It all started with an idea...
...by Hans, a guy I’d met just an hour ago. He wanted to cycle from Berlin to Belarus, with only a tent, camping wildly all across Poland, some of Lithuania, and parts of Belarus. And he needed a partner. First, I was intrigued, left him my phone number to get in touch, and told him I might be up for it, but had to sleep over the idea.
Back in Scotland, I immediately fired up ebay, looking for a frame to build a touring bike from. I still hadn’t made a decision but a touring bike would come in handy either way. And there it was, for a mere 16 quid, a frame of an old mountain bike from the nineties, made from flexible, yet strong CroMoly. Flexible enough to guarantee a sort ride, yet strong enough to carry gear. Perfect. Then came a first set of wheels, described as „suitable for touring bikes“. Some shifters from the local bike self-help workshop, and my new idea was starting to take shape. A chainset, used derailleurs, and a set of tyres soon produced version 1.0 of „The Tourer“.
Then, I found a SON on a German bike forum, and - bam - bought it. Add a decent set of lights, and darkness was no longer a problem.
For my first self-built bike, it held up pretty well along the tour.