I figured I'd share my collection on here after posting up my 30's DL1 that I found.

This all started when I was 14 (I'm 34 now) with my first job as a bike mechanic. I really think it shaped my mind to understand things on a mechanical level, and how basic things function.

Anyhoo - my dad died unexpectedly three months ago and this spurred a random need for a distraction, so I started getting into 3 speeds. I travel all over New England for camping trips, boat down in Barnstable, and run a state tech project that involves a lot of travel to every corner of Mass. I figured along the way I'd grab a few bikes, refurb them and bring them back to Somerville. The ones I liked I'd keep, the ones I didn't I'd sell...but I'd have fun working on them and meeting people along the way (I'm convinced craigslist buy/sell transactions involve nothing but good, interesting people when you're dealing with antiques)

So, here's what I kept...

a '65 Columbia Sports III. This thing's awesome. It was part of a his/hers set I picked up. I ride this everyday to the T in Davis


a '50 Dawn Tourist. This was to be my 'project tourist' since I already have a newer DL-1, but I'm not sure now. Neat bike, and it's all there but rusty in some spots






a '70 DL1 - I haven't even ridden this yet due to the clipless pedals which I only recently acquired clips for. This was a really nice woman up in Maine who lost her husband unexpectedly two years ago, and he was a fanatic about this bike and biking in general. I bonded with her over our losses and we still keep in touch. She would only sell these as a pair - his DL1 and her '52 Sports with enclosed chaincase which is also immaculate. I don't know what to do with that one, but I don't have the heart to break them up. The blue sticker on the front fender is a Maine bike registration that expired in 1974



and here's the '52 Sports that is paired with it


I also hung onto a really neat/pristine BSA - it's a 1970, so I guess it's just a rebadged Raleigh, but I still like it...