The Lake Pepin 3-speed tour is this Saturday! For those on the ride, here is an alternate route, which begins shortly after Maiden Rock.

Lake Pepin 3-speed Tour Stockholm bypass

Stock up on water and provisions if needed (recommended) in Maiden Rock. This alternate takes about 2-3 hours if done in a leisurely fashion. A beautiful and secluded valley is featured; overall traffic is very light. A rest stop could be a the Laura Ingalls Wilder cabin which is on the route.

East of Maiden Rock, take AA left and follow past (and over) creek. Turn left at the Rustic Road (first dirt road after the creek; at last report the main sign was down, look for sign saying ‘next 4 miles’). There are several stream crossings after which the road rises out of the valley. Some HAB* is required. At the top of the valley, take a left at the T intersection (180th, with more HAB), then a right at the next T intersection (50th).

Proceed east on 50th(also called Willow), crossing Co. Rd. Cc (alternatively, turn south on Co. Rd. Cc., follow through village of Lund, turn left). Willow Road curves south and meets Co. Rd Cc; proceed south on Cc.

Cc passes by the Laura Ingalls Wilder cabin. Picnic table, restrooms are on site, but no water. Road descends towards Pepin and meets Hiway 35 west of town. Turn left rejoining main route.

Pepin bypass alternate from Stockholm bypass:

After the cabin, begin descent into valley north of Pepin. Just outside of town you will pass by Oakwood Cemetery on your left, on a left curve. Sand Ridge Road goes left, take this if you wish to also bypass Pepin.

(NOTE: An unexplored alternate Pepin Bypass route would be to turn left on Elberg Hill road (after the main descent, where the bluffs on the left recede to the left and the valley opens up), then immediately right on Jahnke Hill Road, taking that to Sand Hill Road; turn left resuming Pepin bypass route. This alternate is entirely on dirt road.)

Enter outskirts of Pepin, turn left on 7th, proceed three full blocks thru residential area to Dunn Road (Co Rd N), turn left and immediately right onto Trail Road (dirt).Follow Trail Road to hiway 35 and rejoin main route.

* Hike A Bike

That will be some big bath of oxalic acid!

Honestly so long as there's no internal rush that thing'll probably polish right up. It's on caliper brakes so nothing stopping you from switching to aluminium rims!

Raleigh Tourist
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84f20bf3dd.jpg
Here is a later Tourist (DL-1) for you at $280 OBO.
https://easternshore.craigslist.org/...582881095.html

1960's Armstrong $65
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e51e67ea26.jpg
This needs work, but it appears to be all there.
https://easternshore.craigslist.org/...582797060.html

The Armstrong above has a Schwinn Phantom seat, worth at least double the asking price of the bike.

What a great find! You are correct 1950-1953. In the 1954 catalog Raleigh promotes their new "high tensile" steel and they started using the high tensile sticker on the seat tube.I really like this bike. Tall frame too.
These are getting more rare all the time. It has tons of potential. So nice to see a fresh barn find early 50s light roadster.
That round lug over the shifter cable guide wheel is where the original guide wheel was attached.
Here's the 1950 catalog from the VCC
VCC 1950 Raleigh catalog

Thanks again, BigChief !
I cleaned up the serial number a bit and it says 41177 BK , so according to the list at the Headbadge and the Visual ID / Decal identification it should be a 1953 model.
Makes it a nice companion to my (pre-Raleigh) 1954 BSA 3-speeder ...

Peter

This DL1 just popped up for $175 but I don't need a start out with a step thru.The seller is a liar. It clearly looks to be a 1969 or 1970.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/h...579251736.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00m0m_...3g_600x450.jpg

Where does one find a headlight bracket like that? I'm looking for a way to put a modern light on a heron bracket

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4527160eaa.jpg
AFAIK the light bracket was standard equipment on Raleigh headlights of that period. If you can't find a suitable housing bracket, you could replace the original with something like this.

I have a heron bracket on the top of the stem of my '37 Tourist that I'd like to use, but I haven't been able to find the piece to adapt from that to a modern 10mm light mount

Did Raleigh set up an American company to import and distribute these? Or was it done piecemeal by bike shops, or some American import company? Was thinking if you set up a company to import and distribute English bikes you might bring in ones from France and Italy, too.

And to add to this, did Schwinn ever import English 3 speeds with the Schwinn name on them? I have seen at least one advertised as such. It had the Schwinn name, the shark fin fenders, but no cotter cranks.

Some other bits from Eric Newby (same book, Round Ireland in Low Gear) I like: “My first really good bicycle was a second-hand Selbach which I bought from a boy at school for £3—it would have cost about £12 new…. They were fitted with Timken roller bearings instead of conventional ball bearings. [I suppose he means the bottom bracket? Maybe headset too?] The lightest machine Selbach built is in the Science Museum in London…. He was killed when the front wheel of his bicycle got stuck in a tramline in South London; he didn’t even rate an obituary in The Times….. The finest bicycle I ever had was a Holdsworth… it was a model called Stelvio, and was specially designed for cycling in the Alps. It was hand-built in a small shed at the back of Holdsworth’s shop in Putney by a thin, energetic, chain-smoking genius with wispy hair and a terrible cough. He had lined the walls of the shed with a really wonderful collection of pin-ups all of which displayed enormous tits, presumably to stimulate him to even greater activity. They certainly stimulated me. It was the finest bicycle procurable at that time [1935] and it cost a colossal £20.” If I get to London I know what I’ll be looking for at the Science Museum.

Lenton Tourist (Model 29). It's love.

If I understand correctly, you are looking for the bracket that slips over the heron mount on the headset. The only mating bracket that I have found was on the old Raleigh headlights. Maybe the auction site may have what you are seeking.

I have planned a trip to Texas to visit my 92 year old mom for mothers day. I would be happy to loan a perfectly working bike 23"1962 Sports to one in need or 21"1968 Sports working well.

Or something like this. Just 2 parts bolted together :

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...414224a8c9.jpg

Thanks for this route option! My wife and I will be there again this year on our matching Humbers.

We did matching Humber roadsters last year, this year we're going with Raleigh Green. Unless I can get my Claud Butler a proper stem...

That seat is gigantic.

You probably already know these things, but I really like this project bike and can't resist talking about it. Here's a couple parts I see missing.
This is the correct lamp bracket for this period Raleigh. There are 4 different variants that I know of. You can't see in this picture, but this one mounts on the steering tube top like the more modern ones. Earlier versions bolted onto the handlebar clamp. This steering tube mounted, skinny neck heron is the one you would need.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0f06639f9.jpg
Here's the frame mounted cable guide wheel that is original to this bike.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...99c15f9e96.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...645849bd52.jpg

Thanks, Chief, glad you like it :)
Interesting stuff. Now I know what to look for.

I also found this blog that has some useful information on a similar bike too.

Peter