When I was ten I had a very solid Raleigh bicycle with rod brakes and a nice loud bell on the handlebars. I was mocked at grammar school (many of the pupils had dropped handlebars and slimmer tyres) One nasty boy (who I quite fancied actually) said it was a 'Roman relic', but I still loved that bike. I called it 'Lucky' and used it until I left home for Uni. I rode it through the woods, out to the farm, beside the quarry pits and it never let me down. I was extremely thin with bandy legs and very long hair streaming out behind, and I suppose I did look a bit weird. But Lucky and I travelled far and wide.