Ken Bird

Tom said:

I'm sorry to have to announce the death of Ken Bird at the age of 65.
Ken, a mechanic to the British team on the Tour de France, the
proprietor of Bird's Bike Centre at Green Street Green and Crystal
Palace, and a noted wheel builder.
Funeral at Eltham Crematorium, Cran Hood Way, Avery Hill, Eltham, South
London, at 10.45 am on Monday 7th February.

Sincere condolences to all.
Ken Bird was perhaps the first real 'character' of cycling that I ever
met and looms large in my memories. He once came to our clubroom to give
a slide show in the 70s and his wit and inside knowledge had everyone
laughing in the aisles. He recalled his times as a mechanic on the Tour
de France when he accompanied some of the earliest British riders to compete.
Later he was a great supporter of road-records with his trade-mark white
frames with black decals. I think E2E'er Woodburn rode one of his
tandems with Patson in many record attempts.
His cycle shop was a mecca for many.
He was a real colourful character, one of a few, and will be in great
demand as a wheel-builder at the great tracks in the sky.

John B

in message <[email hidden]>, JohnB ([email hidden]'😉

Quoted message said:

He recalled his times as a mechanic on the Tour
de France when he accompanied some of the earliest British riders to
compete. Later he was a great supporter of road-records with his
trade-mark white frames with black decals. I think E2E'er Woodburn
rode one of his tandems with Patson in many record attempts.

When I was a kid in Kirkcudbright the bike shop was kept by a man called
Wullie Law. He was patient and informative and taught me a great deal
of what I know about fixing bikes. The shop is still there, now run by
his grand-daughter, and still sells a few bikes. It wasn't until long
after the old man was dead that I was told that he'd ridden the Tour. I
still don't know how to verify whether this is true. But if it is I'm
even more astounded by how modest a man he was.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us
;; many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets.
;; Imagination without skill gives us modern art.
;; Tom Stoppard, Artist Descending A Staircase

"JohnB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tom said:

I'm sorry to have to announce the death of Ken Bird at the age of 65.
Ken, a mechanic to the British team on the Tour de France, the
proprietor of Bird's Bike Centre at Green Street Green and Crystal
Palace, and a noted wheel builder.
Funeral at Eltham Crematorium, Cran Hood Way, Avery Hill, Eltham, South
London, at 10.45 am on Monday 7th February.

Sincere condolences to all.
Ken Bird was perhaps the first real 'character' of cycling that I ever
met and looms large in my memories. He once came to our clubroom to give
a slide show in the 70s and his wit and inside knowledge had everyone
laughing in the aisles. He recalled his times as a mechanic on the Tour
de France when he accompanied some of the earliest British riders to
compete.

Are you not going to tell us his stories? Usenet may be the last place
(except grandchildren) that they may be told.

Quoted message said:

Later he was a great supporter of road-records with his trade-mark white
frames with black decals. I think E2E'er Woodburn rode one of his
tandems with Patson in many record attempts.
His cycle shop was a mecca for many.
He was a real colourful character, one of a few, and will be in great
demand as a wheel-builder at the great tracks in the sky.

RIP

"Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

There's a Tour of Iraq that's not been finished .. places still available.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was a kid in Kirkcudbright the bike shop was kept by a man called
Wullie Law. He was patient and informative and taught me a great deal
of what I know about fixing bikes. The shop is still there, now run by
his grand-daughter, and still sells a few bikes. It wasn't until long
after the old man was dead that I was told that he'd ridden the Tour. I
still don't know how to verify whether this is true.

http://www.letour.fr/2005/presentationus/retro.html

"law" as a search term yields no hits that would seem to match.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:36:14 -0600 someone who may be "Edward Dolan"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

So he rode the Tour. So what. If he was modest about it he had it right. It
is something to be modest about. All this hoopla about the Tour is total
insanity. It is disgusting the way some cyclists carry on about the g.d.
Tour.

Making a few assumptions, in the days of the grandfather mentioned
by the other person it was not the mass media event it is now. There
were no backup vans full of bikes. Take a look at photographs of
people riding with spare inner tubes round their necks and imagine
what it was like.

Quoted message said:

After all, it is a French thing and we all know what the French are
worth -traitors to Western Civilization.

Nice try.

They were of course right about Iraq. If only the intellectual pigmy
elected by a few judges in the USA (and his poodle in the UK and a
few others) had listened to them Iraq would not be in the mess it is
today (a mess largely unreported by the "western" media who mostly
stick to their hotels).

I speak as someone who is not particularly fond of France and
extremely unfond of M Chirac.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

LOL! With a kevlar fairing, lithium-ion battery and motor on my Pod,
there is NO WAY I can outrun the weapons in Iraq!
Chris Jordan
Santa Cruz, CA.

LOL! With a kevlar fairing, lithium-ion battery and motor on my Pod,
there is NO WAY I can outrun the weapons in Iraq!
Chris Jordan
Santa Cruz, CA.

David Hansen said:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:36:14 -0600 someone who may be "Edward Dolan"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

So he rode the Tour. So what. If he was modest about it he had it right. It
is something to be modest about. All this hoopla about the Tour is total
insanity. It is disgusting the way some cyclists carry on about the g.d.
Tour.

Making a few assumptions, in the days of the grandfather mentioned
by the other person it was not the mass media event it is now. There
were no backup vans full of bikes. Take a look at photographs of
people riding with spare inner tubes round their necks and imagine
what it was like.

One guy early on was disqualified after admitting that he got a child to
work the bellows while he fixed his forks at a smithy. No assistance was
allowed of any kind.

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
"Living in a jungle, living in a tent. Better than a prefab - no rent."

elyob said:

Are you not going to tell us his stories? Usenet may be the last place
(except grandchildren) that they may be told.

I only wish I could.
I only recall being completely enthralled by both his stories and his
presentation. Thta was what stuck in my mind. Here was one of the first
'real' people I had met who had actually been involved with the Tour.

John B

Keith Willoughby said:

One guy early on was disqualified after admitting that he got a child
to work the bellows while he fixed his forks at a smithy. No
assistance was allowed of any kind.

Eugene Christophe. He wasn't disqualified, just given an extra time
penalty to add to the time he'd spent walking 14k to the blacksmith,
then repairing his forks at the forge.

It was his name on the superb springy toe clips that dominated the
market for decades.

--
Dave...

"Edward Dolan" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<snip bullsh!t>
What the French do best is
<snip bullsh!t>

I thought the subject of this thread was to show appreciation about an
apparently well-liked cycling guy who recently died.

Show some respect & stop trolling the thread. I've asked nicely...

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

in message <[email hidden]>, jtaylor

(') said:

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was a kid in Kirkcudbright the bike shop was kept by a man
called Wullie Law. He was patient and informative and taught me a
great deal of what I know about fixing bikes. The shop is still
there, now run by his grand-daughter, and still sells a few bikes. It
wasn't until long after the old man was dead that I was told that
he'd ridden the Tour. I still don't know how to verify whether this
is true.

http://www.letour.fr/2005/presentationus/retro.html

"law" as a search term yields no hits that would seem to match.

Oh, well, thus are local legends made. I'm glad to know, though, even if
it is a negative.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; killing [afghan|iraqi] civilians is not 'justice'

in message <[email hidden]>,

dkahn400 (') said:

Keith Willoughby said:

One guy early on was disqualified after admitting that he got a child
to work the bellows while he fixed his forks at a smithy. No
assistance was allowed of any kind.

Eugene Christophe. He wasn't disqualified, just given an extra time
penalty to add to the time he'd spent walking 14k to the blacksmith,
then repairing his forks at the forge.

It was his name on the superb springy toe clips that dominated the
market for decades.

H'mmm! I still have a pair of those. Was it actually his firm, or did he
sell his name to someone?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

'Victories are not solutions.'
;; John Hume, Northern Irish politician, on Radio Scotland 1/2/95
;; Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1998; few have deserved it so much

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 04:10:47 -0600 someone who may be "Edward Dolan"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I blame the Iraq War on the French. Sadaam thought that the US would never
invade because he was counting on the French to keep us from going to war.

My final posting on this subject here is to suggest some reading.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=605326
is entitled "Bush's rhetoric remains high-flown, but his arguments
for war have fallen apart" and makes a good introduction.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=605327
is entitled "Is the world safer now?" takes a deeper look.

As for Mr Liar, the following article is a good starting point,
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=605290
and is entitled "Greg Dyke: Two years after the war, one year after
Hutton. Why hasn't Blair resigned yet?"

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

"David Hansen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 04:10:47 -0600 someone who may be "Edward Dolan"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I blame the Iraq War on the French. Sadaam thought that the US would never
invade because he was counting on the French to keep us from going to war.

My final posting on this subject here is to suggest some reading.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Quoted message said:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=605326
is entitled "Bush's rhetoric remains high-flown, but his arguments
for war have fallen apart" and makes a good introduction.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=605327
is entitled "Is the world safer now?" takes a deeper look.

As for Mr Liar, the following article is a good starting point,
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=605290
and is entitled "Greg Dyke: Two years after the war, one year after
Hutton. Why hasn't Blair resigned yet?"

I would never bother to read any of this liberal propaganda and essentially
treasonous rubbish. You must think I was born yesterday. Thanks for the good
laugh!

--
Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

Edward Dolan said:

"David Hansen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My final posting on this subject here is to suggest some reading.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Quoted message said:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=605326
is entitled "Bush's rhetoric remains high-flown, but his arguments
for war have fallen apart" and makes a good introduction.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=605327

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is entitled "Is the world safer now?" takes a deeper look.

As for Mr Liar, the following article is a good starting point,

http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=605290

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and is entitled "Greg Dyke: Two years after the war, one year after
Hutton. Why hasn't Blair resigned yet?"

I would never bother to read any of this liberal propaganda and
essentially treasonous rubbish. You must think I was born yesterday.
Thanks for the good laugh!

It seems, as I suspected, that David Hansen over-estimated you.
--
Dave...

dkahn400 said:

It seems, as I suspected, that David Hansen over-estimated you.

"misunderestimated" him, surely?

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 05:48:59 -0600 someone who may be "Edward Dolan"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I would never bother to read any of this liberal propaganda and essentially
treasonous rubbish.

How do you know that if you don't bother to read it?

Quoted message said:

You must think I was born yesterday.

I have no thoughts on the matter.

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the good laugh!

How can you laugh at something you say you have not read.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.