Hey, everyone -

Tomorrow is the big seven-oh: we'll have a party for about 50 people and sing songs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, after which popular music went downhill (or, from a different perspective, I reached the age of 30 and lost interest!). We have to pack it in at 9:30 pm (darn!) because my wife and I are entered in a 10-mile road (running) race that starts at 7.00 on Sunday, and 70-year-old bods don't handle alcohol and late nights followed by runs very well.

For the historically-minded, my first bike was a second-hand clunker, painted completely black by the previous owner, with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed and all rods brake linkages (no cables). The brake shoes ran against the inside of the wheel, and the cross-bar sloped down to the front - sloping crossbars didn't exist on new bikes at that time. I would guess this bike dated to the 1930s. It was given to me for my tenth birthday, and the next summer (1952) I attempted a 120-mile ride, but had to be rescued by my father at mile 92.

My next bike was a BSA Light Tourer, very similar to my Bianchi Volpe except for the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed and the straight handlebars. I was an asthmatic and was not allowed to have drops: I was furious because my younger bro had drops, rat-traps, and a 10-speed derailleur. I bought this partially with my own money at age 13: it cost UKPounds 17/10/-, or about $50. I rode that bike 170 miles a day for 3 days on one trip (1958), and 250 miles in 24-hours on another trip, after which I had a crook knee and had to abandon an attempt to ride around North Wales in 2 days and back home in a day (that would have been a 150-mile final leg)(March 1959).

Those were the days! These days I'm pushed to do 100-miles in a day fully loaded.