Dada Be Rusting Tipi

Some years back, a friend told me of a sit-up-and-beg type bicycle that had been abandoned outside her place. So I collected it, put air in the tires, replaced cables, and put new batteries in the lantern. I haven’t used it much, and think it’s been more than a year since I last rode it. So it’s time to find it a new home.

It’s a BSA Courier; a 23 inch 5-speed, apparently from when that company was owned by Raleigh, probably in the 80s. I thought there might be a web-based record of production dates and numbers – as there are for Pashley, so did a bit of searching. I haven’t found any such details, but did come across a photo of the same model at a site called Re-Buy-Cycle. I also found some other sites dedicated to retro cycles, including www.retrobike.co.uk, where ‘if it’s old school, it’s in’. Cool.

I guess that means the thing might be worth £20/£30. But I’m more inclined to find it a charitable use, so may make enquiries at some of the bicycle charities.

3 April 2011: in the end, I gave it to the splendidly conceived and newly-formed Birmingham Bike Foundry co-operative, some months back. I’m sure it got loving attention and a good home.

An environmental charity ‘working mainly in urban and urban fringe areas’, and concerned with diversity of vegetation.

From the website:

The use of simple wildflower mixes and modifying soils to create the right starting point are techniques by Landlife under the umbrella of creative conservation.
Equally important is the role of people and the need to strengthen – and celebrate – the links between wildlife and local communities.

Creative conservation is not a substitute for preserving existing valuable habitats. Some of the techniques are based on traditional agricultural practices, others are more innovative, such as our Soil Inversion Project

Click here for our ‘Wildlife Surveys’ section.

Landlife has undertaken research projects, community initiatives and work with other environmental groups to progress creative conservation potential for creating new wildflower landscapes.
Guidelines for this technique are available as well as technical handbooks and publications.
We also have over 30 years experience of growing wildflowers and manage trading company Landlife Wildflowers for seeds and plants.

Sounds like the kind of thing I want to know more about, and perhaps add to the Eating Spaces node map.