I was up north visiting family this weekend, and by chance my brother's cycling club were running an event (Cyclefest) at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, so we trundled along for a look.
It was a really nice event. They only charged the usual museum admission fee (which then also got you into the museum) and had junior races organised on a wee test track they have there. They also had classic bikes on display, and did a moving display of them on the test track in between races, going era by era, starting with Penny Farthings. It was great, you could just wander in between all of the bikes, and it seemed okay to stop and have a seat on them (I've now sat on a Pedersen and really want a proper shot riding it).
The other great bit of it was a cycle auction, with about 30-40 classic bikes up for sale. I wound up bidding on a yellow 50s Holdsworth, with a cracking front derailleur that changed the gear with a metal lever running up the seatstay. It was beautiful, and at £140 would have been a bargain - sadly that sale was only 'conditional' as the seller's reserve was a bit more, but he wasn't willing to sell for that price (and really, with commission costs on top, I didn't need the bike that much).
A couple of Pennys went for over a grand a piece.
There was also a (small) cycle jumble, but loads of old parts on the go. Sadly nothing I saw that could be used on my Sunbeam restoration, save a bag of three bottom bracket axles for £2 that I walked away with to try.
It was a really nice event, we had to leave before all of the racing and various displays were finished, but nicely run, friendly, and pretty well attended. It's the type of thing that really should be possible here.
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