What happens when 25 Canadians stage a race on motorized roadsters through rural China to the North Korean Border? A lot of fun apparently.
Craig Engleson, should know as he was the "Tour de Dandong" organizer. Starting in the resort town of Dalian, the tour wound it's way over 2.5 days to Dandong on the North Korean border and the "Broken Bridge". This is probably as close a most westerners ever get to Kim Jung Il without being imprisoned.
Going through the parts bins at an old state run bicycle shop that I like to call "The Pigeon's Nest", I occasionally come across some NOS parts. Such was the case last week when I found this chrome chainwheel guard from the 1980's or 1990s. Hard to believe, but the 1980's is already twenty years gone! And 20 years is like 100 years in China.
In this case the Singapore Flyer in question is not the famous landmark and Ferris Wheel, but rather a bicycle.
Ah Chow (Thomas Chow) of Singapore collects bikes. But what would any bike collection be with out a Roadster? This is no problem for Thomas who rides an excellent 1950's, bright red and black Raleigh Sports, AKA "The Singapore Flyer".
"I source most of my bikes at old bike shops in Malaysia or Indonesia which is where I found this bike" says Thomas.
This week was the first time I had been to Panjiayuan antique bike meet in months. Being it was the end of spring festival, and still winter, there wasn't the usual crowd. And the crowd that was there came late. But still there was some interesting stuff to be seen. One first timer unloaded a table of bits and pieces. A fine melange for a browsing.
Frequent readers will remember past posts of vintage Fuji Brake-Rod roadsters. These are fantastic, is very heavily constructed bikes from one of the world's oldest and most successful bike companies. Dearly sought after machines indeed.
Now a funny thing happened at Panjiayuan a few months back. A gentleman brought an excellent example, maybe the best example seen yet, of a Fuji roadster....or was it? In the below pictures you can see quite clearly on the head badge and the fender logo, that although the Fuji trademark silhouette of Mt. Fujiyama is co-opted, It instead bears the letter "HAO" and not Fuji.
Hao, incidentally, means "Good" in Chinese, although the bike is clearly Japanese. So is it a copy?
