I lusted after a bike with Derailleur gears all through my childhood. Then, in my teens, when I could finally afford one, that lust was replaced by a couple of others.

The old Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub had to suffice.

Some driver here has just mopped up about twenty cyclists riding together. Rumour has it that it was deliberate. Sometimes a Time-Trial is extremely irritating to other road-users, but that is an extreme protest.
There is no safety in numbers, O.D. Take care.