Retro Cycling

Back in about 1960, my dad bought this 1959 Raleigh for my mom, who had never owned a bike before. She decided recently that she was unlikely to ride it, and she gave it to me. This and my dad's Schwinn were the bikes I rode before buying my own Dunelt 3-speed in about 1962.

Last spring, we bought the panniers in the Netherlands, and then couldn't fit them onto any of our racks. European panniers are built for serious load-carrying. I had to buy a European rack that's about 5 centimeters longer than the U.S. standard -- but it's worth it. (The header links to Velox Europe, where we got these Clarijs panniers.)

So with a velomobile, a folding recumbent, a long-wheelbase recumbent and a Greenspeed trike, what on earth am I doing on a 1959 Raleigh? ...Biking! There aren't any bad bikes.