There is the price, as in the quite reasonable yearly fee one pays for the stylish yellow jersey next to one's screen name, and there is the
real price, as in the consequences of one's regular visits to this forum and becoming assimilated into the C&V Collective.
This is about the latter, of course.
Until today I had never seen a Raleigh Super Course in real life. I don't believe they were ever sold here. Yet, ever since I joined this forum I felt that not having one meant I had a void in my life. I mean,
this thread spans 89 pages, and after ten years I am still not in it!
So, when this dilapidated 1976 Mk II turned up in the local classifieds in my size, I could not resist.
Lots of clues point to it being a personal import from the US: the reflectors, the spoke protector, the Pletscher rack:
The Avocet Touring saddle:
The real give-away are of course the schrader valves:
Apparently the bike has been left outside for quite some time. The chrome on the frame looks like it might clean up reasonably well, and there is still some life in the Huret Jubilee déreailleur:
Other parts look to be beyond salvation:
I need to think about what to do with it: keep it original (which it seems to be), restore it, or restomod it. Whatever the outcome, another lock-down might actually come in handy, as this will be a time-consuming project.
