Farewell to an old friend

Steph Peters

Today was a very sad day, I took my first ever bike to the tip. The
builders arrive on 10 January to ransack half the house, so we have to clear
everything into the other half. Packing has to start with a good clearout
in a house inhabited by two lazy packrats. The Salvation Army collection
box is now stuffed full of 70's and 80's clothes DH and I no longer fit
into, the Oxfam book shop is about to double its stock and we made 3 trips
to the tip today.

My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
husband, as a present for my 20th birthday. He assumed I could ride a bike.
So did I. I got on this thing with drop bars and a cross bar, proved I
could ride it for 100 yards or so, then wobbled and fell off because I
didn't know how to stop. Learning was hampered because the bike was too big
for me, despite being the smallest size available; I couldn't then and still
can't, despite having grown 3cm, put both feet on the floor while straddling
the crossbar. Stopping required one foot flat, one tiptoe. Slowly I
graduated to being able to reach the gear lever on the downtube, and for one
exhausting week of commuting to university could change up but not down
again. Eventually I mastered the gears, but never braking from the hoods,
relying totally on the suicide levers. Slowly I built up confidence;
getting a rack and panniers instead of a rucksack was a big help. The day
eventually dawned when I wanted to go for a ride at a weekend and managed a
30 mile round trip and graduated to using toe clips.

On leaving university I stopped commuting by bike. It got used less and
less at weekends, until it was eventually donated to a friend's 12 year old
daughter. Later one of her boyfriends gave it a white paint job, but
neither of them thought to do any maintenance. I got it back when she
learnt to drive and I took up cycling again. New chain, new tyres and new
tubes and the bike was ready to go. My bum wasn't though; the first ride of
an entire mile was agony and it took a couple of weeks to break my bum in
again. Eventually I built up to an entire day out and got fit enough to go
on a cycling holiday. The hired mountain bike which actually fitted was a
revelation, and this led to the purchase of a Specialised Hard Rock, joining
the CTC, going on a 6 month tour and so on. In the meantime old faithful
Raleigh lurked in the cellar, only coming out for commutes to particularly
unsavoury places, on the basis that anything that ancient with drop bars
wouldn't be nicked. It never was, but the chain is rusty again due to lack
of use, the tyres and tubes have perished, the brakes are as hopeless as
they ever were, so it was time to say goodbye and take the bike to the tip.

--
Concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket...
Andrew Carnegie
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

Sniper8052(L96A1)

Steph Peters wrote:
<Snip>
>
> My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
> husband, as a present for my 20th birthday. He assumed I could ride a bike.
> So did I. I got on this thing with drop bars and a cross bar, proved I
> could ride it for 100 yards or so, then wobbled and fell off because I
> didn't know how to stop. Learning was hampered because the bike was too big
> for me, despite being the smallest size available; I couldn't then and still
> can't, despite having grown 3cm, put both feet on the floor while straddling
> the crossbar. Stopping required one foot flat, one tiptoe.
> --
> Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
> Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>
>

Crikey the smallest frame on a Raleigh Arena was 18" with 26" wheels!
Did you have the blue one?
Sniper8052

Steph Peters

"Sniper8052(L96A1)" <sniper8052@yahoo.co.uk> of wrote:

>Steph Peters wrote:
><Snip>
>>
>> My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
>> husband, as a present for my 20th birthday. He assumed I could ride a bike.
>> So did I. I got on this thing with drop bars and a cross bar, proved I
>> could ride it for 100 yards or so, then wobbled and fell off because I
>> didn't know how to stop. Learning was hampered because the bike was too big
>> for me, despite being the smallest size available; I couldn't then and still
>> can't, despite having grown 3cm, put both feet on the floor while straddling
>> the crossbar. Stopping required one foot flat, one tiptoe.

>Crikey the smallest frame on a Raleigh Arena was 18" with 26" wheels!
>Did you have the blue one?

Yes I had the blue one, like this:
http://www.stuffwelove.co.uk/images/glenarena4.jpg
Ii was the 18" frame with 26" wheels, and my inside leg is still only 26
inches after growing a bit, so that's why I couldn't straddle the cross bar.

--
Concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket...
Andrew Carnegie
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

Tony B

> Yes I had the blue one, like this:
> http://www.stuffwelove.co.uk/images/glenarena4.jpg

that would have made an excellent fixed!

Tony B

Martin Wilson

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 20:47:22 +0000, Steph Peters
<urcy@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
..
>
>My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
>husband, as a present for my 20th birthday.

My very first new bike was a Raleigh Arena bought from Halfords for
about £60. It was a birthday present and I could only have been about
12 or 13 at the time I think. 5 gears, little short aluminium
mudguards etc. It gave me my first experience of going any distance on
my own and speeding down hills. I was so proud of that bike although
that said I can never remember doing much in the way of maintanence on
it. The longest trip I ever did on it was from Yeovil To Dorchester.

Zog The Undeniable

Steph Peters wrote:

> My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
> husband, as a present for my 20th birthday.

I remember about half the kids at school had those. Pale blue metallic
with odd little mudguards (kept the headset dry, but not much else). I
had a Raleigh Olympus instead, which was similar but had full length
steel mudguards and solid blue paint rather than metallic.

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers

I do hope you are holding a wake in honour of the demise of your trusty steed.

Cheers, helen s ;-)


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dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers

>Crikey the smallest frame on a Raleigh Arena was 18" with 26" wheels!

Steph is tiny. Small yet perfectly formed :-)

Cheers, helen s


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Rodders

>The Salvation Army collection box is now stuffed full of 70's and 80's
> clothes DH and I no longer fit into, the Oxfam book shop is about to
> double its stock and we made 3 trips to the tip today.

Any highwaist band trousers, platform shoes, or tank tops in there?

Roddy

Steph Peters

wafflycathcs@aol.compomcom (dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) of AOL,
http://www.aol.co.uk wrote:

>>Crikey the smallest frame on a Raleigh Arena was 18" with 26" wheels!
>
>Steph is tiny. Small yet perfectly formed :-)

Thanks for the compliment Helen, but I'm not. As well as being only a
smidge over 5 feet short, I have a proportionately long body. Net result is
ridiculously short legs. Anyone remember cycling plus fours? I have a pair
that I wear as full length trousers!
--
Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous
without ability. - George Bernard Shaw
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

Steph Peters

Zog The Undeniable <hrothgar19@yahoo.com> of wrote:

>Steph Peters wrote:
>
>> My first bike was a Raleigh Arena, purchased by my then boyfriend, now
>> husband, as a present for my 20th birthday.
>
>I remember about half the kids at school had those. Pale blue metallic
>with odd little mudguards (kept the headset dry, but not much else).
The mudguards were hopeless; there's a wonderful black stripe up the back of
the waterproof I used to wear on that bike.
--
Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous
without ability. - George Bernard Shaw
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>