Hobbyist and Reference Website for Vintage American and English Bicycles
Another nice evening for a ride here. The temperatures are slowly increasing, and now we're getting more into the 60s each day. I've been commuting to work on my bikes this week, and I've been riding after work on the local roads. This 1958 Raleigh Sports has a wonderful 4-speed FW hub, which is one of my favorite models.
After a moderately snowy winter and several wind storms, we're finally on-track for the start of the 2021 riding season here in western New England. The weather is warming and the days are becoming longer. This week has had some pretty good weather, so I have been commuting to work and riding in the evening on my 3-speed bikes. Below is a picture from last evening's outing with a 1974 Raleigh Sports.
It's hard to be believe that we are already into March of 2021, but here we are. January and February were quite cold, and relatively snowy for western New England. But now in the first week of March, we are at last having a real thaw. Temperatures are getting up into the 40s and even the low 50s each day. Yesterday was very cold and very windy, but today is much warmer and we're back to thawing.
It might be tempting to go for a ride once things begin to warm. However, be warned that a good deal of corrosive road salt may remain on the road surfaces, and may mix with water from melting snow to form a corrosive bath for the bike and its parts. As much as I love riding, I recommend waiting until a good, strong rain storm has washed away salt and salt/snow/water mix on the roads before riding a valuable, vintage steel bicycle. Consider visiting an away-from-the-road bike trail where there is no road salt or salt brine instead.
With that said, I am looking forward to warmer weather, longer days, and a return to the road.
