Last weekend was my 6th Lake Pepin 3 Speed Tour, where a bunch of AARP members play dress up and pretend we are bicycling in pre-WWII Great Britain. The fact that we ride 85 miles around the perimeter of Lake Pepin on decades old 40lb bicycles is secondary. So, here we go.
Transport to Wabasha, MN. My Wrangler with my 1968 Raleigh Superbe on the front bumper. Chez Cheesy Lite in the background.
Getting the Raleigh ready to roll.
Nutters (what we call ourselves) starting to arrive. By the time we roll, we are 120 strong.
Dr. Garth Katners' Steel Bitch II.
I have a history with this 1954 Robin Hood. I first bought this bike at flea market twenty-some years ago for $15. I rebuilt it and rode it for several years. I sold it to my brother in law who rode it for a number of years before he gave it back. It hung from my rafters for several more years. A new bike shop opened in town and was looking for an old bike for the shop window, so there it ended up for a few years. When the shop moved to a new location, it came back to me again. This is where Dr. Garth comes in. Garths' apartment was broken into and among other things, his beloved 1950 Robin Hood was stolen. When I heard about the loss of his bike, I offered up this bike to him, gratis. He totally rehabbed the bike, red powder coat, aluminum rims, mustache bars; the whole nine yards. Not too shabby looking.
More Nutters. About this time, the worlds' rotation begins too wobble a bit because of the concentration of weight in one place.
The 3 Speed Scepter, US version
The 3 Speed Scepter, Canadian version.
No accounting for taste.
And, under threatening skies, we are off.