My parents bought my brother a Halfords Gemini 24 in 1971. I ended up with it. Metallic Red, fixed speed, with a 'rocket' decal. My dad resprayed it in Holts Dupli-Color metallic aubergine. He had a habit of painting things to remove any remaining value that the thing may hold. Like the Gold Hammerite (hand) painted Vauhall Victor Estate he tried to part-exchange.
I failed my Cycling Proficiency Test on the Gemini. Everyone else doing the test had flashy drop-handle bikes. I was on a 'Girls' bike. Since that day, I have never given a damn what other people think of me.
The frame was incredibly robust (heavy) and cycle parts were decent quality too. The brake calipers must've each weighed the same as a carbon fibre frame of a modern racing bike. The chrome plating was of the everlasting variety as were the white rubber Dunlop tyres.
I fitted a Power Pak Cyclemotor 2-Stroke Petrol Engine to it in 1977. A 49cc two-stroke engine made - from memory - in the early 1950s to early 1960s. My dad was really interested in boat building. My £2 used Power Pak came without its carburettor.
As I was only twelve, I didn't have the contacts to procure a new carburettor. However, whilst tidying out our shed, I found the exact model of carb needed. It was right in the middle of a six-foot high roll of fibreglass matting!
Weird - this sort of thing has happened quite a few times during my life - like the time when I was truly broke. I managed to sell my Lada Riva, but the lady who bought it changed her mind as it didn't have a fuel cap. I was just about to give up and refund her, when lo and behold, there was a Lada (complete with Russian writing on it) petrol cap in the gutter outside my house!
And the Bosch Worcester control knob for my parents' central heating boiler, also found on a freezing -12C Boxing Day just there in the street. This quite possibly was a life saving find, as both my mum & dad were showing signs of hypothermia when I got their boiler working again.
The Motorised Gemini got me into all sorts of trouble. I was so obsessed with it, that my sister & I played truant, just so we could mess with it. Five weeks was our record absence from school. I went out on it in the middle of the night and got locked out. I pretended I was sleepwalking...
I have just bought another Power Pak clip-on engine off eBay. I will post some photos when I get it running and fit it to a period bicycle. Happy Days!
