Favorite item

[Rodafina]

So cool.

Black beauty!

 

[Gerontius]

My rusty old bicycle might be one of my favorite items. I love collecting old junk that pertains to special interests, and could go on for awhile about the merits of antique phonographs, typewriters, pump-organs, old blackpowder shotguns, that sort of thing.

But I do not have anything that is quite as aesthetically perfect, as practical, and as pleasurable as my Raleigh Model DL-1 bicycle. They were discontinued in 1985. Mine is a 1966 specimen but they began producing the DL-1, inspired by the earliest "safety" bicycles of which it is an example, back in 1913. Competitors included the Model T Ford, the saddle horse, and the penny-farthing which was rapidly going out of style. The "safety" was a superior machine especially when they invented the Sturmey-Archer 3 speed gearshift, the oilbath crankcase, and the North Road handlebar.

It's a terrible bicycle as far as modern ones go; you have to pour the gearbox full of sewing-machine oil to keep it going and the bearings are literally just a handful of ball bearings that have to be packed with No.2 axle-grease every so often. You have to sit bolt upright to ride, and the general atmosphere of being out on it is being stuck for a moment in a scene from Foyle's War or Brideshead Revisited. The experience, like the engineering of its lousy brakes, is pure 1913.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I think being stuck in 1913 with period technology is not so bad.

It is absolute liberty on two wheels. No roadway, no problem--it works fine in the woods or on railroad beds or dirt roads, just as it does in traffic or the side of a highway. I can't compare it with modern road cycles but you wouldn't compare a 1913 Morris-Cowley auto against a new Hyundai either. The plan is to eventually fit it with a rear carrier rack and perhaps a Lucas hub generator so I can make my own electricity to run the lights (it already carries its own spare tire pump, & just doesn't break down very often. Even when it did break down I could fix it up & get home just fine.)

Rides great, cheaper than a decent modern one, looks normal at a distance, easy to work on with hand tools, and bicycle thieves turn their noses up at it. I am not a big fan of being told motorcars will make me "free," for the wages of tin is death, and a smell following after. If I could I'd use this thing all the time & never run the car.

--Ride one of these things for a month & tell me, honestly, after you get done wiping that grin off your face, isn't it more fun than driving a car?

And unlike a car it always will go in cold weather.

 

[tazz]

Ride one of these things for a month & tell me, honestly, after you get done wiping that grin off your face, isn't it more fun than driving a car?

While I've not ridden a bike with pedals for a long time, I totally get this. For a year or so I was riding a 1969 Triumph Tiger 650 TR6, one of the early versions of the motorcycle in my previous photos (which is from 2012). It had a seemingly unfixable oil leak and the carburettor was never quite right, but it was so simple compared to the clunky modern motorcycles.

I got hold of a copy of the workshop manual and because everything was mechanical I could work on it myself. Modern motorcycles have all sorts of electronics and computer chips, and seem to be over-engineered.

The 1969 version had some really neat little features such as capturing the drops of oil from the rather messy oil sump return pump and letting them drip occasionally onto the drive chain to keep it lubricated. It also had a drum brake with a double-shoe which, combined with the overall low weight of the machine, meant that acceleration and deceleration were super-tight.

It rattled and shook, and had a vicious kick-start which regularly gave me a nasty bruise, but it was fast and nimble and such fun to ride.

Modern bikes tend to be bigger and heavier; still tons better than driving a car but somehow they've lost some of the charm.

This isn't it, but it's the same model.

 

[Gerontius]

and because everything was mechanical I could work on it myself.

Isn't that the best part about all that sort of thing?

There is a motorcycle made now called the Janus which was supposedly designed to be similar to old-school simple motorbikes, & then there's the Sportsman Flyer machine which is just a little 200cc 4-stroke motor stuck to a real simple frame. But you can't beat the real thing--I like the Triumph motorcycle in that picture, looks like fun to go places on, and fun to try to keep working.

 

[Tom]

That medieval painting is beautiful! I love artwork like this.

Yes, it is a very distinct style and also contains humor, some of which we still can not totally decipher today, the inside jokes of medieval scribes and monks.

 

[tazz]

There is a motorcycle made now called the Janus which was supposedly designed to be similar to old-school simple motorbikes,

Oh my, I got tingles just watching this... so much fun... wonder if I can get it over here in the UK.

I was thinking to take my current bike on one last tour of Norway and then get a new one. This might be it !

 

[Ken]

 

[Patrick Bushdiecker]

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I've collected plastic toy soldiers, especially knights since childhood. This has always been my favorite and even has gone to the hospital with me to sit on the tray and be a small cheerful thing. I actually have about 20 of them and 20 in blue and 20 kneeling in green and in yellow. I like it because although fairly simple it captures perfectly the make believe aspect of knights in the hollywood films I liked growing up and also the colorful aspect of medieval manuscript illustrations.

View attachment 101703

Have you seen the book of kells? It's famous and full of colorful illustrations and Celtic knotwork designs. I think you will like it.

 

[Patrick Bushdiecker]

My favorite item is my new guitar. It's a fender Stratocaster and it was given to me by a good friend.

 

[Patrick Bushdiecker]

Do I have to pick just one?

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You have a lot of cool stuff! I like the black and gold dog the best. It reminds me of Celtic knotwork designs from the book of kells.

 

[Luca]

You have a lot of cool stuff! I like the black and gold dog the best. It reminds me of Celtic knotwork designs from the book of kells.

Thank you!
It does kind of resemble Celtic artwork. I like it a lot too.

 

[Metalhead]

My Keurig. Getting a perfect cup of black coffee every single morning, on a timer so I smell it when I am waking up, is a godsend.

 

[Luca]

My Keurig. Getting a perfect cup of black coffee every single morning, on a timer so I smell it when I am waking up, is a godsend.

I love my Keurig too, and I have had mine since I was a freshman in college which was over 10 years ago! It still works and it’s still compatible with K Cups!