Micro-escaping

If only we could find sufficient beauty and adventure within the radius of an hour's walk or cycle ride from home, we wouldn't need to transport ourselves energy-intensively around the globe. Having returned four months ago from an Atlantic-to-Italy cycle ride that involved trains at each end, and being a European and linguist at heart, I can't claim uncompromising adherence to this ideal. However, with South Cumbria / North Lancashire as my chosen domicile, muscle power suffices to access a refreshing change of scene. That happened this afternoon, with just an hour and a half from start to finish of the micro-escape.

People power: the best publicity

As an occupational therapist I believe in lifelong learning - the idea that knowledge never stands still, so we can never rest from updating it. My new focus on older things doesn't change that underlying attitude. Hardly a day goes by without my discovering something about the design and engineering of classic bicycles. But I learn still more about running a business - a new experience for me after half a lifetime of employment. And the most exciting learning connects clearly with the person-centredness of occupational therapy: it's about how my business interacts with people. I've tried advertising in a periodical to no avail. I've increasingly used social networking, to somewhat greater effect. But the big breakthrough came when I started riding an example of my product - a red Harry Hall road bike - to places where cyclists gather.

The fascination of the tangible object and the agreeable conversations that ensued have led to worthwhile transactions and a positive presence for Proud to Ride Classic, building good will on the timeless foundation of face-to-face communication. Technology is probably indispensable, but I've learned that even buying and selling bicycles is essentially a person-centred business.

Classic tandems, anyone?

I've had an unusual day, visiting the Fylde coast by the estuary of the River Wyre, mainly to view two tandems for possible refurbishment and resale. I want to gauge interest before committing to this relatively heavy investment, so I'm not yet in possession of them and have no photos. Anyway, my original plan to ride one of them back to base was somewhat undermined by the realisation that it lacks wheels. Nonetheless, it would be wonderful to see these two beautiful machines back on the road. So I'd really appreciate any advance expressions of interest to encourage me to take the plunge. The details are:

Tandem (1): Claud Butler 531, circa 1952, 21" + 21", short wheelbase. White, chrome ends, one professional re-enamelling with addition of cantilever bosses and braze-on front derailleur. Paint generally in good condition, but needs attention near seat bolt. Takes 650 (26") narrow-tyred (road, not off-road) wheels. TA double chainset, Campagnolo rear derailleur.

Tandem (2): Thorn, 21" + childback. No further details available, but looked in good condition behind other items.

*** Expressions of interest, please! ***

Whilst in the Fylde I also took the opportunity to savour the wide skies and pancake-flat landscape, so different from my favoured hill country, but reminiscent of my late childhood cycling forays along the dike-fringed East Friesian coast of North Germany. Here is a mini-portfoliio of the day.

The art of active listening: Back Room SAM designs a new logo

Whilst investing much energy in the infrastructure for our household provisioning, I'd not forgotten Proud to Ride Classic. I commissioned Sarah Thornton of Back Room SAM to design a logo for my business, replacing my stopgap photo of a red Harry Hall racing cycle. Sarah's approach is purposeful: she listens, checks understanding, and focuses on the agreed outcomes like a greyhound racing for the finish line. This is how I like to work too, so our collaboration was efficient and harmonious. Starting from my freshly taken photograph of the iconic bike

she used her computer graphics knowledge to simplify and stylise the image according to my brief. After discussing refinements to her mock-ups, she soon presented the finished logo.

In my therapeutic and teaching work I appreciated the principles of SMART goal setting, according to which goals should be

• Specific
• Measurable
• Agreed
• Realistic
• Time-boundaried

It's exhilarating to work with someone who instinctively applies these principles to a project. Here's the result, of which I'm very proud. Thank you, Sarah!

Home from home

It took several more sessions in the rapidly shortening days to make the shed fully 'habitable'. Not as critical as the cladding and weatherproofing, the interior fittings nonetheless posed some interesting problems as the supply of materials dwindled. Throughout the project I bought virtually nothing, always improvising with what I had to hand. As supplies were used up, more and more adaptation was necessary. Designs were modified, discarded scraps of wood retrieved from the Kelly kettle's firewood box and the darkest recesses of the toolbox scoured for suitable screw sizes. The rough-hewn economy creates a down-home atmosphere redolent of an Alpine hut or American log cabin.

Thanks to Jennifer Lauruol for the inspiration and for acquiring the shed for a new lease of life, and to Anne O'Connor for celebratory bunting.

I'm a proud craftsman, but what have I created? Hmmm.... Is it a boat? Is it a plane? Is it life, but not as we know it? What does it remind YOU of? My FAVOURITE of YOUR suggestions (comment here or anywhere these photos appear) will be shared across the Proud to Ride Classic network, with full credit to the author. Closes 23.59 (one minute to midnight) on Thursday November 17th 2011.  Good luck!

The split-windscreen VW campervan look:

West Side Story: There's a [dry] place for us

After stripping off the rotten timber on 30th October there were two more work sessions before Good Ship Shed was deemed Irish Seaworthy. They were made fraught by the rapidly expanding hours of darkness. It was rather like (shifting from one adventure arena to another) finishing climbs at dusk: total concentration, no second chances. I learned that my eye was as accurate as the tape measure for certain cuts - and much quicker. Sometimes I couldn't see the markings on the tape measure anyway. In my previous post I preened myself on being meticulous; well it's all the more healthy for me to work at top speed sometimes. And miraculously there were no unscheduled amputations.

Now we have a sound west wall with two windows, giving further illumination to the work-top.

Here's a pictorial resumé:

Stage 1, July 15. Painted, but unimproved. Some nailed-on salvaged fencing material is but a finger in the dike.

Stage 2, September 1. Installing the first windows through the decaying original tongue and groove cladding. You'll get an inkling of its true condition if you click the image.

Stage 3, September 15. South windows in, but south and west wall tongue and groove cladding still to be replaced.

Stage 4, October 29. South wall cladding replaced with overlapping planks, worktop and shelves installed, but west wall still has original tongue-and-groove cladding:

Stage 5, November 7. West wall cladding replaced with overlapping planks, incorporating two further windows. Ready for sunset views!

There'll be some minor enhancements to the storage, and of course we'll need some net curtains to twitch.

Here's the external south west corner, which will bear the brunt of the weather:

And here's the north west corner.

Rather like Frankenstein's monster, this creation has acquired some unforeseen likenesses:

• a guard's van (caboose) 
• a watchtower
• a split-windscreen VW campervan

Do feel free to comment with your own suggestions.

Shed seaworthy at last

She's not quite finished, but she's ready to slip her moorings into the wildness of a north-west English winter. And, laugh not, the weather on our plot overlooking Morecambe Bay, a wide inlet of the Irish Sea, is truly oceanic. So dry storage becomes a challenge. Without a secure, weatherproof  lock-up, running an allotment is inefficient as tools and materials have to be carried to and from the plot - literally carried, as we rejoice in being car-free. Furthermore, we don't have room for the horticultural paraphernalia back at base, where two businesses and a home co-habit, so... Grow food?- Fix shed!

I must admit I've questioned my priorities when nearly twenty bikes await refurbishment for my new business Proud to Ride Classic. If you're one of my valued suppliers or customers you've probably asked yourself the same question, as I've obsessed here about a 6ft x 4ft wooden box. You may feel I've wavered in my commitment to lightweight steel road bikes. Well, my heart tells me I haven't. Always my first impulse in the morning has been to put a neglected or dismantled bike on my workstand and transform it into a pretext for a test ride. But a look at the weather forecast, the thought of rot and leaks at our Advance Base Camp, and investment in reduced dependency on fossil fuels, have usually managed to call me to alternative duties up at the plot. It's been about doing things in the right order: once winter takes hold, shed repairs are impossible, but the bike workshop can be in full swing.

So, dear customer, supplier, supporter, friend or curious passer-by, this and similar peak oil 'resilience' projects explain Proud to Ride Classic's apparent mañana pace. The 'Proud' in my business's name reflects how I feel about it, and one of the reasons for my pride is that it signs up to ethical and ecological principles. The web site's 'About Us' page expresses the sustainability aspirations of  the company itself, whlst this blog has recently been reflecting my efforts to harmonise it with a forward-looking lifestyle. Maybe, too, whilst I'm not a qualified joiner in the way that I'm a qualified cycle mechanic, you'll have faith that I bring to the classic road bikes I'm refurbishing the same meticulous and thoughtful approach that are evidenced in my shed project.

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