My earliest memory of a bike, or more
accurately a trike, is of my lovely pale blue frame (Reynolds 501 I believe) with
red disk “track” wheels which were way ahead of their time. Directly driven by
the pedals attached to the front wheel. No brakes so my first trendy fixie. I
rode that bike all over. Up and down the garden. Forwards and backwards. Different
terrains both tarmac and off road (garden path and lawn). Even mixing it up
with the flower beds and along the cobbles as can be seen in the photo of me in
a Spring Classic. It was chilly so I wore cycling tights and a woollen jersey
as did all the professionals back in the 1960s. Smart hard soled cycling shoes
too. My main handicap was that my younger sister insisted on me giving her
backies around the garden which would’nt’ve cramped my style so much except
that she also insisted that we stop to pick up dropped shoes. I doubt if Jacques
Anquetil or Beryl Burton had to put up with that nonsense. Anyway, the extra
weight certainly ensured my leg muscles were well developed for a 3 year old. At
this time I lived in Bridgwater and although not too far from the infamous
Porlock Hill (25%) decided against a trip out there partly due to my lack of
gearing but mainly as my sister wasn’t allowed to venture more than 10 miles
from home. This was the 60s when kids had more freedom to roam but there was a
limit. Within a couple of years I moved out of Bridgwater which was a shame as
the brilliantly stocked St John St Cycles is based there from which I’ve bought
quite a few standard and very non-standard (i.e. not to be found anywhere else)
parts through their on-line store.
