A nice little story

[tyred]

From the Daily Mail. Came across this while looking for info on Claud Butler.

Everyone remembers their first bike, but few keep it rolling six decades later.

But one Birmingham pensioner has stuck with his bike for 100,000 miles, equal to four and a half laps around the world.

Brian Burdett, 70, still rides the very same bicycle he got for his 12th birthday.

His father Les bought him the second hand Claud Butler which has been his chosen mode of transport for 58 years.

Now aged 70, Brian would never part with the Claud Butler he says is the "Rolls-Royce of bicycles".

‘When you were a kid you only dreamed of having one of those,’ he says, beaming with pride.

‘It was so different from any other bike I'd seen. It was gleaming turquoise blue and chrome, and it was all very shiny.

‘Nobody I knew had got a bicycle like that. It was very exciting.’

Fast-forward to 2012 and the bike is still in remarkably good nick, and there's no sign of rust.

This is largely due to the care that twice-divorced Brian has given it over the decades.

‘I've had this bike since I was a little lad and here we are - still together,’ he beams...


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ner-peddling-bike-received-12th-birthday.html

Mind you, there are the usual road tax references in the comments section

 

[biggs682]

i bought a bike off a gent who was in his 80's and he could still remember the day he bought it , as i walked down his garden wheeling his beloved away he was openly crying , he was selling it due to the fact he had a knee pain that wouldnt go away

 

[Mile195]

That is a nice story. I kind of regret getting rid of my first adult bike down the tip 10 years ago...

It's a bit of a shame though "David, retired in Spain" seems to have completely missed the point of the story. Obviously too much sunburn and pints of Fosters on the beach has made him rather cranky and bitter!

 

[andylaw79]

More to the point, is that a sort of pro-cycling story from the Daily Mail - the Royal birth must have gone to their heads!!

 

[Dayvo]

Either he was a tall 12-year-old, or he didn't grow at all after his adolesence years.

 

[andylaw79]

Either he was a tall 12-year-old, or he didn't grow at all after his adolesence years.

I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't it quite common to buy children bikes that were too big for them to allow them to grow into it. Something to do with expensive purchases. I've seen photos of my dad on his first proper bike and that was too big for him at the time, it fitted him perfectly by his late teens.

 

[ASC1951]

Now aged 70, Brian would never part with the Claud Butler he says is the "Rolls-Royce of bicycles".

Indeed they were - my parents couldn't stump up for a Claude Butler in the 60s, so it was a BSA for me.

Not to be confused with modern Claude Butlers, which are mass-market BSOs.

 

[Tight Git]

I was bought a CB velox 71 when I was 11 years old in 1971 by my parents. It was a 23.5 inch frame which I still have, suppose I should do something with it!

 

[Arch]

This is largely due to the care that twice-divorced Brian has given it over the decades.

I wonder if his wives didn't get quite enough care though....

 

[Night Train]

I wonder if his wives didn't get quite enough care though....

<Makes note to not wash car again for another 5 years, and to wait for Tiddles to break before fixing him again.>

 

[Stu_Robertson]

‘I've had this bike since I was a little lad and here we are - still together,’ he beams...

'It's only needed 6 new wheels & 2 new frames'

 

[MontyVeda]

I plan to still be riding my MTB when I'm a pensioner.... I'm 44, it's 18 I guess, so fingers crossed, it'll keep me going for the next 30-40 years.

 

[Arch]

<Makes note to not wash car again for another 5 years, and to wait for Tiddles to break before fixing him again.>

I think you're alright...

 

[shouldbeinbed]

A few years ago an old gent came up to me whilst out shopping, grabbed and shook my hand with the words 'A Claud Butler bike, that takes me back a bit' and he spent an hour telling me his 70 year cycling life story, his first bike sounds just like the one in the Arch's opening post. I'd have happily listened to him all day.

 

[Mo1959]

I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't it quite common to buy children bikes that were too big for them to allow them to grow into it. Something to do with expensive purchases. I've seen photos of my dad on his first proper bike and that was too big for him at the time, it fitted him perfectly by his late teens.

My first bike, a Rudge, must have been far too big. My Dad concocted some sort of little wooden blocks to fit on the pedals so I could reach them!