Brian Cotgrove said:
G'day BRF, I can relate to your sentiments of family life, Me, one of six, middle, two above, three below, shared a tin bath 'int font of fire, Dad a docker for fifty five years, Mum's never went to work them day's. Make yer own luck them day's.
The bike was an escape for me too, first long ride Weston Super Mare,fourteen years old, school holiday's 1952 to see me bruvver. Stayed with him a week, felt like a baron on me fixed wheel bitsa, hand painted everything, except the black rubbery fings' it looking very scmick. It took me seven hours to get there first time, from East End of London.
I've never bought anything on e'bay, know a few who have and by there acccounts, it's was a **** fight getting the goods after they sent the money?
I've since been told you deal through a third party? I suppose I'm a baron who buy's everything new. My new wheels since the, 90kph knock down are Mavic OPENPro on Shimano Ultegra, with SS spokes. The bloke who KO'ed me has done a runner interstate, both the coppers and the insurance company are looking for him, meantime I had to pay for his bastardry?
I stayed out too long this mornring, I was only going for a couple of hours but ended turning left a couple of times, instead of right and right again to get home a bit quicker. I have just spent the last hour and a half mowing the grass which never stops growing this time of the year. Me pins are feeling the pressure so I'm now sittin' with the weight off 'em, and that's how I intend to spend the rest of the day.
My cousin lives in Perth, he did live in, as you say, Seeouth afreeka, he worked for a shiping agency or something of that nature, he said the weather is very similar in both places, except it gets pretty cold there in winter especially at night.
I'm going to get something to eat, a nice bit of black pudding, with some salad, the only trouble with black pud' here it's not the same as old country?
Keep the wheels in motion? TBC
bonjour, quite true, i do think, that the bike riders of our time, were a bunch of boys trying to get out of the family situation as it was in the 50's/early 60'a,, mi dad, who was a good rider, 1.5.42 in 1938 aint bad, and rode in the first brighton to glasgow 1945, see the book "the history of the tour of britain" by peter a clifford,,(its yellow if you ever get your hands on it ). mi dad is in there, he was presented to the king in buck house,, he was captain of the armed forces team,,, he rode for the medway wheelers..it was just after the war and there was a feeling of desperation in all working famillies...well i degress, yes when you get out those first few times, and the pain disapears, its was and is magic...where there was "no job", no money" "no hope," "no future", everything was BRIGHT and greatont bike.i think it was an escape,, many fell by the wayside, but quite a few carried on,,, are we the last of the characters, i think so.. yes i buy a lot of BITS on the ebay, i have a little busines sell all sorts of stuff, from bike bits to computer stuff,,, i check out the sites around europe, and if i see something cheap say in austria, i buy it and sell it in france, or vice versa..as i said, i bought a pair of new shimano wheels from a cycle specialist in france on ebay,, saved about 80 euros, say £50 paid for them and got them about 7 days later in a big box...these are to replace a pair of mavic cosmos wheels, why, well i was riding a 2 up TT last year, i had just done a long flat out bit on the front, my partner got passed me, but failed to indicate a huge pot hole or "nid de poule" as they say here, well i went bang into it.. both tyres gone and a flat spot on the rims,,, i spent a few hours knocking out the flat spots and now i ride then when i am training,they have a very slight bump to them but only on super smooth roads,, ours are 95% non smooth, so they are ok..
been out this morning with mrs brf club , it has WARMED up at last, but the bloody wind is blowing its 60/80 with gusts up to 100kph... still managed to get in 80kms,,,,thats my minimun. 260kms by thursday, 50 ks sat with mrs brf, 100 on sunday with the boys,, that gets me over 400 ks for the week...
yes a lot of seeeeth afreekans live in perth, its the first place you come to when you head east from africa,,,i have quite a number of friends there,, we are due out for a holiday maybe next year 2006,,,,mrs brf's sister lives in adelaide...
ps when are you in the uk... april 10th by any chance......
see ya bon courage.
