VMCC Banbury Run 2017 – Sunday 18th June

This past Sunday was the 69^th Vintage Motorcycle Club's Banbury Run.

I first heard about the event watching a repeat of “The Motorbike show”, when good ol' Henry Cole covered it a few years back. It's held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire. As it's not too far from me, I thought i'd go along. In a spectating capacity, obviously.

So what is the Banbury run? Well, it's somewhere between a race and a ride out. Approx 500 vintage motorbikes leave the start line and the goal for most of the riders seems to be, make it around one of the three routes available in a reasonable time! The routes are based on class of vintage bike and when I say vintage, I mean vintage. The Banbury run is only open to motorcycles that were made before 31^st of December 1930. Class A are veteran bikes built prior to 1915. Class B are early vintage (1915 – 1924) and Class C is late vintage (1925-1930).

Some absolutely amazing bikes were being ridden here. Traditional classics, some flat tankers and even some strange two wheeled contraption that can best be described as a steampunk segway. It's truly astonishing that some of these machines are still here, some over 100 years old and still running.

The conditions on the day were far from perfect. It was one of the hottest days of the year so far and even for the spectators it was a struggle in the red hot sunshine. I wouldn't want to imagine what it was like for some of the riders. Especially some of the gents dressed in tweed.

Which brings be on to the picture above. As you can imagine not all of the bike are perfect runners and unfortunately this chaps machine broke down just in front of me, not far from the start line. What I saw next will stay with me for a good, long while. This gentleman took off the petrol cap and blew a long, hard breath into the tank. He was literally giving mouth to mouth resuscitation to his motorbike! The best thing is, it worked and he was soon on his way again.

Included in the price of a ticket was also free entry to the British motor museum itself. It's great museum thats more gears to cars than bikes but a really interesting place to visit. It even has the first bicycle made by William Morris, who you might remember from my previous post and a full post about him is in the pipeline.

Next year is the 70^th Banbury run and I can't wait to come back again.

Hope to see you there!

Oxford Bike Week 10th - 18th of June 2017

This week is National Bike Week, a week of rides and events all over the country, celebrating everything thats great about getting out on two wheels. (The non-motorised kind!)

In my home city of Oxford, cycling is obviously very popular amongst the town and gown alike. There are lots of cycling events scheduled this week and hopefully I will get to attend a couple. All of the events can be found at www.bikeweek.org.uk/events

One of the ideas behind Oxford Bike week is to encourage more people to get out there and do some cycling.

I think cycling is not only good for the environment and your general health, but it can also be good for the soul. There are some amazing buildings and landmarks that I get to see and enjoy that I would otherwise miss if I were driving.

Like thousands of other people, my journey to work sends me through the heart of the city. It can be tough sometimes, especially with our current infrastructure but cycling through this beautiful city does have a few perks.

So here are my top five soul stirring sites of my daily commute. (I'm no expert on these places and I'd like to thank Wikipedia for the information).

NUMBER 5: Osney Bridge

When I first started cycling into Oxford I used to dread it. For a novice rider it can be a little tough to get over, but after a while I got used to it. But it really is the point in my journey when I know that I'm in the city.

NUMBER 4: The Oxford Playhouse.

The playhouse was built in 1938. A wonderful looking building that has seen some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. Sir Ian McKellen, Judi Dench and perhaps most notably Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor, who now have a studio within the playhouse named after them.

NUMBER 3: The Randolph

Possibly the best hotel in the city. Certainly the best looking!

NUMBER 2: Ashmolean Museum

Exactly opposite the Randolph, is the Ashmolean Museum. The ancient Egyptian stuff is a particular highlight but don't take my word for it, if you've got time, park up your bike and have a look. It's free 

entry.

NUMBER 1: The Eagle and Child

Not just a great place to get a pint after a long cycle, but an amazing part of Oxfords history. A group of poets and writers known as the Inkings used to meet here. Amongst them were such literary greats as C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolken.

So thats about it. And this is just the quickest route to work for me. I know there are many, many more site to see around the city.

So why not give it a go yourself, who knows what you might find.

Restoration Desperation

As previously mentioned i'm pretty handy when it come to repairing bicycles. I can handle a puncture or two and I've replaced my fair share of brakes. So with this in mind I thought it might be fun to try my hand at a restoration project.

It was about a year ago, my neighbours were moving house and out on the front lawn was an old bicycle. We got into a conversation and I asked about the bike. She said it belonged to her husband and he used to ride it to school everyday, back in the 70's.

She then told me they were about to take it to the tip. (For any none UK readers, the tip is a recycling centre).

I don't really know why, but I felt like I couldn't let this bike go on the scrap heap. I wanted to save it. At least what was left of it. So we did a little deal and I got to keep it.

It wasn't in the worst condition. The wheels turned, so that was a start. It had been in a garage for, who knows how long. It must have been a while.

Which brings me too my first problem with this restoration. This bike belonged to my neighbour, who rode it to school. It didn't really click with me until I actually got on the bike around six months later. He rode this to school. As a child. This was a child bike! I suppose I was just so excited by the idea of fixing up something that was around 50 years old, that I didn't stop to wonder why the handle bars and seat were so low.

I was initially disappointed as I wanted to restore something for myself. I wanted a cool, vintage bike that I could call my own. But basically it didn't fit.

So, what did I actually have here? Well it the classic Raleigh Hustler. Unfortunately I can't work out the exact date. The model is from around the 60's and 70's and according to some online sources they are quite rare. Not sure how true this is, given the low prices people have sold them for but none the less it's a pretty cool, little bike. This one is a two tone green affair, with a few small rusty bits, and some pitting on the chrome, but this just adds character, right?

The first thing I did was inflate the tyres. They are the originals and to my amazement they still hold air. In reality, if I were to give it the full restoration treatment I think I would replace both wheels entirely.

Next, I remove a weird plastic bracket thing that was added on at a later date. I raise the seat a little and giver her a test ride. It's difficult to describe what the bike was like. It obviously hadn't been ridden in years and it shows. Also it being a child's bike, it was very difficult for me to ride with my knees under my chin. But nonetheless it did ride, all three gears worked and the brakes worked.

After that, a couple of weekends is all it took to get 50 years of grease and grime off and a wire brush for some of the more stubborn rust patches. But I think the best discovery was the Sturmey Archer Hub. All of the detail was buried under the dust and muck and uncovering it just made the whole bike look ten times better.

To be honest, if I were fixing this up for myself I would love to spend more time on it, but I think what i'm going to do is try and find it a new home. Some younger, smaller framed person might think it's cool!