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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