tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post4626413206136264437..comments2024-03-27T05:14:23.738-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: Pedal and CoastVelouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-81759317976803771452013-12-31T12:23:53.864-05:002013-12-31T12:23:53.864-05:00You write very evocatively and have a great capaci...You write very evocatively and have a great capacity for accurate observation. In my glider instructor days I took hundreds of members of the public aloft but I doubt many could be as articulate as you about it. And your description brought back to me the early sensations of flight. Believe it or not, one gets used to it, the whole-body rush that you felt disappears after a a hundred hours of flight training or so. Good thing too, nobody could manage cross-country flights lasting a full day or advanced aerobatics if the somatic reactions remained so strong.<br />The glider you flew is nice but you will be blown away by the lightness and swiftness of the controls of a modern single-place racing glider. A bit like going from a citybike to a Time or Colnago. Good luck!Francisco de Almeidahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14147944912098034703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-77002703185632275262013-12-06T11:14:48.401-05:002013-12-06T11:14:48.401-05:00I really like that Tyrone Flyer bike. I'm int...I really like that Tyrone Flyer bike. I'm intrigued to read that it was built for racing, though. Certain of its features strike me as odd in a racing bike, like the pump pegs, the fact that provision has been made for mudguards (eyes on forks and rear dropouts) and for brakes (drilled fork crown and rear seatstay brake bridge), and the provision of an oiler on the bottom bracket. I suppose the explanation for these would be the likelihood that the owner would have had to ride it on the road to and from racing events, and it would have needed to be road legal. Maybe it was his only machine, so it had to get him around as well as serve as his racing mount. Is anything more known about the Flyer?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-7685329267782622682013-11-20T10:30:20.991-05:002013-11-20T10:30:20.991-05:00I'd love to know more about the Tyrone Flyer. ...I'd love to know more about the Tyrone Flyer. It has that "je ne sais quoi" which quickens the pulse of the vintage enthusiast. Which company made it, I wonder? The only bicycles I associate with Northern Ireland are Rudge. That hand cast into their chainwheels is supposed to be the Red Hand of Ulster. Is the Flyer a fixed wheel, single-speed or flip-flop? As for gliding, I think I'd rather have an engine, although it must be a very serene experience if you can overlook the fact that it's a long way down. In about 1970, I often cycled past the American air base at Burtonwood in Lancashire. My father had worked there in the fifties when it was fully operational to fixed-wing aircraft. I believe Elvis Presley's aeroplane stopped there briefly on the way to Germany. Anyway, by 1970, fixed-wing flights there had ceased, because the main runway ran across the road, which had to be closed by level-crossing gates. There were still helicopters, which looked like the ones they used in Vietnam, and gliding took place there as well, mainly to instruct members of local air cadet squadrons. For reasons already mentioned, the gliders were not launched by towing aircraft, but were hitched to a long cable behind US Army jeeps, which seemed to get them airborne in a very short distance. I suppose the pilot then had to find a thermal in order to gain height. It's hard to believe that hardly a trace of that base now remains, just houses and stores.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-30345035189233527982013-07-20T17:16:34.569-04:002013-07-20T17:16:34.569-04:00Hi
Fantastic account. My uncle used to glide from...Hi<br />Fantastic account. My uncle used to glide from the Ulster GC - about 15 years ago we all went to watch him take my grandmother for her first (and only) flight as a 90th birthday gift!<br />IanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-35985221937637978032013-07-19T12:13:46.709-04:002013-07-19T12:13:46.709-04:00Oh, well you must visit the West of Ireland some-t...Oh, well you must visit the West of Ireland some-time. It's so very different from Dublin. More of the wild and windswept land you've encountered in the North and a different personality from Dublin and NI. Safe riding !Davidhttp://bumpf.typepad.com/clear_of_cloud/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-23274794279016656912013-07-19T10:05:54.541-04:002013-07-19T10:05:54.541-04:00Thanks for the enjoyable glider story. Reminds me...Thanks for the enjoyable glider story. Reminds me of the experience, two summers past, when a friend said, "Wanna go flying in my helicopter?"<br />Who could turn down such an invitation? Off we went to the Friday Harbor Airport, where his leased R2 'copter awaited. After explaining the seatbelts and donning life jackets, he said should we lose power and hit the water, the first thing to happen would be we'd flip over and go down upside-down. He wanted me to understand and know how to quickly vacate the open cockpit machine. Then off we went for a glorious flight around the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound on a perfect sunny and windless day, swooping over farmers' fields and hovering above rocky outcrops covered with sea lions. It was not an experience for those with a fear of heights, with no doors; held in only by nylon webbing belts I could lean out a bit as we swooped and climbed. A day to remember.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04434627647308220797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-26624738816926914312013-07-19T01:17:04.322-04:002013-07-19T01:17:04.322-04:00Wonderful article. I really enjoy reading your blo...Wonderful article. I really enjoy reading your blog. <br /><br />Sometimes when I'm ridng my bike it feels a bit like flying. It's a fine line between feeling free and close to a disaster. I wonder if flying can feel like that? I like how your friend says "nothing can go wrong". That's what I like about bicycles versus cars. At least there are fewer things that could go wrong.tarosanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16916753504976534670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-2959644231142662032013-07-18T20:29:49.160-04:002013-07-18T20:29:49.160-04:00I could see it with fatter tires and drops - I rod...I could see it with fatter tires and drops - I rode the stock and found the ride quality very nice. Good balance with rider, ALU frame steel fork.GR Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145811568384053426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-33222654870043263342013-07-18T20:15:41.951-04:002013-07-18T20:15:41.951-04:00great article, you are most welcome at ulster GC! ...great article, you are most welcome at ulster GC! {owen}Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-30450655076870596312013-07-18T19:36:38.883-04:002013-07-18T19:36:38.883-04:00I just learned to cycle no hands. I noticed the ha...I just learned to cycle no hands. I noticed the handlebar on my Brompton M-type vibrates a lot if the tyre pressure is high. I imagine it would vibrate less if the stem was shorter, because it would have less of a whiplash effect.<br /><br />Would love to know more about the smooth-going bike.Erik Sandblomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14411108063216855210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-63871134086344469572013-07-18T15:34:32.650-04:002013-07-18T15:34:32.650-04:00The Electra Ticino, isn't that the bike Bicycl...The Electra Ticino, isn't that the bike Bicycle Quarterly used as an examplar of early 20th century racebike geometry and behavior in an article a few years ago?<br /><br /> I would sorta like to spend a day on something like that on some of our gravel roads to see if my impression of early racers is close to reality. It seems like if there was an environment where those bikes worked well once than they might still. The article made it sound like a useful bike for some types of riding, especially if you wanted to indulge in some epic Alfredo Binda fantasy rides... Fixed single speed, spare tires around your shoulders, filthy woolen kit and aviator goggles. Maybe a flask of absinthe in your pocket for when you end up in a ditch with a lung hanging out and just want to end it all.<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-1225368240269717062013-07-18T14:14:04.858-04:002013-07-18T14:14:04.858-04:00Wow,
Each read here brings something new!!
Not ...Wow, <br />Each read here brings something new!! <br />Not only the content but all you commenters are the best! Maybe there will be a big group meetup one day! I wanna hear more Spindizzy stories too!<br />I used to take flying lessons from Tom Murphy in a 1947 PA-11 cub. 65hp N4615M. In Coram, NY then Bayport Aerodrome in Suffolk County Long Island. Some of the best times were riding the big Electra Glide from Brooklyn to the airfield in the morning. A bunch of people would be there to fly ahead of me. $50 an hour w/ Tom and $40 an hour if it was just the 'aeraplane'. Everyone would fly, we'd go to Burger King, have lunch and get some auto gas and gas up the planes and do some "ground school" or shoot the breeze. Airport stuff.<br />At Bayport there was a couple of Stearmans, 3 AT-6s, A Cessna 195 (with the "Shakin Jacobs" radial engine), a few cubs, a Tri Pacer, some homebuilts, a Stinson, an Aeronca, and my favorite, a dark green Staggerwing Beech... enclosed Cabin 4 seat biplane. A lot of those planes are in different places now and folks have moved around. A cool site Airfields-Freeman.com has histories of abandoned little airfields across the US. <br />Grass - "Alright pal, land it next to where they seeded so we don't put tracks in the new runway". Grass / dirt was the best. <br />Alas, Tom passed in 1996 and well, I am into cheaper stuff, like boating and old bikes(!). I dock across Flatbush Avenue from Floyd Bennett Field. Another storied place where all greats flew out of in the '20s to the '60s. Tom flew out of there in the 1930s when he did single airplane skywriting over Times Square - "Drink Pepsi Cola 5c". That stopped during the war. He had great penmanship though.<br /><br />Now I have to go look at some of those old pictures.<br /><br />vsk<br />Vic Kaminski<br /> <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-56975071597689100122013-07-18T14:13:22.536-04:002013-07-18T14:13:22.536-04:00All that puts more weight on the front, less disas...All that puts more weight on the front, less disassociated.<br /><br />Recently changed the geo of the long tail to kick out the front. Absorbs sidewalk seams so much better, tracks well.<br /><br />The Electra Ticino has a similar thing going on, very nice action.GR Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145811568384053426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-84381180155755834422013-07-18T13:38:13.231-04:002013-07-18T13:38:13.231-04:00Hello there, responsible adult with (transparent!)...Hello there, responsible adult with (transparent!) powered plane - thank you again for the wonderful ride : )Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-43313417474571574702013-07-18T13:36:49.285-04:002013-07-18T13:36:49.285-04:00HaHaVelouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-55445480426879315542013-07-18T13:36:09.498-04:002013-07-18T13:36:09.498-04:00Nope. I'm not on a tour, so same place the ent...Nope. I'm not on a tour, so same place the entire time. I did visit Dublin when I was over last year, and <a href="http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2012/05/by-sea-in-dun-laoghaire.html" rel="nofollow">here's</a> a post about Dun Laoghaire. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-56700343103725779922013-07-18T13:32:59.840-04:002013-07-18T13:32:59.840-04:00already have : )already have : )Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-28548668641963814842013-07-18T11:40:19.341-04:002013-07-18T11:40:19.341-04:00Including the cold sweat and nausea?Including the cold sweat and nausea?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-73009800162618650302013-07-18T11:38:51.647-04:002013-07-18T11:38:51.647-04:00I don't actually have much Airplane stuff of m...I don't actually have much Airplane stuff of my own, some bits and pieces around the house(a Curtis Jenny wing rib on my bathroom wall, the control stick handle from an F 105 on my drawing table etc. etc.)but I have lots of airplane friends with hangersful of airplanes and little strips on their farms, that sort of thing. My circle of friends includes other guys like me who combine cars, bikes, planes and stuff in various combinations. It's bad.<br /><br />The closest thing I have to an actual plane of my own is the 2 home-build Biplane kits my friend Les is storing in my rafters. The plan is to eventually build them both, sell one and share the other, we're really good friends but are we THAT good friends? Time will tell. There are still a jillion old Cubs and they're variants about so maybe I just find an old rubbishy one and make it nice when I "retire".<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-86122998520126015282013-07-18T11:21:55.667-04:002013-07-18T11:21:55.667-04:00I'll bet you do this again!I'll bet you do this again!Bill S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-38522020949465864302013-07-18T10:25:41.635-04:002013-07-18T10:25:41.635-04:00Ah, my mistake. I forgot that it was a Royal Enfie...Ah, my mistake. I forgot that it was a Royal Enfield and not a BSA. They both made the same rifles for a long time.<br /><br />I had no doubt that the Tyrone Flyer was fast; I'm guessing a hair lighter and a bit stiffer on the pedal downstroke than the Royal Enfield. <br />We both know a slack-angled roadster can eat up the miles!<br /><br />I have a friend who gets to fly a De Havilland Gypsy Moth from a grass field. He says it's as good as it has ever gotten<br />for him.<br />(Also, Spindizzy sounds like a he could be a long-lost brother. )Corey Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15381826721030941179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-5777140664460558132013-07-18T08:02:14.649-04:002013-07-18T08:02:14.649-04:00I have not seen the documentary; will look it up -...I have not seen the documentary; will look it up - thanks!Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-87395758617705086722013-07-18T08:00:53.239-04:002013-07-18T08:00:53.239-04:00Well, I am aware that my anxiety is irrational (st...Well, I am aware that my anxiety is irrational (statistically commercial air flights are safer than driving, etc.), so I fly anyway. Fearfully! But it's not as bad as requiring medication. I just try to relax and distract myself. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-54388982952312710752013-07-18T07:51:01.435-04:002013-07-18T07:51:01.435-04:00Forget arty, it's hard to even angle the camer...Forget arty, it's hard to even angle the camera in a way that points in the right direction/ at the angle you want, without a wing or something covering the shot. Takes some time to get the hang of. <br /><br />Front end of this bike is mind-blowing. Can't feel a thing, including gravel, yet it's fast - and not roadsterish, with like that stately/ delayed steering feeling that roadsters have. Could be simply because the stem is longer, the bars are lower and the TT is shorter, I don't know, but this thing is amazing. Fairly lightweight too. Early-ish grass racer. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-34789252149738056782013-07-18T07:44:40.089-04:002013-07-18T07:44:40.089-04:00Taking off from and landing on a grass field is ve...Taking off from and landing on a grass field is very nice! <br /><br />The bike is an early grass track racer. Don't let the angles fool you, it is fast. My favourite vintage bike to date (even better than the <a href="http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2012/06/better-than-new.html" rel="nofollow">Royal Enfield</a>, yes!). Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.com