Bikes seem to be pretty prominent amongst the collective, so I thought I’d pitch these in. I was looking up some old photos from my own Pentax era to illustrate an article on the resurgence of camping and found these gems. This is my brother, the renowned yachtsman, Captain Haddock, fiddling with two bikes he abused in the early seventies. First was the Matchless 500 single. No doubt worth a fortune now, but picked up for less than a fiver then. The front mudguard soon went, to be followed by the fitting of a ‘peanut’ fuel tank from an NSU Quickly and some Ape Hangers. Essential kit back then. It looks SO dangerous. Marvellous! The workshop picture is the one we had at Appletreewick Farm and I was astonished to find that I have that workbench her e, now, in my garage complete with the very same vice and buffer (on the extreme right). The bike was a Bultaco Sherpa trials bike. 250, two stroke, bags of torque. he competed at club level with mixed success. I’m confident Fred Fibonacci will take up the story.
