Moved on to the downtube shifters, which are a bit of a mess. The clamp is Huret-Sachs, the shifters Shimano SY20, a very early index shifter that I dimly recall asking the bike shop to fit for me. YouTube told me that the clamp probably had to be re-tapped to accomodate the larger Shimano bolts. Anyway ...

Restoration of the old Raleigh is starting to pick up a bit of speed. I had to pay money to get the stem and bottom bracket removed by a professional with a blow torch and an angle grinder, but the frame is now ready to be rubbed down and touched up (Oo-er, Missus!) There have also been a couple of interesting discoveries.

Over the past month or so I have been drawn inexorably into the world of unracer cycling, all of which has prompted both a forehead smacking but-I’ve-always-done-that and a guilty why-is-my-best-bike-languishing-unloved. With the purchase of a bike repair stand to help with the other bike, I was seized with the idea of fixing up the road bike. I mean, how hard can it be?

On Saturday I made good on a promise to myself: I went for a bike ride with a bunch of strangers. It was great fun, and while I didn’t make any friends, I did chat to a couple of people and took those first important steps.

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Rome is not a cycle-friendly city. It could be, if the Romans could be persuaded to give up their beloved motor cars, of which, in 2008, there were 2.4 million to 2.5 million people. Not sure whether that is people people, or people old enough to dri...