A rare 107-year-old bicycle was back on the streets of Carnoustie at the weekend after decades encased in oil in a garage loft.
Vintage bike enthusiast Andrew Wilson, from Banff, brought his Raleigh no 33 back to its original home at Coral Cottage ahead of a Scottish Veteran Cycle Club (SVCC) tour of the local area on Sunday.
The 26-inch cycle was originally bought in 1906 by the parents of the late George Thomas Kitto, a former science teacher at Logie School in Dundee.
However, it wasn’t until 2007 that the forgotten old bike finally left the town.
Mr Wilson explained: “George made good use of his new bicycle and is alleged to have cycled many miles on it. He also looked after it and maintained it meticulously.
“It is understood that around 1920 George purchased a motor cycle. He cleaned the Raleigh and covered it entirely with thick oil and stowed it in the rafters of the garage, which may originally have been a carriage house or stable.
“He probably intended to use the cycle some time in the future but that was never to be.”
When the last of the Kittos died in the 1960s a friend of the family, Bill McLean, bought Coral Cottage along with its contents in the year of his marriage. The Raleigh was one of a limited-edition batch produced to use up stocks of a soon-to-be-obsolete brake type.
Gallery: 107-year-old Raleigh steals the show at Scottish Veteran Cycle Club tour in Angus
It remained on the rafters of the garage until around six years ago when Bill, now in his 80s, decided to have a clear-out and realised it was over 100 years old.
Mr Wilson was contacted about the collector’s item and immediately recognised it as an original and complete early bicycle.
He said: “It did however look a bit sorry for itself very dirty and the nickel plating looked very rusty. After some negotiation a deal was struck and the Raleigh was stowed in my car.
“After a bit of cleaning of the enamel with oil the beautiful transfers in excellent condition became apparent.
“The point of a screwdriver knocked off what I had taken to be rust but was discoloured congealed oil and revealed first class nickel plating thank George for his foresight 90 years earlier.”
The saddle had to be replaced with a matching version from the period and the bike was fitted with new tyres, having been patched around 50 times from what Mr Wilson described as “the days of hawthorn hedges and nails from horses hooves.”
He added: “Apart from cleaning and oiling nothing else was required, the gears operated perfectly, the bell has a beautiful ting-a-ling. George Thomas Kitto’s bicycle is still a delight to ride.”
Mr Wilson was one of around a dozen SVCC members to ride to Arbroath and back on an expedition led by Carnoustie man Hugh Wylie.