Quote:
Originally Posted by MRM
My father in law somehow saved enough boxtops or something and was able to mail order one, aparently direct from England in the lates 60s - in Beijing China. He never was able to fully explain to me how he pulled it off. All he would ever tell me was that he saved up and mail ordered it by mail. For delivery in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, it seems. Maybe he had to pay extra for delivery to a revolutaionary zone. Anyway, he still was riding it in the early 90s when I first visited them. It was beat up but still solid as a rock and was his pride and joy. In the late 90s they came here to live with us and he had to leave his beloved bike behind. He found an identical one in a garage sale in my neighborhood and he bought it for something like $25. He fixed it up and it was almost like new; much better shape than his old one in China. He died a few years ago but the Raleigh 3 speed is still in the garage and gets used regularly by the kids. They're bullet proof and classic looking as far as I can tell.
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Great story! As I live in Beijing, the streets are awash in old Flying Pigeons (I ride one) Forevers, etc.....
...but once in a while you see a genuine Raleigh. Old, beaten,...but they clearly stick out and it makes you wonder how they got there. Must be the box tops. Or could it be that your wife's dad was really connected? That might explain why he couldn't explain how he came by the bike.
I don't suppose you can post a pic of your father-in-law and his bike back in the day?
As a side note:
You also see BSAs sometimes in Beijing...but that brand is now owned by a Chinese factory so that is kinda self explanatory. Hercules is owned by an Indian firm now, and Raleigh itself is no longer made in England.
Times change.