[First filed: September 29, 2008 @ 10:27]
Yesterday morning marked the first ever Canberra Vintage and Classic Bicycle Ride, held by the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.
Mrs Brown and myself decided to pop down to the starting line to see if I could find anyone else with an interest in the wacky English Raleigh Chopper.
We found that the ride was the brainchild of Trevor Shone – a vintage bicycle enthusiast who organised the ride to help ‘protect our cycling history’ by bringing collectable bike owners together to talk, swap and ride pre-1985 bicycles.
(Slideshow and more below)
I became so involved in my trip down memory lane that the next time I looked around there were at least 150 – 160 people gathered, each with their own lovingly restored or proudly battered and rusty beast.
There were plenty of standouts such as Alex Oshea’s Green 1949 Malvern Star and Anton Wurzer’s ‘Lennie Racer’ tandem – modified of course to carry a small child as a stoker. There were a range of English 3 speeds, early 80s BMX bikes, even two orange speedwell GTS’s, complete with hydraulic brakes.
Trevor hopes that the event will grow to become an annual gathering to raise money for charity including a swap meet, the social ride and other activities. By the size and enthusiasm of the crowd, he is well on his way to achieving his dream.
Unfortunately for me there were no Raleigh Choppers. Mrs Brown was happy – our garage is packed as it is.
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