This is my dilemma! As loads of you have pointed out, it's a really beautiful bike, and the memory will fade with time I suppose. What my distrust has revealed, however, is that my love for its looks and heritage was masking a basic flaw in my reasoning: it's not particularly well-suited to my needs. I only use the bike for very short hops around town, and even then it's pretty uncomfortable and impractical. I have a town bike for shopping, and I'm building up a Viking as a tourer of sorts, so this one is filling a gap that doesn't really exist.

I'm swaying towards, come Spring, selling the Sports and buying a Moulton TSR of some sort (thanks to a hefty Pashley staff discount). I've always thought that I'd love to have a 'bike for life', one that is unwavering in its usability, and the Sports just isn't meeting the mark right now. I'd like to think a TSR would meet most of my needs (short town hops, longer day rides, a bit of towpath riding) with the town bike filling in for cargo needs. I knew something was up when I was reluctant to even perform the most basic of services on the Sports, instead resorting to my LBS. Anyone else experienced this moment of realisation?