I’m the loony who did this bike up. Long story.

At the time I had a job recording sale signs all over Greater London. The leafy hilly suburbs were done driving my van and the congested cramped inner areas were done on one of my two other “preserved” Moultons. It became obvious that I needed a third working bike I could keep in the van permanently as any areas needed me to take the bike with and use part of the time. I put out feelers in the club requiring dynamo lighting and a front rack for two bags to carry stuff in and up came this bike. Although it only had three gears cycling would be done on flat areas predominantly.

The bike proves to be a fantastic runner and the colour of it was the maroon colour on the only unpainted bit behind the front bag.

I soon attached the mirrors (VERY FUNCTIONAL) and found matching front and rear lights to place in symetrical positions under the rack.

The painting idea started with my thinking of replicating the white billiard cue effect on the earliest Moultons on the handlebar and seat stems. Nothing more. I then realised that faint pink might look more aesthetic.Light blue then occured to me then a contrast of one stem in blue and another in greeny yellow which I did.

Upon doing that the bike looked awful with it’s visual symmetry out of kilter. I then had the idea of painting the lower seat stem a different colour but I had to leave the lower front stem out of respect for the previous owners painted flowers on the from of this. She had christened the bike “Madge” and given its forthcoming transformation that proved rather apt.

Now I had a problem. Given that the lower front stem was the same colour as the rest of the bike the awfulness of it needed a remedy. I then hit upon painting the whole frame in ten different coloured sections with the billiard cue effect. None of these were to relate to the colours of the rainbow because I soon realised that the mudguards would look out of place and that the logical thing to do with them given their shape was to replicate the rainbow. Nothing gay about that! In fact by now I was thinking “1960′s psychedelic.” When this was done the bike looked fantastic, psychedelic and funny, but I was now caught up in a “what else can I paint and how” mode.

I might add here that the flowers painted on the front had been irritating me by limiting my scope. Now they became a vital part of my theme as they reflected flower power.

The stand was painted to replicate the traffic light columns of the 1960,s including the lights while the forks were given a black and white magpie effect. The rest of the frame struts and racks played out contrasting greys. The mirror stems were painted in pink and purple, the only thing I considered gay while the mirrors had eyes painted on them. The horns, four units with 1,2,3 and four horns respectively were each painted in different colours on the inside and outside; 20 different colours while the chain-guard was painted like a predators mouth bearing vicious teeth. I had fund a saddle with some colouring on it which I added to, the handlebar grips had khaki covers put on while the brake and gear cables were each painted in a prime colour. All visible rubber on the suspension was painted in metallic colours and I added the two mud-flaps, a front one with a metallic cross of St George and the rear one with the Union Jack because it was a kitch and 1960′s reminder of the bike being an entirely British success.

And finally the pump. Yes it just had to be done because of the sight of someone pumping up the tyres. Given the “lip” on the handle and its rigidity and length it just had to be circumcised with slightly contrasting colours to represent what would happen in the event of it being pumped if it really were a penis….. I mean, what else would you do with it?

Yes the bags were covered in the flower patterned sticky back plastic and yes, I have to say that the current owner has made the bike look ridiculous by removing it as the bags sabotage the overall effect without it.

Nonetheless the biggest feature on that bike was it’s reliability and service plus the very efficient dynamo.

Was it gay? Well, it is a Moulton so like all Moultons it was a bisexual bicycle. I guess you could call it gay in all three senses of the word but did it attract attention? Strangely enough it did not even though different people might think it gay in three different senses.

For me it was a lot of fun painting it and riding it as a work machine in an unusual job that paid well. I thoroughly enjoyed using it once customised yet there was always that slight tinge of sadness at passed times when I was using it for my work in areas like Chelsea and Camden.

Camp as the bike seems now, I am proud of the fact that I created in it a true reflection of the era it belonged to without compromising it’s function as a tool of Labour so many decades later and for that reason I always felt that me riding it gave me a sense of looking cool rather than sad.