones looks likely to be cancelled due to forecasts for heavy snow. 

So.... Lorelei may get her new road debut on Saturday morning! :)

Lorelei goes back to her roots

My 1978 Puch Princess mixte has served me well the past 3 years. I bought her before I got into riding road bikes. But I was aware that she originally had been a road bike - like this:

Puch Princess owned by Kate aka 'darksquid'.
Interestingly, Kate made over her mixte in a similar fashion
as I did with Lorelei - see http://www.flickr.com/photos/darksquid/3963611482/in/faves-10938860@N03/.

When I bought Lorelei off ebay in May 2010, she'd lost her drop bars and looked like this:

With some TLC from Brixton Cycles, she was transformed into this, her current incarnation. We did our daily commute every day the summer of 2010 and then did the 120-mile Dunwich Dynamo with the same set-up... and then our first two Friday Night Rides to the Coast.

But she has been telling me since the day we met that she wants to fly like the wind, so I've been dreaming of returning her to her road touring roots.

Today we fitted retro-shaped drop bars and brake levers (including the top "suicide" levers) and a lovely black Brooks Swallow.

Makeover started - March 2013.

We're not quite road ready -- just need to get and fit the correct size barrel adjusters. At some point I will wrap the bars with black leather and fit the new-old-stock, entirely original, Bluemels Sprint Veloce mudguards -- but I am literally itching to get back on this lovely steed and hit the roads again.