I was in Chicago for Thanksgiving, and my mother said that some friends in the neighborhood had an old bike in her garage that I might want to look at. These were longtime friends of the family, and they knew I was into older bikes. It seems these people had planned to give the bike in question to a young neighbor, but when they took the bike in for service, they were told that it would cost $150 to put right, then it would be like a "Rolls Royce," and probably a target for bike thieves. The young neighbor suddenly did not seem like the ideal recipient of this exciting machine. Well, I was pretty excited about the idea of some dusty classic, just waiting to be brought out, cleaned up, and ridden by someone who would appreciate her. They kept referring to it using the names of British luxury cars, and they mentioned that a fender might be missing. Pretty soon I had convinced myself that they had a Jack Taylor back there.
So my father and I went over the the neighbor's. After some discussion about everyone's family, and how well the owner was doing after hip replacement, (at 75 he still rides) I was taken out to the garage. Unfortunately the "Jaguar" turned out to be an Armstrong three-speed: Sturmey-Archer gears, steel rims, cottered crank, mattress saddle, fenders, but no chainguard. Nice enough if one wanted a Raleigh off-brand, but not what I was hoping for.
Oh well, lots to be thankful for anyway.
Best regards,
Marcus Helman
Huntington Woods, MI