On the road: the Raleigh Shopper – in pictures

We were only a few miles out of Saumur when the peloton came to an abrupt stop. Not usually a good sign: my first ever sportive, the Caledonian Etape in Perthshire, was ruined by a saboteur armed with carpet tacks. But on the Vélo Vintage, which winds its way through the beautiful Loire, the clog in the road was cause for celebration. We’d hit our first vineyard, hourra! Time to munch on a crepe, neck a bottle of local rosé, and admire the spectacular array of retro bicycles tackling the 35km ride. →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

Participants on this annual jolly are encouraged to ride vintage machines and style themselves accordingly. There were small children in bonnets; old fellas in woollen Renault jerseys; grannies on steel-framed tandems wearing matching caps. →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

I cheated, saddling up on a reproduction of Raleigh’s classic 1970s shopper, which has been remodelled by the fashion label Red Or Dead. Like the original, it’s a one-size-fits-all number, with red step-through frame, small wheels and three Sturmey-Archer hub gears. New for 2013 are streamers on the handlebars, a detachable handbag on the back rack and a sprinkling of pink stars on the frame, chain and mud guards. A very daft bike, as silly as a sausage dipped in glitter, and yet so much fun to ride. →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

If you are the sort of church mouse who tries to blend into the background, never go near the Raleigh Starstruck. I attracted attention everywhere. I even got ooh-la-la-ed at – much better than “lucky saddle!” (les crétins anglais). →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

Whenever we stopped for wine, a gaggle of spectators would gather round. Where is it made? Designed in Nottingham at the Raleigh plant with help from the Red Or Deaders in north London; manufactured in the far east. What’s it like up hills? Surprisingly OK – it’s on the flats where a few higher gears would have come in handy. Are you drunk, mademoiselle? Just a little, monsieur le gendarme. →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

The shopper, as its name suggests, is really for pottering about town. Not for doing a cyclosportive, even one that involves a lengthy lunch stop. By the time the torrential rain started and we were not much further than halfway – despite being four hours into the ride (I blame the rosé) – the bike was losing its charm. →
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian

The left pedal had gone a bit crunchy and my derrière was suffering, despite the secret pair of cycling shorts I had underneath my polka-dot dress. But there aren’t many bikes that bring smiles to strangers’ faces in this joyless world, and for that I say to Raleigh: Santé!
Photograph: Justin Westover for the Guardian