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Post by sprockit on Jul 7, 2019 20:28:17 GMT
September weekends are ok for me, but will need to arrange cover at work as long as possible before the date if it's a Saturday ride.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Aug 27, 2019 13:29:45 GMT
7/8 and 14/15 September are still good for me.
So far, we have Dracco, Sprockit, Cusqueno and me as probables plus Sooper 8 as a possible. Anyone else interested?
I can meet in the Midlands, North London or Yorkshire easily.
Any preferences for dates on those weekends?
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Post by velocipete on Aug 28, 2019 5:53:29 GMT
I'm on for a gentle pootle around the lanes. I'd prefer the 14/15 weekend though. I've got next to no miles in my legs this year. No big hills please!!!! Cheers, Pete.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Sept 1, 2019 9:46:24 GMT
I'm on for a gentle pootle around the lanes. I'd prefer the 14/15 weekend though. I've got next to no miles in my legs this year. No big hills please!!!! Cheers, Pete. Here’s a suggestion. A tour of the ‘Venice of the North’ on Sunday 15th September. Meet late morning in exotic Birmingham, then take a scenic loop around the mostly flat canal network, possibly including Small Heath for any Peaky Blinders fans, with the enticing prospect of a visit to glamorous Bilston, home of Viscount bicycles, if the weather is suitable. I appreciate that Sunday train services aren’t the best, and I could do Saturday 14th, but I think that might be difficult for Sprockit. If anyone fancies either day but would need accommodation on Saturday night, let me know.
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Post by scottw on Sept 2, 2019 15:03:15 GMT
Apologies wont be able to make the 15th....got booked on the Tom Simpson Retro Ride in North Notts, the shorter 60k ride. See details below tomsimpsonmemorialfund.co.uk/
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Post by sprockit on Sept 2, 2019 20:15:30 GMT
15th is best for me but won't be able to get to Birmingham New Street before 12 noon, otherwise will need to arrange an overnight stay somewhere locally.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Sept 11, 2019 20:56:14 GMT
15th is best for me but won't be able to get to Birmingham New Street before 12 noon, otherwise will need to arrange an overnight stay somewhere locally. 1200 start from New Street would be OK for me. I went for a spin up to Bilston from New St today to test a possible 25 mile route along the canal towpaths. The canals between Birmingham and Bilston might not make it onto a list of Britain’s most scenic routes, but the sun was shining and the towpaths are mostly well surfaced, thanks to Birmingham City Council’s policy of adopting the canal network as part of their cycle path network. There are a couple of short slippery sections, which would be walkable for anyone on a bike with skinny tyres, and a longish dark tunnel at Coseley, where a front light might have been useful. Oxford St, Bilston by RMT@261, on Flickr Screen Shot 2015-11-14 at 22.06.51 by RMT@261, on Flickr If anyone would like to join me for a trip from New St to Bilston and back on Sunday afternoon, let me know. We’d need about three hours to cover the route, so early evening trains home should be easily catchable. Good luck on the Tom Simpson retro ride, Scott! Also good to read that Michael and Kev have managed to take DFR to an international level.
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Post by cusqueno on Sept 14, 2019 7:37:48 GMT
I'm sorry that I'll have to miss this. I'm busy with tedious stuff at the moment and if it's nice tomorrow I've been asked to go to the seaside by Mrs C. Looks like an interesting ride though. Haven't been anywhere on a bike for ages, apart from commuting. Have a great time Rob et al.
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,389
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Post by Jem on Sept 14, 2019 7:49:58 GMT
Apologies Rob, I'd love to be out on my bike tomorrow with the Viscount crowd but I just can't fit it in this weekend.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Sept 16, 2019 13:31:12 GMT
The sun was still shining yesterday morning, so I pumped up the tyres on the Victor and set off from my local railway station for Birmingham New Street and beyond. IMG_0530 by RMT@261, on Flickr I made my way out of the city on the Birmingham New Main Line Canal from Gas Street Basin via Winson Green and Smethwick, sharing routes with the railway as far as Pudding Green junction, where I turned northwards, to cruise down the Ryders Green lock flight and along the Monarch's Way on the Walsall Canal until the turn at Bull's Bridge for Great Bridge Road and Oxford Street, Bilston. A Google search for the Trusty Manufacturing Company's postcode WV14 7HL revealed that it was taken out of use by the Post Office in December 1981. (Does this date coincide with the closure of the Bilston factory following Trusty's move to the Potters Bar site?) I was, however, able to stand at the point indicated as the centre of the old postcode area: IMG_0550 by RMT@261, on Flickr The site revealed no history of its former glory as the birthplace of our beloved Viscounts, and is now home to a number of workshops and furniture retail outlets. The entrance to the site is immediately opposite the "Foxy Lady Adult Cinema Show and Dance Bar", if anyone here is familiar with that particular establishment. I breathed the Bilston air and reflected on the sad decline of our once great British small manufacturing industries, then set off back along the Walsall Canal until the eastward turning onto the Tame Valley Canal, which provides sweeping vistas of Wednesbury and the far-distant IKEA store, together with close encounters with the modern arteries of industry, the M5/M6 intersection and the world-famous Spaghetti Junction, seen here from the cycle path that runs beneath it: IMG_0558 by RMT@261, on Flickr A right turn shortly after passing beneath the Aston Expressway took me back into the city centre along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, where its status as one of the narrowboat cruisers' favoured routes between town and country appears to justify a higher standard of decorative maintenance than my route up to that point. A left turn at Aston Top Lock took me down the Digbeth branch as far as Curzon Street, where I passed the old railway yard that is now being cleared to become the Birmingham Terminus for HS2 high-speed rail link to London (information correct at the time of writing!). Pausing only to rattle the door at The Woodman pub, which was tragically shut at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon, I arrived back at Moor Street Station for my train home. In all, not the prettiest tour of the West Midlands, but an interesting view of an area that has been, and continues to be, a major interchange for all types of transport routes in England. The Victor behaved almost impeccably for the whole tour, though I remembered after a couple of miles that I'd loosened the crank bolts in preparation for a b/b repair and hadn't fully re-tightened them, necessitating a stop every couple of miles to snug up the bolts with my fingertips. The b/b creaked reassuringly throughout my ride, but never gave me any more trouble than that. The five-speed block and single downtube shifter provided more than enough gearing options for the gentle rises and falls of a canalside ride and the upright riding position was perfect for a gentle sightseeing potter. I'm sorry we haven't been able to pull a mutually-convenient date and location together for a full DFR this year, and will give credit to Michael and Kev for making it happen in New York. Perhaps we can give some more thought to Andy's useful suggestions for a DFR in Yorkshire after seeing the countryside up there feature in the coverage of next week's UCI World Championships. Best wishes to all, RobT.
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Post by whippet on Sept 16, 2019 17:27:13 GMT
Excellent write up Rob. I love the picture of the Victor on the old factory site. I has a very “light industrial” feel to it, I can just imagine blokes in brown overalls smoking roll ups outside those units ( although I’m sure they smoked inside them too in those days ).
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Post by velocipete on Sept 17, 2019 6:28:31 GMT
Excellent write up Rob. I only discovered last week that my car MoT had run out. The earliest I could get in for a test was yesterday. It was a fine day here as well. My local pub door wasn't locked though! Cheers, Pete.
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Post by sprockit on Sept 17, 2019 21:02:55 GMT
Great ride out along the Birmingham Canal Navigations you had there Rob. Lovely pictures too.
Original DFR rode a short distance along the BCN - along the Anglesey Branch of the Wryley and Essington up to Chasewater reservoir - so your ride was perfectly in keeping with DFR tradition.
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Post by triitout on Sept 18, 2019 0:33:47 GMT
Robt, It's always great to see cycling over in the UK. Thoroughly enjoyed the writeup and photos. Sorry to see that DFR isn't happening in its full glory this year but I would suggest that maybe 2 or 3 of you can get together for a mini DFRs without worrying about being all inclusive at least for this year. Don't let this fine tradition stop because of scheduling conflicts. Make it happen on a small scale. Kevin and I had a fine mini DFR. Anyone making it over to NY metro area and rides a 23" Viscount is all set for an informal mini DFR with me. I'm expecting Kevin will be back again one of these days and do it again!
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,389
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Post by Jem on Sept 18, 2019 19:34:54 GMT
"Foxy Lady Adult Cinema Show and Dance Bar" Mmh, is that the one with dark red flock wallpaper, and Greek sculptures in the entrance reception? No, never been there. Great write up and I love the pics.
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Post by whippet on Sept 18, 2019 20:20:34 GMT
Good idea from Michael: we can always just meet up for a ride out if we have a free day. It doesn’t have to involve camping and lots of beer.
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robt
Viscount
Posts: 558
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Post by robt on Sept 18, 2019 22:13:29 GMT
"Foxy Lady Adult Cinema Show and Dance Bar" Mmh, is that the one with dark red flock wallpaper, and Greek sculptures in the entrance reception? That’s the one, Jem. So a friend of mine told me.
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