Don Farmer. Visual impairment did not impair this man’s passion for restoration
An impressive offering of vintage bicycles restored by Don Farmer (pictured above) is up for auction at Miller & Miller on September 12.
Don Farmer of St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec calls the Canadian-made CCM bicycle “the perfect bike.” And Farmer should know. Since 1994, he’s been collecting the best-of-the-best of the brand which were manufactured from CCM’s founding in Toronto in 1895, to its demise in 1983.
“The British–made Raleigh's were too fragile; the U.S. Schwinn's were too heavy,” Don judges. “But the CCM was just the right size, with good balance.” He’s been in love with the brand since childhood.
Don, now 70, got his first CCM—a 1963 Imperial model-- as a youngster. “It was blue, with white wall tires, white cables and a saddle bag. And it glistened.” And what memories he has of that childhood treasure, riding it everywhere through his neighbourhood.
A CCM advertisement from 1963 showing the Imperial model bicycle. Source.
Perhaps riding it a little too hard though, as he was always blowing his tires. “My Dad was a mechanic and a bike fancier himself, but he got sick of fixing my tires. So he told me learn to do it myself.”
No easy task for Don, a visually-impaired child, who’d suffered permanent eye damage in his premature birth. So while the repairs took him a bit longer to complete than a sighted “tire fixer,” he got to know his CCM intimately—by touch and by trial and error.
“I got to know the details of each of the parts by touch. It could take me up to 40 hours work to completely take a bike apart, clean it and restore it to perfect order”
He thanks his Dad for pushing him into independence as he grew to discover and admire the mastery of the mighty CCM. Eventually Don’s passion for his own wheels led him to collecting and restoring other “seen better days” CCM’s to pristine condition.
“I worked on ‘scrappers’ that people would give me or I’d find them here and there. And I got to know the details of each of the parts by touch. It could take me up to 40 hours work to completely take a bike apart, clean it and restore it to perfect order,” he states.
Even a further deterioration of his eyesight—he lost an eye to glaucoma in his early 30’s—put hardly a crimp in the hobby that filled all Don’s leisure hours.
Connecting with other serious bicycle restorers and collectors across North America, Don Farmer has been able to rely on the antique bicycle grapevine, as well as e-Bay for securing parts for repairs. With antique bicycles a “specialty market,” today, Farmer estimates that there are 25-30 “serious collectors” across Canada.
With Farmer’s little hobby soon becoming a happy obsession, his modest house eventually filled with two-wheelers in various stages of repair and reconditioning. At one time he had a collection of over 100 bicycles holding court in his living room. While most were the revered CCM brand, when fancy overtook him he’d add some international models, American, British and French to his “fix-it” collection.
Vision issues kept Don off the streets test-driving the effects of his labours, but his yard worked just fine.
As Don’s collection grew so did his reputation as a bicycle wizard. A number of his bicycles were acquired by Ingenium, Canada's Museums of Science and Technology in Ottawa. Philippe Tremblay, Ingenium’s Media Relations and Communications Agent, indicates that 9 bicycles from the Don Farmer Collection have been acquired for their collection. They include a 1926 CCM Roadster and a 1935 CCM, the Museum’s oldest women’s bicycle.
Six “stars” from the Don Farmer collection will be auctioned at Miller & Miller’s September 12 auction.
The oldest, an 1869 French “Sargent” attributed model shows off a painted cast-iron frame with wooden rims. One of the early “Boneshaker” models introduced in 1865, it features ingenuity at its best; a rear brake is activated by twisting the handlebars forward.
Farmer’s earliest Canadian bicycle, the Model 44 “Cushion Frame” Massey-Harris Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd. was introduced by CCM in 1905 at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). It utilizes one of the earliest forms of suspension used on a bicycle.
And for the turn of the century female bicycle enthusiast: Miller & Miller will feature an 1899 H.A. Lozier Cleveland woman’s bicycle as part of the Don Farmer collection. Lozier set up a branch plant near the Toronto Junction in 1895 before divesting it in 1899 to Canada Cycle and Motor (CCM).
One of Canada’s pioneering companies, CCM, is a unique success story of its own. Like many bicycle manufacturers in the early years of the 20th century, it struggled to compete with the exploding motor car market. Diversification saved the company as it began producing ice-skates from the leftover metal of its bicycle and car manufacturing. CCM contributed to the World War 1 effort by making ammunition as well as bicycles. World War I-era CCM “war grade bikes” in muted black were shipped to Europe. The 1980’s saw the first influx of Japanese bicycles arriving in Canada, spelling the demise of the CCM Company. In 1983, they declared bankruptcy and were bought by Adidas.
Now in his early 70’s Don Farmer is bidding a nostalgic goodbye to only the crème-de-la-crème of his beloved bicycle collection. “I still have about 50 at home,” he says, and adds that “the time was right.” Hearing from writer and CCM guru John McKenty that Miller & Miller Auctions of New Hamburg ascribes to the highest standards, he’s excited to pass his treasures on to other bicycle enthusiasts through the firm.
By Nancy Silcox
Nancy Silcox, of New Hamburg, is a former teacher and university counsellor. She has written 14 books, most of them historical biographies.
Sale Details:
Advertising & Historic Objects
September 12, 2021 | 9am
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