At the end of the month I’m participating in a c.130km historical bike ride through France, Switzerland and Germany.
I plan to ride my late 70s/early 80s Mercier (which has not yet featured on the blog, though it has made a stealthy guest appearance in the blog logo…..) with tubular tyres and all French components. A restoration post will follow.
130km is a long distance to ride by any standards, let alone on a bike from the 1970s. Wish me luck! I’m not sure which would fail first, me or the bike. Here’s hoping that it’s neither on the day and that I finish!
Also, while participants are to ride pre ’85 bikes, they must also be dressed in vintage (or replica vintage) cycling gear. I’ve got the bike, but didn’t have the clothing!
Thankfully ebay came to the rescue and I not only found a vintage cycling top, but one from a cycling club in the very city where I grew up, Newcastle upon Tyne!
This seems to be from the Tyne Electric CC cycling club. Anyone know anything about it or a bit about the club?
I also rediscovered an old pair of cycling gloves from my teenage years. I think they were already pretty retro when I first got them!
They’re horribly coloured so should be suitable as early 1980s…! However, they seem to have mud on them.
Possibly a stupid question, but does anyone know the best way to clean them? Just pop them in the machine on a gentle wash??
velobrico - retro bicycle repair, cycling and other DIY repairs 
My friend, Fred Pine and myself were junior racers for the Electric in the mid 50,s, completely different jersey but the same colours
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Hi Mike, thanks for your note. I think the one I picked up must date from the 80s (or 90s…). I don’t live in Newcastle any more, but it’s nice to wear a jersey that brings back a bit of nostalgia. You must have some interesting stories from back in the day!
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I can write you with a little info.
I now live in Canada and still ride, I’m 75 and still love it.
Cheers
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Hello Alex and Mike, I was in the Electric at the end of the 70’s and early 80’s, as a youth and at the time all older riders. I know that the club was formed by electricians from Parsons immediately after the war. I have found online some race documents from 1947 referring to club members having won races in 1946. I believe the colours were originally red shoulders, white chest and green stomach, based on the Italian colours. I was told by the older guys that when Fausto Coppi died they changed the order to green, white and red, with a black band between white and red as a tribute to Coppi. When I joined about 1977 it was the Velo Club Electric, but in the early 80’s changed back to Tyne Electric. The guys did not speak about earlier successes other than they won the team prize in the Tour of the North (Ireland) at some time. I admired all the members as great rider. At that time Jim Anderson was winning Divisional championship. Big Jim was renown for only having two gears on his bike, a big gear and a bigger gear. It was mainly a road racing club but we also raced in time trials. If you have any photos or documents I would be interested to get copies. I still ride and now in Hampshire, thinking to reform as Velo Club Electric. Gordon
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That’s some great info, thanks Gordon! Maybe I have your old jersey 😂
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[…] was born and grew up in Newcastle and have visited Bamburgh and Seahouses many many times over the years. But not once have I come […]
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[…] In a nutshell, the principle is to gather a group of cyclists, with a passion for vintage bicycles, and riding, and ride together through three countries, in a single day, in a matching historical cycling outfit. […]
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[…] While velobrico started with the intention to document my bike restorations (vélo = bicycle, bricoler = DIY or a “botched” job), it morphed into a more general bicycle-focussed blog. […]
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