flower power

I spotted Sarah’s MZ at a recent VMCC ride. It wasn’t entirely well camouflaged, to be honest. Olive Drab With Flowers against a backdrop of Shiny Black With Gold Pinstripes was always going to make an impact. Even without my antennae tuned to their usual channel of ‘spot the unconventional’, this machine was a fairly obvious beacon of individuality.

And I have to admit I’m not an MZ fan – not for any negative reasons, I’ve simply never owned or even ridden one. But I did own an old CZ175 many years ago (the one that comes in Poo Brown and had the ingenious kickstart-come-gearlever combination), and it was a great little bike. My ride to work transport when I was on the wholesale fruit and veg market, it never failed to start in the deepest of winters, often cutting the first tracks through the snow at 3 or 4am on the ride into Preston. It served me well for several years