On Sunday afternoon, the Guv’nor and I were back on the road after a three-week hiatus. It was, as you can imagine, an emotional reunion. I must confess I was the guilty party in our brief separation, having run off to Brittany with a beautiful paramour (or rather, Paramount) in search of sun, sea and cycling. I knew I would be punished for throwing him over for a newer model (the Paramount is an upstart youngster designed in the 1940s) by having to manage with only three gears, and exchanging the luxury of a double-sprung Brooks B67 for an altogether more Spartan B17.
The first half-mile uphill revealed how much I’d come to rely on the Paramount’s two additional gears (oh, the decadence) and that 28” wheels take a lot more effort to ‘spin up’ than these new-fangled 26” jobs. After the Paramount’s high, wide handlebars and upright riding position, The Guv’nor’s more purposeful, head-down attitude felt cramped, and the huge steps between gears sparked a slightly guilty nostalgia for the younger bike’s five-speed hub – and even, briefly, heretical musings on the feasibility of fitting a Rohloff.
Once on the long straight out of town, though, I flicked up into Gear Three, the big cream tyres set up their familiar hollow rumble, and everything came alive. While he’s not fast by modern standards, The Guv’nor was built to race. As a result, he lopes along at a much livelier pace than the Paramount, which was originally designed as robust battlefield transport for airborne troops on D-Day. Within a couple of miles, we’d settled down into the familiar rhythms established over nine months and almost 2,000 miles together. The spinning spokes flashed silver in the sunshine as we romped up climbs, careened down descents and cruised along on the flat with the effortless elegance of a vintage Bentley. Even the saddle felt comfortable.
So while I cherish my memories of easy, meandering rides through the Breton countryside, it’s good to be home. And getting back up to speed again.
- Nick Moore
Follow the fully story of the Guv’nor here
