...boots spellman, who raced with jim merten jr. in their wing with kiekhaefer mercury power...https://mlclell2icph.i.optimole.com/...and-wild-2.jpg
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...boots spellman, who raced with jim merten jr. in their wing with kiekhaefer mercury power...https://mlclell2icph.i.optimole.com/...and-wild-2.jpg
Attachment 503047
BELIEVE IT OR NOT THERE ARE NOT MANY OF THESE LEFT ON THE ROADS TODAY !!!!!! Especially with knights of the realm armour ——rare sight captured on the way to WORLDS END restaurant with Gary and Lou.
...i remember mike wolfe from the tv show american picker, who is a bicycle aficionado, saying that those bikes were dangerous when you fell off of them. you were either dead or badly hurt. very difficult to mount & dismount from. could have just been drama for the audience, maybe not...
When i was a kid there were still lots of pennyfarthings in peoples posession. During the war we would race three and kids had to climb up from the back step —- elimination heats until you had a winner . I was a small kid and could never make the damn thing work. Have had the farthing come up behind ad smack me round the head . GEE BIKES were much more fun —-just bounced up and down on the saddle . Tell you about the lunch tomorrow — im knackered— missed my daily nap.Quote:
Originally Posted by FUJIMO
Well, the lunch with Gary and Lou did happen eventually. Wasn’t at the 47 as it was closed for some reason or another . We eventually wound up at THE WORLD‘S END in PATCHAM. First time i had ever been there — wasn’t exactly MICHELIN, but it was ok for wednesday lunch.
Both told me they were now AMERICAN CITIZENS. Strange feeling to be told your grandkids are now american !!!!!!!!
Louise didnt want to leave Switzerland and was the last of the kids to arrive in the USA. Gary has always reckoned he would retire back to Hampshire .. so all my family in the USA are american citizens. Great grandkids by birth. Son and grandsons by choice .
now all my kin in the USA are Americans .
My personal opinion is —-USA got one hell of a deal.
...even with all the new regulations we live with here in the states, i can't blame them for wanting a better life. congradulations to all of them...
Yeah they were known as "skull-crackers" in the US. I've read accounts of races from town-A to town-B and back. Distances of 100 and sometimes 200 miles. That was on dirt/brick/cobble roads. And wearing wool clothing. As a current bike racer, I can tell you that those were challenging conditions. When the modern bicycle appeared, it was called a "safety bicycle".Quote:
Originally Posted by FUJIMO
I am no expert on pennyfarthings , but one thing i know for sure , you cannot ride them in anger . It’s a sedate and well thought out sequence of events to even get up onto the saddle and maintain any sort of balance before transmitting power to the drive train.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronster43
If it has forward motion of any kind —somebody -somewhere is going to want it to go quicker than it was originally intended, which always begs the question —- can i go faster than him on that ????
I did a race on on one about 25 miles, on the flat they are great, stopping is the only problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackiewilson
Attachment 503135
Thought i was being a smart arse when i beat the vendor of this pop-up gazebo into the ground .
problems started when i got it home and opened it up !!!!!! It just kept on opening up -and up-and up—and up. Finally ran out of garden . Damn thing is huge ——-and requires six people to erect it . Called a POP-UP GAZEBO—. ???? Wonder which wag thought up that name .
anyway —problem sorted —-stuck it on market place and sold it instantly. Where there’s a Wilson there’s a way.
If you get a chance —- please read the poem HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD by ROBERT BROWNING. Even as a kid i was always fiercely loyal to the flag —king/queen and country . Whenever i was abroad i used to remember this poem i learned as a child . Typifies an Englishman really i suppose . Spring is here at last, was a long haul this time . Body is now out of lifetime guarantee —- its on its own the rest of the journey .!!!!!!
AH WELL here goes nothing .
great Britain and its allies [ excluding usa] have decided to increase supplies of armaments to Zelinsky . These include up to date anti tank weapons —remote controlled , weapon bearing drones that would take some of the weight off Ukrainian forces. Meanwhile in the EU France and Germany are urging Zelinski to accept a peace settlement that is nothing short of capitulation.
Once again its the UK that is sticking its neck out . Actually doing something to help.
I know all about keeping schtum because nobody in their right mind wants to get involved in nuclear warfare —— but what do you do when someone who is not in their right mind declares war on a neighbouring country.
You can only sit on the can for so long !!!!!!!!!
I know Boris is a twat—- but he’s our twat— and i dont give a flying fart if he broke covid rules ——so did i . Get over it !!!!!!!
The last time I saw you was at bicycle race in Miami. That was a long time ago. Glad to see you are still in the peloton.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronster43
...heard putin started a draft in his country for 150,000 soldiers, or some such. guys nutz...
they will have less skill than the clowns he already sent who have only managed to shoot down one of their own planes so far..Quote:
Originally Posted by FUJIMO