A spin on the Pashley Guv'nor along the Lodes Way

Me with the Guv'nor at White Fen
I took the day off today - much needed after the past few weeks - and took the Pashley Guv'nor out for its first ride along the lovely Lodes Way. Here's how it came to be in my stable of bikes.

My two close friends Agnes and Ronald Gabriel who recently died (see last week's address An Achievable Perfection) very kindly left me a little money to spend on something I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. As readers of this blog know one of my passions is the bicycle and I've always had a soft spot for classic cycles. I have a Dursley-Pederson, my regular day-ride steed is a Viking Ian Steel from 1956 fitted with a Sturmey Archer 3-speed gear, my round town bike is an 80's Raleigh Superbe and my single speed fixie is a lovely 80s Colnago.

Over the years Agnes and Ronald gave me a couple of lovely bicycling books from the 1920s and 30s and since both of them were born in 1928 the possibility of getting hold of Pashley's wondrous Guv'nor (pity about the apostrophe . . .) began to dawn on me as an appropriate thing to get as both a reminder of them and something which will continue to bring me pleasure for many years to come. The excellent Evan's cycles in Milton Keynes got me one to test ride on Saturday and, need I tell you, I brought it home with me. It's a real delight. It is based on a Path Racer made by Pashley in the 1930s and, as they state it's "just the ticket for exploring the English countryside." Below are a few photos from the ride. For those of you waiting for Sunday's address I'll get it up sometime tomorrow early evening.

Here's a link to a pdf catalogue of the bike.

And here's a link for the marvellously enthusiastic and informative site The Guvnor Owners' Club.

The Guv'nor in Lode High Street
Swaffham Bulbeck Lode
Looking south back towards Cambridge over Baker's Fen

The Guv'nor at Wicken Fen Cafe

Preparing the Guv'nor Blend tea after the ride - amazingly the tea comes with the bike!

Comments

kbop said…
what have you done now? I demand a ride on it to check whether or not you have completely lost your mind.
Alas, the universe will deny you that great pleasure as the fame is almost certainly too big for you. But I sense the Guv'nors many charms will be lost on you even were you to mount the mighty steed. Just try to see it as part of my slow abandonment of Tour de France-ism in favour of a less frenzied and artificially enhanced way of being on the bicycle - it started with the Dursley-Pederson, it continues with the Guv'nor. Who knows an Ordinary may be beckoning . . . Either way I'm off to make another brew of Guv'nor's blend after another splendid and highly satisfying spin into the English countryside.
kbop said…
yes, I have found that fame was too big for me, back in the day. none the less, we could do some 'paths' if I break out the kona...

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