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Thanks for your comments, Falconvitesse.
Apart from the headwind (which was a tailwind on the second day) this shouldn't be all that tough, but my lack of riding this year was a factor - I think one loses fitness more quickly when old - the tendency is to revert to one's natural state.
It's easy to imagine that these old roadsters are very hard work, and this view is often supported by the experience of riding one, but most of these bikes are in bad condition whereas my Sunbeam is now near perfect from the mechanical point of view. In addition I've got the bars down as far as possible so that at least the centre portion is lower than the saddle - I'm not the first person to do this, and I don't think it was rare back when these machines were common. Finally, this is a 'light' roadster - they can easily be 10 pounds heavier than mine.
I wasn't aware that the bike attracted any interest on this trip, but I was on a main road on two weekdays, so I saw very few other riders. In Oxford itself it could be said that eccentricity is normal,so probably this bike doesn't look unusual there.
That puncture: I just changed the tube. It was in the front, so not much more difficult to get the wheel out than normal. Traditional roadsters have rearward opening rear ends but this 'forward looking' Sunbeam has modern style forward opening ends. A full roadster with chaincase is a real problem to repair a backwheel puncture at the roadside, especially considering most punctures happen when it's wet - I have no idea how to repair an inner tube in the rain.
So now I need to get out on my bike and capitalise on last week's work!
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clubman
Well done @clubman, a tough ride indeed.
It has been unseasonably cold with a persistent wind for what seems like forever. At least judging by the photos it was dry, even still it can make for an uncomfortable ride.
The bike looks very smart and so unusual did it garner plenty of interest while out.
Was repairing the puncture straight forward with that set up. Im assuming you used the old school puncture repair kit method and not just a replacement inner tube.