Hey Tom,
By all means, try to make the B.V.V.W. meeting Thursday evening. I'll be there with Jamie Swan. We're from out on Long Island. The meetings are fun.
I've got a Raleigh Lenton Sports Reg Harris Racing Special, which has cool decals (does yours have the torch and the snowflake?) but is about as ratty as a bike could get. I have it set up as a SA three speed with twist grip on tourist bars, AVA tubulars and Rudge fenders (similar color and patina (rust)) and a well weathered B66. Brakes are Universal side pulls.
And, talking about liking larger frame sizes as one gains experience (aging), I've really taken a liking towards 25.5" Raleighs (pro's, competitions), 64 cm Fujis and the sort. Back a few years, I was very happy riding 58-60 cm bikes, then I found 62 cm ones suited me better and now I'm quite pleased to ride these large bikes, with 46 cm bars. It is nice to be able to utilize the Campagnolo seatposts without venturing into the "illegal" zone. For way too many years back as a teenager, I rode a too small Atala Record Professional and was as happy as can be. I just didn't know any different.
I still ride a wide variety of sizes but have slowed down on buying ones on the small side (but have a hard time passing up anything on the large side).
Welcome to the list.
Paul Lee
Huntington, NY