It's a traditional British touring bike, which I have had for a while now and has been scandalously underused. The frame was built by Mercian Cycles in Derby as a clone of my equally scandalously underused road racing bike which was made to measure by Eddy Merckx (although probably without any actual personal involvement). It normally has mudguards but I've taken them off for the duration, since I may have to take it to bits for the flight home. Campag gears (8-speed, now obsolete), Shimano chainset (52/42/30, not that I really need a 52 ring for this), Avid brakes that squeak rather badly (must play with the toe-in), Cinelli bars/stem, Mavic rims on Campag Athena hubs, 32 mm tyres (designed for comfort rather than speed). And proper black cotton duck panniers.
The plan is to leaving on Sunday morning, with a ceremonial start from the lions in the Market Square with Daniel on his trailerbike as far as West Bridgford, and then a modest 100km or so to Northampton where I've been offered a bed (thanks Boxo). Anyone wanting to join me for part of the ride is obviously welcome. Plans after that remain fluid.
