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| 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.
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| The Guv'nor in Lode High Street |
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| Swaffham Bulbeck Lode |
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| Looking south back towards Cambridge over Baker's Fen |
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| The Guv'nor at Wicken Fen Cafe |
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| Preparing the Guv'nor Blend tea after the ride - amazingly the tea comes with the bike! |
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