Skint, but happy

Shed load of bikes

That's what 'getting into bicycles' does to you. Two months ago, I had a mountain bike. Notice the 'a'? Yes, just the one. Now I'm the proud owner of two complete Viscount bicycles, two frames, plenty of tools, and many components, like rims, hubs, spokes, derailleurs, down-tube shifters, pedals, and tyres. Heck, I even sound like I know what I'm talking about. I don't, trust me. And, on Tuesday, another bike will arrive, a beautiful blue Viscount Aerospace, which I believe may be a 'Sport'. I won it on ebay and, from what I could see, it has all the original components, including the wheels. Very happy about this purchase, to be honest, as I plan to make it pretty and send it to my friend in Germany. She's been there for me in very difficult times and this bike is meant to be a gift. She loves cycling and my Viscount euphoria seems to be infective; today, she said that since I've started with the Viscount mania, she's not looked at bikes the same again--every single one she sees is eagerly scrutinised if it could be a Viscount. Made me smile.
Yesterday, I went to see Arup, the wheel builder; he has been building wheels for the past ten years and has a good reputation. I needed to get the exact measures for the effective rim diametre (ERD) to order the spokes. He even let me watch him building and true a wheel, while he explained. It was stunning to witness. I still have no idea what the ERD is and what it's for, but I have ordered the spokes today. They should arrive next week, which means I'll get to start with building the wheels. I decided I want to give it a go myself and when done, I'm going to pop by my local bike shop to borrow occupy for hours their beautiful old-fashioned truing stand. I'm already giggling at myself, because I fear that I'll hand over something that resembles more an object in an elliptical shape than anything else to Arup, begging to make it right. He's the one who'll have to give my wheels the last once over; I doubt I'll get it perfect the first time round.

The Sprint

But it's not only the building that attracts me; it's the fact that every time I ride either the Viscount Aerospace Sport or the Viscount Sprint, I'm rolling through London on a bit of history. Viscounts were only made for a decade (70s to early 80s), and that's what makes them even more special, apart from the special features.
Today I was meeting up with a friend for lunch. We try to do that regularly, I bring the food, he pays for water or a coffee. He's not so much of an urban cyclist and prefers his mountain bike off (main) roads, but he was quite intrigued when I told him a bit about the Lambert/Viscount history. If you're interested, too, here's a link to Busaste's wonderful short caption of it. I, for once, am very happy to keep the Viscounts rolling.