I’m having a bit of R&R time down at Mum and Dad’s before the Festive 500 starts in a few days. This morning I was mostly tinkering with some retro and custom bikes that Dad has in the shed. Here he is test riding the “longrider” custom cruiser:

The bikes were packed up with the rest of their belongings earlier this year and shipped by sea from Australia. Dad’s a bit of a “tinkerer” himself, which is where I get it from!

The bike hadn’t been ridden since the move so was in need of some care. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve messed around with Sturmey Archer internal gear hubs! This particular 3-speed hub was stamped 1986. Almost as old as me. The bike is a chopped road frame of unknown origin and most of the parts have been sourced from various other donor bikes over the years.

I’ve got my own bike to start working on soon. It’s a beach cruiser brought over from the US by a friend of a friend. It sat outdoors in the elements for around four years rotting away before they moved back. It’ll be my winter project, obviously the basket will be the first thing to go!

See, I’m not all “need for speed” road warrior! I’ll probably strip this one down, paint it black, add some white wall tyres, new bars and saddle plus a few other “rat rod” style touches then use it to cruise the beach front boulevard! They see me rolling… :-)