Bikes And Bike People No. 3: David And His Raleigh Superbe.

When I asked David if he would allow me to take a picture of him and his bicycle his first reaction was 'what for?' His accent, gruff attitude and his Bolton Wanders shirt marked him as a fellow Northerner.
When he realised I to was from the North the shields came down and we got on like a house on fire.

David came by his Raleigh Superbe after he had his bicycle stolen from outside a pub.
He asked a chap he knew, who lived across the street from the pub, if he could borrow the bike to get home.  The bike's then owner said he could keep it.

The bike is original save for the front wheel. David found a replacement at ReCycle Bike Shop in Surbiton, Surrey.

I wanted to ask him about how he used the bike on a day to day basis but he asked me where I came from. I told him and it turns out he knew the area very well having been at boarding school in Ripon. He then asked me if I knew anyone called Swires. I knew most of the Swires family and the Hardcastles and the Scofields and the Sherstones and then list went on and on.
We spent a whole hour chatting.

Nice bike, nice bloke.