When I recently mentioned on a forum that I’d “rescued” the frame for my new bike someone wrote:
” I think most of us are still reeling from the fact such a thing of beauty could in any way be rescued…
it’s like the start of a fairy story, we want to know more, were there dragons involved…”
So here it is, the story about the rescue of Red and some adventures with dragons.
Once upon a time there was a galant not so young but awfully handsome knight with a black steed called Mr Hyde. They’d had many awesome adventures together in far off lands, fighting off evil corrupt customs agents, touts and slaying various horrible stomach bugs. Occasionally rescuing beautiful maidens (and sometimes not so beautiful maidens).
But this couldn’t go on forever. The evil gold dragon started to complain that the gold was almost gone, so the awfully handsome knight once again had to exchange his spurs for spanners and go back to work. After a summer of spannering the brave knight was once again ready for adventure and the gold dragon allowed him to have a short escape, the only condition was that the brave knight couldn’t go searching out adventure and maidens in Africa where he might have fun but had to suffer somewhere, a penance for only working 7 months in 2 years.
Happy to get the opportunity to hit the road again, the knight and his trusty steed took up the challenge to become the first 2 wheeled team to attempt to cycle the Trans Labrador highway in winter.
Unsurprisingly they were thwarted by the evil Ice dragon and had to take a couple of lifts despite their best intentions and heroism in the Ice dragons domein.
Anyway, on their return the Gold dragon was very angry and insisted that the awfully handsome knight get his arse back to work and make some gold again if he ever wanted to have a life other than renting a room while he worked each summer and living in a tent each winter. So, the rather smart knight thought he’d be better off working freelance. This would give him more flexibility and a slight illusions of still making his own choices. During the free lance process the brave knight had an epic battle with the evil Insurance dragon that had no intentions of giving medical and disability insurance to someone brave enough to camp and travel in the Ice dragons lands at -40. On his way back from the insurance dragons lair, bruised and bleeding from the 2 month battle the brave knight started having doubts about his choice to live such a brave and heroic life (and the choice to share his life on the internet giving the Insurance dragon free ammunition), and renting a 3×2.6m room no longer seemed right for someone so heroic and handsome, maybe there was a maiden out there that wanted more?
So the choice was made to track down the evil Mortgage dragon and try to make a deal, the deal was possible but then the handsome knight would have to work more than 7 months a year and sell his soul to the dragon and take part in a very prestigious race. The awfully handsome knight couldn’t understand what was so prestigious about a race involving rats?
So, no more trips of 3-12 months, time to start thinking of interesting adventurers that are shorter, more interesting and preferably closer to home. Things like the Trans Andalusia, Highland 550 and later the Freedom Trail and revisiting the more rugged paths of previous adventures.
Though Mr Hyde was a thoroughbred and not ready to retire, he was a cross between a warhorse and workhorse and just wasn’t quite nimble enough for the interesting adventures the awfully handsome knight was dreaming up for his winter escapes from the race with the rats. So, Mr Hyde received an early dismissal package of lighter wheels, shiny mudguards and only one gear to keep his life simple in his golden years.
It was time to look for a new young and agile though well build steed for the next round of adventure, it seemed so simple, a second hand 26″ MTB should be cheap and easy to find during the current gold rush for 27,5 and 29″. Sadly the brave knight had high standards and wishes after 25,000km of adventure on Mr Hyde and other steeds. He just couldn’t fall in love with aluminium frames. But, he had a cunning plan, with cap in hand he went to the great craftsman who had once build Mr Hyde for him and asked if maybe one of the 200 brave steeds hanging around his farm could be rescued before dying of old age. Just maybe the great craftsman could find it in his heart to sell one of his younger, full of life great creations.
” Built for a bike show in 2010, and ridden for a weekend or two, yours for……”
It was slightly too big, top tube longer than Mr Hyde but the oversized red Reynolds 853 tubes were so pretty, it had wonderful details and craftsmanship, huge tire clearance and a farm gate sized frame meant lots of real estate for frame bags.
” I can make that fit, sold to the man with the big ears” .
Lots of new bits, some bits robbed off Mr Hyde, other bits that where lying around in the knights new castle. There was some room for improvements later but Frankenstein was born and ready for action.
And the rest as they say is history, waiting to be written. . . . .
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Whats your story of your love affair with your current or previous bike?
If only more farms had gates like that!
Sadly, Red will remain a virgin until he hits the Freedom Trail…. 😉
Haha, indeed 🙂
I VAGUELY REMEMBERED THIS CHIRP!!! Well, let’s see which gate most closely matches….
Now there’s a photo series waiting to happen 🙂
Mine´s here:
http://starostneradost.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/work-in-progress/
Not a frame Marten built, though.
Very nice, I especially like that the rear rack bends near the frame unlike the Tubus does it 2/3rd the way across my dry bags 🙂
My Vantage is only 3 years old, but that’s the longest I’ve ever held onto a bike.
She was bought to get me out of my flat and help deal with depression and other medical problems most of which are slowly improving and a few new ones developing in that time. I also wanted to get back to something I’ve always loved, cycling.
In the time I’ve had her, I’ve spent more money than I could afford on getting her just right and on maintenance and done more miles than any bike before her. She’s given me less trouble than any other bike before her and way more smiles.
I wouldn’t be able to go visit my daughters as often without her and I wouldn’t be able to go spend time with my girlfriend as much either and when all that occasionally goes pear shaped, a ride relieves my troubles and sets my mind at ease.
She’s just been treated to a new Carradice Pendle in green & honey too 🙂
Some folk say you can’t love an inanimate object…
I disagree 🙂 I literally would be lost without my bottom of the range cheapo but entirely ‘me’ tourer 🙂
Great story Bill, thanks for sharing it. Your story sums up what a love for cycling is about in my eyes. It can be a hobby, passion, money saver, means of transport or a life saver.
My bike I love is not actually my touring bike, although I am very fond of my Surly Long Haul Trucker.
My most cherished and loved bike is a road bike, I’ve spent as many hours riding her as I have my touring bikes, she’s not any bike. She was going to be thrown in a skip. A friend called me and said come and look, it’s old, rusty and not worth selling, unless you want it it’s going in the skip.
So not thinking much about this so called wreck I went and had a look, she’s white and when I first saw her with lots of rust, perished tyres, original red rubber brake blocks. She was a 1986 Raleigh Milk Race Special. I pumped up the tyres and rode two miles before the perished tyres disintegrated and then I pushed her home.
I put new tyres on her, cleaned her up but she still looked old, very worn with cleaner rust, still rusty, peeling stickers, she looked tired.
Getting on her she comes alive, steel frame or not, she’s quick and with only 10 gears and down tube shifters I rode her all the time in preference to the new shiny Cannondales hung up in the garage.
I even only had flat pedals on and turning up at a newly formed local club could hear the sniggers of others on their carbon fibre rides. We didn’t listen, we let the ride show what she could do… They all stopped laughing.
I rode her on Audax, club rides, Sportives again to laughter, our finest ride being the wiggle French Revolution a couple of years ago. Getting off the ferry in France people stared, they whispered to each other and rudely pointed. We set off and took pleasure and saying “hi” and then “goodbye” as we passed several of the mockers. We got the fastest time (yeah I know it’s not a race, I still look at results and sort them in excel, I’m a self confessed statistic geek). There were two courses, one was 59 miles, the longer one we did 74 miles. We did it so quick the 59 miler fastest time only got in 5 minutes before we did. No one at either of the clubs I ride with laugh at old bikes any more, they even show some appreciation.
You don’t need carbon, you don’t need a million gears and you don’t need bling, the old steel girls still got it.
In the end like an ex girlfriend she eventually broke my heart. And just like the girlfriend yes it was all my fault! Her chain stay snapped. I should have treated the rust, I should have treated her better and trying to get back a Strava KOM on a local hill broke her. I will have her mended when I get home, she’s worth more to me than all my other bikes, she’s got a soul and she’s my mate.
Gary
http://www.longbikeride.co.uk
Nice story, thanks for sharing it 🙂