Being as it was still early afternoon, we took the opportunity to go for a blast in the spring sunshine- I aboard his Russian TI fixer and he aboard “Old Faithful”. After some brief pre-ride preparation- the inflation of tyres and in his case, the taming of a rogue mudguard (fender) bolt, leading him to reflect upon a rebuild after 20,000 winter miles. Five minutes later, we were blasting through the outskirts of Harwich and into the long and winding rural landscape.
Following as close on Justin’s wheel as my legs and a 67-inch gear would allow, we cantered up the climbs and dived into the descents, the bright, tranquil landscape deceptively still as we battled into an unrelenting headwind. Two thirds of the loop completed, he stopped to tend to a missing mudguard eye bolt whilst I contemplated a loose stem cap. Justin jokingly remarking that old faithful might well explode before we returned to the safety of the workshop!
Mercifully neither men nor machines expired and after resuming civilian dress, it was quick cup of tea and a look at his wife’s new bike. Mila can’t ride a solo so Justin built this delightful frameset out of Columbus tubing he’d had lying around. The fork, also fillet brazed by him is slightly shorter than standard suspension corrected designs. Crank arms need shortening by 20mm to 155mm but he has this all in hand.
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