I'm sorry I've been absent from your inbox. I've been beset by allergies and feeling miserable. I did find joy in hearing of my Lighthouse's new home in Oakland, California. I wrote a post about the bike, about the long top tube and my age-shortened spine, and why I wasn't riding it. A BMAC supporter offered graciously to buy it. We went back-and-forth for almost five seconds.
He wanted some of the bike but not nearly all of it. I took off the bars 'n' stem and cables. I took off the saddle and removed the seat post for shipping, replacing the post with a plain section of 27.2 post from Golden Velo to protect the seat lug in transit.
I took the bike to Schwab's Cycles where Walt removed the chain, cranks, pedals and rear derailleur, and boxed up the bike. Seth at Golden Velo had given me a really sturdy frame-size box. Walt packed the pretty-much naked frame, brake calipers, stem and fork on it, in that box and shipped it to Oakland.
It arrived two days later in fine shape. Seemingly moments later it was built up, mostly with black Campy parts, and the new owner was riding it and emailing me that he loves it! Hoo-ray!
I have bought from an outfit called Cycling Legends a book titled Raleigh, Cycling's First Superteam, by Chris Sidwells.
It's a large paperback maybe a foot wide and 14" tall, half an inch thick. It begins in the Carlton days with low-budget British teams and proceeds through Raleigh's purchase of Carlton, the hiring of Peter Post and the Dutchification of the team and the eventual end of Raleigh sponsorship.
If you were a fan in the heyday of those teams and bikes, you will love this book.
Sidwells spends full chapters focusing on individual members of the team, classics man Jan Raas, Joop Zoetemelk (their only Tour de France winner), dedicated team player Henk Lubberding, Gerrie Knetemann, my personal favorite Hennie Kuiper, German yellow jersey wearer Didi Thurau and of course the controversial manager Peter Post.
There's a chapter on the gorgeous team bikes and the SBDU, the Special Bicycles Development Unit, run by Gerald O'Donovan, with lots of drool-worthy photos. And a section in a chapter called Reunion about s shop in South Yorkshire (Universal Cycle Centre) that deals in perfectly restored Team Raleighs.
There are reunions in the UK where you - on your own Team Raleigh, wearing Team Raleigh kit - can ride with genuine Team Raleigh veterans. Is that a dream? Am I hallucinating?
Read Raleigh, Cycling's First Superteam, and see for yourself...