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OPINION

Old banana on the skids…

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Bath is full of old relics from another age, me, Dave, lots of Georgian stuff, and the Roman baths, but just down the street from the road.cc office is this poignant reminder of a byegone era… 1990 or thereabouts.

I've walked past the Banana Falcon numerous times in the last few months slowing to take more of a look, but only this week did I realise that it hasn't moved at all – famed for my observational powers me.

I just assumed that someone who gets up earlier than I do always locked the Banana in the same place, but no, the rusting rims and the slowly unravelling bar tape finally helped the penny drop.

What a shame because until recently it looks like someone did take care of it – in these throway times 20 year old bikes don't last long unless they are loved, bikes half that age routinely end up down at the dump.

Another odd thing too – it's chained to the railings on what is probably one of the most expensive streets in Britain and nobody seems to have noticed, maybe they all assumed like me that it belonged to an eccentric millionaire with a thing about British professional racing teams of the Eighties and the wannabe team bikes they were set up to help sell.

Anyone like to give it a good home? If you would, (and we can make sure it doesn't belong to an eccentric millionaire - the lock doesn't look that rusty) maybe we can mount a rescue mission.

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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3 comments

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Oli Pendrey | 15 years ago
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Your observational powers were wrong, it does move everyday. I know this as I spoke to the owner of it this very morning as I saw him locking it up. He was a "student-looking" kinda guy who informed that he's had it for 2 years and he bought it off a mate for £5!!....I informed him of it's new found fame but he said that he can't look at this blog as he doesn't have the internet  2

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Tony Farrelly replied to Oli Pendrey | 15 years ago
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… and did I not comment on the condition of the lock + the fact that tyres hadn't gone down (alright I didn't make that comment on here)  

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mst | 15 years ago
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And a squirt of oil on the chain - then away you go!

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