[CR]Re: Beer

(Example: Bike Shops)

From: "Joe King" <joeking@fastmail.fm>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:27:44 +0000
Subject: [CR]Re: Beer

Many thanks for all the kind replies off list, far too many to acknowledge. Yes and I did completely forget about the Tour De France cafe raids which were once an everyday occurrence in this race, even in 1960's. There are so many evocative period photographs of riders nipping into cafes for beers or any other alcohol they could lay their hands on to drench their first on this arduous race. There are some wonderful shots of these in the Phillipe Brunel book The Intimate Portrait of the Tour de France. Are there some scenes in the film Vive Le Tour by Louis Malle of cafe raids? And how could I forget the Frank Patterson drawings depicting pubs and cyclists throughout his long sketching career a high proportion were of inns and pubs. My favourits are the Angel at Ditton and The Plough and Arrow at Litlington, my Grandfather had original block pulls of both of these in his front parlour, but my all time favourit is the one they stuck up in our old club hut "The Rendezvous When Hitlers Game Is Up", the lads stuck this up when they joined up and it was still on the wall when I started cycling in 1959. The Calleva Road club were originally from the Merton, Mitcham and Mordern area. They used Higgins shop and he even made some Calleva Specials about 9 in all for short distance time trialling a very unusual looking unconventional frame. I wonder how many survive today? Croeso Cymru Joe King Nr. Maenaddwyn Ynys Mon Wales