Ring a Bling!

The VV Prize Bike: Parts Donated from Bristol Bike Project, Frame and Fenders Powder Coated by Griffs Reality Motorworks and 27 1/4" Tyres provided by Jakes Biked.

Renovated and Restored by our pal Ryan.

    "This must be the place..." a fairly bemused pair of cyclists stood outside of a St Werburghs based residence, trying to make head or tail of the large stainless steel vintage bicycle bell mounted in place of a door knocker: being the thorough sort it's owner already had a pot of tea on the brew and knew that, from within the comfort of the kitchen, the distinctivly loud two toned ding dong would travel sufficientely to alert the occupants of a guests arrival.

   THE Bike is a fairly strange mix of parts: built around an early '90's Reynolds 501 Steel framed Raleigh roadster and equipped with Wiemann Dual Pull Caliper Brakes, a completely refurbished inside and out 1986 Sturmey Archer AW, one of the first ever QR Skewer systems ever released, 'cockpit' controls (brake levers!) pilfered from a now defunct Dawes Kingpin, top notch Alloy Raleigh cranks, an especially large bell and a GB Quill stem that we've seen go for over 90 Quid on fleaBay it really is a thing of beauty.  Professionally Handbuilt wheels too!  Perfect for the dapper chap or chappess for bombing around Bristol's flat areas of (with a smaller chainring) pootling around the hilly heights of Clifton.

    And here's it's new owner:

Olly was the lucky winner of the bike in our fundraising raffle: for a mere £2 of tickets this fella bagged himself well over a couple of Big One's of Bike! Well done Olly!  Just so well for him that a fair few didn't dare brave the rain that day or we're sure that the competition would have been a hell of a lot stiffer!

    So, if you see a large man on a bright candy red 3 speed town bike (which has now been dubbed 'Ruby'), give him a wave, tilt your flat cap and congatulate him on his new found friend :-).

    Yrs,
        THE VV TEAM

Ryan is our resident mechanical bike man: he lives, works and plays, building, fixing, creating and caressing bikes at Bristol Bike Workshop, 88 Colston Street, BS1.

Stiff Upper Lip!

If 2011 saw the best of the weather, this year we saw the best in our merry band of pédaleurs. All weekend the forecasts had been growing steadily more ominous, and they did not disappoint. 

 We toyed with the idea of cancelling the ride, but there was a general feeling that doing so would be conduct befitting the white feather. Besides, enthusiasm for the ride appeared undiminished from some quarters, with one subscriber to the mailing list exclaiming "I, Sir, am an Englishman, and I will not be driven indoors by the weather!"

Photo: Martin McDonnell

In the event around forty riders assembled for the second edition of the Vintage Velo - around one third of the number registered, but around forty times the number we were expecting. Some sacrificed vintage attire in favour of more modern outerwear, while others kept things fully authentic, with one participant effecting a particularly striking turquoise 1980s Raleigh rain suit.

Our first stop was planned to be the Mansion House in Clifton for an appointment with the Mayor. Unfortunately we missed the Right Honourable gentleman, as it was imperative to keep moving to stave off hypothermia. We proceeded though the sheltered suburbs of Clifton and Westbury, arriving at Blaise Castle, where the staff had kindly opened up the Dairy for an indoor tea stop.

Photo: Martin McDonnell

Then it was on to Shirehampton Public Hall, where a magnificent spread of food and drink awaited, along with some much less bedraggled participants who had wisely decided to skip the riding part of the day.

Photo: Martin McDonnell

We gave away, amongst other things, a lovely bike, several unique and as yet unmade bags, cinema tickets, bike accessories and a very nice bottle of wine.

The coveted Dapper Chap award deservedly went to Paul Wheatcroft, dressed as Francois Le Facteur from the classic comedy Jour de Fete, who radiated enjoyment and bonhomie throughout the entire day. The Chapess award was hotly contested, with many a gamine young lady taking to the stage. We were entertained by lemon jousting, the excellent DJs of Shellac Sound, wild klezmer from Fromage en Feu, and a lady doing an interpretative dance with a stuffed tiger.

Then it was time to pack up and wend our way back to Bristol. Some hardy souls had even dried off enough to ride there.

Our thanks go to all the volunteers who made the day happen, the hall team, all the marshalls, Richie for being a compère without compare, Ian at Blaise Castle Estate for looking after us so well, Posh from Taylored Cycles for sorting numerous mechanicals, and the Lord Mayor for being very gracious about our no-show.

Our sponsors laid on an incredible array of prizes and a particular thanks to Bath Ales for letting us return our unsold beverages. Do have a look at their Biking Bonanza event in June.

And finally, thanks to our fantastic subscribers, for spitting in the eye of the weather and enjoying themselves regardless.

As you may be aware, we are planning to restage the ride element of this event later in the year, so do please stay in touch and fingers crossed for a sunny weekend.

Stormy Weather

You've probably noticed that there is a spot of metereological bother forecast for tomorrow. With this in mind, we've decided to give people the option of skipping the outdoor part of the ride and proceeding to the scoffing of cakes, raffling of prizes, drinking and dancing.

Entrants should have received an email giving full details but if not, send us an indignant missive at vintageveloride@gmail.com.

For the brave or foolhardy, we'll be running the ride tomorrow as planned, with a few tweaks (e.g. the ginger beer stop has now been replaced by tea).

Get me to the church (hall) on time

Just a gentle reminder that you'll need to turn up half an hour before the ride starts. This will enable us to sign you on in good time. We're aiming for a prompt start as we have a packed schedule for the day, starting with an appointment with a Very Important Person.

Toodle pip!

Crikey! More prizes!

The prize list keeps growing! Some of these will be given away as awards for the most dapper chap and chapess, best bike, and so forth. Others will be thrown into our mighty Vintage Velo tombola, to be raffled on the day. Tickets will be cheap, so buy plenty!

Longtime supporter of the Velo, Il Soigneur is upping the ante this year by offering customised, bespoke bags, which the lucky winners can design themselves with the new Build a Bag.

The kind folks at North Street's most atmospheric new hangout The Old Bookshop have donated Tapas for Two.

We have a chocolate shoe (yes, really) to give away, courtesy of curious confectionary creators Clifton Cakes.

Park Street freak boutique Motel Rocks have thrown in two goody bags.

The Tobacco Factory have donated a pair of theatre tickets, together with £10 to spend on excellent Bristol Beer Factory libations at their bar.

Long-time pureveyors of cinematic excellence The Watershed are offering a pair of cinema tickets.

We're now down to our last handful of tickets, so get in quick if you want to swan off with any of this excellent booty!

In the bowels of the Vintage Velo Kitchen things are afoot...

Polishing and painting has been taking place at furious pace and we hereby announce to you - our two wheeled public - a secret kept for many a month: THE bike is coming...

Being created by hand, right now, by our own resident Bike Geek (we call him Ryan, and keep him in a small cage...) is the Vintage Velo Prize Bike! Along with a many other a prize from our Kind Sponsors the people and places of Bristol have come together to provide the parts and know how to create a 3 Speed Beauty that could well be yours!  Yes! That's right folks: along with the help of Bristol Bike Project, Griff''s Reality Motorworks and Jake's Bikes this is the top notch raffle prize that will be up for grabs next Sunday!  Only available to be won at Bristol Vintage Velo 2012 this is your chance to own a piece of Bristol Biking History!  AND ticket's are fast selling out so grab yours now: TORA TORA TORA!!!

Want to know all the geeky tech specs about this machine?! Tune in on Wednesday!

Pedals Win Prizes

God bless Bristol, and all who sail in her! As with last year, we've found any number of local businesses willing to dip a hand in their pockets and donate some amazing prizes in order to make the Vintage Velo extra-special for you, the lucky participant.

So, in addition to a fancy Brooks saddle from Bools, and a stunning portrait of your pride and joy from Bespoke Bike Portraits, we'll be giving away some quality riding water courtesy of Grape and Grind, tea for two at Boston Tea Party, and some really useful bike accessories from, er, Really Useful Bikes.

We'll also shortly have details of a very special prize provided by Bristol Bike Workshop, which promises to be the most spectacular giveaway yet. Keep perusing this space!

The accompanying photograph, from Classic Lighweights, depicts track racer Dennis Horn with a selection of his trophies.