I thought it would be interesting for members to write in
and tell us about their first bikes with photos if possible, so I’ve started
the ball rolling with my own experience. This
was a couple of years ago, so for the benefit of our many new members, I will
touch briefly on the beginning.
In 1941 aged 15 I saw an advert in the Exchange and Mart
(yes it was going then) for a 1929/30
Raleigh
350cc priced Three pounds Ten shillings. I
sent the owner a postal order and for the sum of five shillings it was put in
the guards van in
Swindon
and duly arriving at
Oxford
station.
Living about 4 miles from the station I started to pushing
the bike home as I had no other way of getting it there. After about half a mile, nearly exhausted, I heard a splashing in the
tank. I managed to get the bike on
the rear stand and having read books on how to ride and manage bikes I finally
got it started. I climbed aboard
after kicking up the back stand, squeezed the clutch, putting it into 1st gear and off I went non-stop home.
I sold the
Raleigh
two years later for the princely sum of two pounds when I joined the Navy. All the time I rode it, I had no license, insurance, tax etc. Remember it was wartime and very few police were about, and they were on
bicycles. They were retired Bobbies
brought back into service.
The
Raleigh
had two split tanks and I had petrol in one side and paraffin in the other.
Once it was warm I switch off the petrol and turned on the paraffin, which it
ran quite well on. The hardest thing
was scrounging pints of petrol from all and sundry, including kindly army
drivers.
At least I did get my license at 17 years old, which I have
kept ever since.
Since I first wrote my story for the magazine I visited an
old friend of mine in Molash who does a bit of wheeling and dealing in early
bikes and cars to introduce him to a friend who was looking for a pre 1914
machine. As I looked round his barn
to see if I could find myself a little project, what should I see propping up a
wall but a very neglected
Raleigh
in dire need of some attention. It
just begged me to buy it!
Gordon, a good friend and I haggled a bit as I reminded him
I was an OAP! We struck a deal and she was mine. We loaded the
Raleigh
up and headed for home. It was not
as late as my original one or as cheap or as good a condition but what the heck,
it keeps me out of mischief.
The
Raleigh
is nearly ready for the road and come the warmer weather I will take her on the
road.
I hope this spurs some of you to send in your stories.
 Before |
 After |
Mike De Bidaph 
