Shoe shine kept for best

This unused shoe polishing set, with simulated leather pouch, came down through the family from Annette's grandma. All the brushes say "Made in England," from a time when they actually made things in England. The additional large brush was acquired at an estate sale here in Toronto, bought for buttons as part of a job lot.
The Kiwi shoe polish says: "By appointment to H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh" - good to know. The Kiwi company address was Ealing, London, W5.
Of course we shan't be using these items as we're keeping them for best.
Pic by Annette.

Oil flush

Some of you may think I'm not playing with a full deck but bicycle restoration requires some lateral thought. I am attempting to resuscitate a second Auto-Mini bicycle where the bottom bracket (BB) was not turning freely. I'm fairly certain the bottom bracket hadn't been lubed in decades.
I tried some drops of oil down the seatpost from my $10 bottle of oil from my LBS (Local Bicycle Store) which brought about some improvement. I then thought if some is good more is better. So I bought a litre of 30W non-detergent oil in Walmart for $4. The oil container says "Recommended for use in hydraulics, light-duty gear boxes, general oiling and pre-1940 engines."
I poured a quarter of it down the seat tube, letting it run out the bottom bracket. It ran through fairly rapidly dislodging some crud on the way. The cranks are now turning freely.
For those of you who thought you should use grease I can only quote Sheldon Brown: "The difference between oil and grease is mostly a difference of degree. Grease is very thick oil; oil is very thin grease." I am old enough to remember that my first bicycle, a Raleigh, had an oil port on the bottom bracket. Anyway stripping the BB, wrestling with cotter pins, and possibly damaging it in the process is not for me. I shall investigate fitting an oil or grease port later.
I wondered if this bush mechanics trick had been tried before and found somewhere on the internet where olive oil had been used to silence a noisy bottom bracket in similar fashion.
Pic by RLT.

Trigger happy

The gearshift on my Kent Auto-Mini bicycle failed at the anchorage. It was relying on a piece of bent wire to connect the shifter cable to the small chain, which actually changes the gears. This wire straightened out and failed under load. I concluded that if this could happen once it was bound to happen again.
I'd never experienced a failure like this in over ten years riding the Brompton folding bicycle, also equipped with Sturmey Archer hub gears. A trip to my local bike store and I obtained the Brompton-like anchorage (Manufacturer Part #: HSL759) which I fitted myself (see pic). A test ride to Queens Quay, some 15 miles in all, and the Auto-Mini is behaving itself once more. The 3-speed trigger is shifting satisfactorily, as well as can be expected for a component over 40 years old and known for its eccentricity.
Pic by RLT.

Brighton breezes

The week-end before Angoulême I was in Brighton for the Speed Trials. This traditional event was on good form, but the second runs were affected by rain. The run-what-ya-brung format is illustrated by this Mini-Cooper heading to the startline.
Pic by RLT.

Angoulême the easy way

We went to Angoulême for the Circuit des Remparts. Hours of thrashing down the motorway are out so we opted for the TGV, with a change of trains (and stations) in Lille. To add spice we took three Brompton folding bicycles.
We left Lewes on the 05.29, making a cross-platform change at Gatwick, onto the Gatwick Express for Victoria, a more spacious and comfortable way to reach the smoke. Unfold the bikes and we head for St Pancras. Outside Buckingham Palace a shout from Richard Banks reveals a saddle malfunction and a bike pump fallen in the road. Essentially a shakedown run for his new Brompton 6-speed we limp to St. Pancras where running repairs are effected.
After a coffee stop (Costa, £5.65 for three) we depart at 08.27 by Eurostar for Lille. Breakfast on the train in first class comfort is most acceptable. There is time for a quick cycle tour of Lille, in the old town, where we spot a vintage Peugeot folder with 22" wheels and a beater bike with Fichtel & Sachs Dreigang.

After a snack lunch on the concourse at Lille Flandres we join the 12.45, departing six-minutes late for points south. On arrival we assemble the bikes for Angoulême-Nord - it is a climb out of town to les montagnes. We check-in to the F1 hotel and take supper at a Chinese buffet. Saturday and we are bicycling into the boondocks in search of classic cars and the Le Rallye International de Charente. The morning is wet as we stop at the Chateau de Balzac, an intriguing walled house where we decline a tour. On to Bric-à-Brac at Vindelle, where Richard scores two Duralex glasses, 50 cents, for his Citroën 'H' campervan project. The old motorised bicycles are another attraction as we take a pic-nic lunch. We cycle on stopping at a wrecking yard on the outskirts of Montignac where we spot a wonderful selection of postwar French (and German) vehicles including an 'H' van.

Further on we realise that Montignac was a stop on a previous tour and we head with anticipation to the Bar le Donjon. See PunchBuggy Passim. After a few beers some 400 classic cars are passing our table. There is traffic chaos and the boys join the action, directing the cars in their high-viz jackets.

On the return leg I'm struggling up the hill past La Templerie, at Champniers, necessitating a water stop. Supper at La Boucherie, a meaty restaurant next to our hotel.
On Sunday we take a taxi into Angoulême, where we have lost the teashop at Les Halles and the Tribune du théâtre, the grandstand on the short chute past the startline. Sitting in the grandstand opposite there is discontent as folk stand to watch the racing. We move on, watching the racing from many different vantage points, and ducking into town during the frequent showers. The racing is splendid, watching folk wrestling their aging machinery round the tricky street circuit.

The track looks somewhat neglected with hedges uncut and plants unpruned on the ramparts. We grab a cab to an Italian restaurant close to our digs. Monday morning we roar into town and take tea opposite the station, buying baguettes for the train journey north. The weekend is over all too soon.

Pics by Richard Banks and RLT.

What's in your shed?

Apparently there are 13 million bicycles lying unused in the UK. See BikeRadar.  Truly a wasting asset. I shudder to think what the total is in North America. Getting these machines out of the shed and back on the road would save gas and improve fitness across the board.
My small contribution came with the acquisition of the Kent Auto-Mini for $10 at a yard sale. Described by my local bike store as a "cold war bicycle" this Austrian-built beauty is now back on the road. I met a man locally riding a vintage Moulton bike who, on seeing the Auto-Mini, said: "There is no such thing as a bad bicycle." I guess he was right. See PunchBuggy Passim.
Pic by RLT.

Steam era

We went to Steam Era at Milton on Saturday, the 51st bash out west of Toronto - an old time farm event with traction engines and classic cars. This pink Model A Ford caught the spirit of the event. It was damn hot as we listened to Marion's Country Band, in "can't bust 'ems," playing fifties style. They were interrupted by the local pols and bigwigs, in the official opening ceremony, one of whom assured us that we had the future to look forward to.
Pic by RLT.