Pat Hanlon - 1968

My Girlfriend (now my wife of 42 years) bought me this lovely frame for my 21st. Birthday in 1968,  During the 1980's, I was made redundant  four times and I had to sell some bikes, sadly the Hanlon went.  Luckily, last May, I bumped into the man who bought the bike from me and we agreed a swop, so a Hetchins went and my beloved Hanlon was back.  I took it to Argos Cycles in Bristol to have it resprayed much as it was in 1968. All of the kit on this bike is what I used from 1968 to 1974, except for the saddle (I had a Unica plastic)  and the rims, I had to rebuild them, the originals were Mavic Monthlerys, I must say that Pat Hanlon was a joy to deal with from the chatting about my needs in the shop to collecting the finished article, this frame was the first new handbuilt that I owned, plus it was the first close-clearance  pure racing frame I owned.  I had reasonable success on the bike winning The Valley of the Cotswols Road Race, The Cheltenham Festival Criteriums, and several time trials.