Sunday afternoon pottering

Today I went pottering on the Humber with my mate Brian and our destination was Roast Cafe which is located on the outskirts of Niigata City but when we arrived we found it closed with a sign saying they are not open on Sunday's which was a shame as most coffee shops & cafes in Japan are rather busy on the weekends. After that we cycled back into the city and stopped off at a huge shopping mall as Brian wanted to purchase some foreign cooking supplies from an import shop so while in the mall we had a bite to eat at a fantastic bakery and after a quick look around the mall we continued on our way back into the center of the city. Before we parted we stopped off at the old shrine which is located in Kanbara cho where I used to live when I first moved to Niigata city. The shrine is famous for it's festival which is held in August of every year and has over 600 stalls selling food and toys for kids. The weather is now getting cooler and the days are getting shorter so I hope to get in one more decent ride before winter arrives.

Pictured above is a photo of me taken on the way to the cafe with the Gozu mountain range in the background and the other photo is of Kanabara shrine

Royal Enfeild - information required

Hi Everybody

Just recently I was able to re aquire a bike I owned several years ago which is a Royal Enfeild. When I discovered the bike it was painted gloss black and had been in a crash and the front forks were beyond use. So with some searching I finally found a set of 27" forks with a long enough steerer tube to fit and repainted the bike navy blue with off white lugs. The bike is currently in New Zealand and will be stripped of all parts and repainted gloss black and finished with water slide Royal Enfeild transfers avaiable from the UK.

Here is a few details on the bike

27" x 1 1/4 wheels, Benelux MK7 rear gear - 5 speed, Benelux cable control front changer circa 1962 ? Double chain ring front crank set with unique oval pattern - brand unknown , Brass Royal Enfeild head badge which says made in Redditch England.

If anybody can shed some light on what model this bike is e.g Bullet , Firefly etc that would be a great help in restoring it & I'm also on the lookout for the following parts - British made of course

Matching brakes
Chrome brake levers
Rat trap pedals as per above photo or similar pattern circa 1960s

If you can help please post a comment

Cheers Don

Vintage bicycle spotting

Just last Sunday my wife & I went for a drive to the resort town of Karuizawa which is located on the border of Nagano & Guma ken. It's full of trendy shops selling clothes, and souvenirs etc. But as we were walking along the street I spotted the bicycle pictured above which had a pressed steel rack fitted to the bars which I hadn't seen before. It looks like it was an old post office delivery bicycle that had been repainted for display, anyhow at least people get to see it rather than it rusting away behind someones shed

Restored Optimus 8R

In my last post I talked about the trad camping cooker I was given and today I put it back together after stripping & re painting it etc. I decided in the end not to add a clip on the lid for the spanner but I have added some tin foil to the base to protect the new paint once it's fired up as I read on another blog that it was a good idea to protect the new paint from getting damaged. I think the royal blue and polished brass looks quite nice together and as soon as I get the chance I hope to use it while out cycling for a brew up etc. 

Pictured above are two photos of the restored cooker

A new camp stove - Optimus 8R

For followers of this blog you may recall a long time ago I was looking at buying a camp stove , well I never ended up buying one at that time and just last Sunday I received from my good friend Minagawa san a fantastic optimus 8R gasoline stove . Today I pulled it apart and cleaned the brass fittings up and as I'm not to keen on the light blue paint , I've decided to repaint it a different color and add a clip to the lid for holding the Optimus spanner.  In Japan you can buy white gasoline from outdoor shops and large sporting goods stores so at a later date I'll purchase some and test it out. Also I think I may have also located a set of square alloy mess tins which would contain the stove inside it's metal box so as not to take up too much room in my saddle bag. Once restored the above cooker should be perfect for brew up while on a run in the countryside.

1903 Humber bicycle add

Tsugawa to Kitakata - part 4

After pottering around town and checking out some fantastic buildings it was easy to see why so many people come here, of course ramen is probably the biggest draw card in Kitakata as the town has over 100 ramen shops but it's collection of historic buildings and kura - store houses are fantastic as most other towns, cities around Japan have not had the foresight to retain their heritage buildings. Kitakata has a thriving tourist industry because in part of its heritage buildings and is a perfect example of what can be achieved through heritage tourism. Taking the train back to Tsugawa was the best option as neither of us would have had the energy to make the return trip by bicycle. Upon arriving back in Niigata city at 6pm we were both rather tired but even though it was far more difficult than I imaged we both enjoyed ourselves.