"Manic-Obsession"

As so often happens during my manically-obsessed phases, I find myself diving into the various cultures surrounding bicycling. As always, I've check out every single book the library has on the subject. I've read dozens of magazines, scoured the internet for blogs and websites, and clicked through hundreds of pages on pictures. I never cease to be amazed at the depth of a given segment of culture and truthfully this is one of my favorite parts of learning about something new. One day I have no idea that there are several types of cyclists, myriad cities with biking cultures. The next day I have to carefully monitor myself so I don't spend the entire workday browsing blogs, Flickr and cycling and manufacturers sites. I discover groups, forums, magazines, specialized clothing shops all dedicated to various aspects of biking. I learn about touring, competitive cycling, velodomes, mountain biking, radonneuring. I discover the biking cultures of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Portland. My head spins at the opportunities out there for one interested in bikes.

I find myself drooling over catalog pages of bicycles, signing up for free info from various cycling clubs and associations. In my head I start charting out a possible route for commuting to work and outfitting my bike with upgrades. Inevitably my love of history leads me to look up books telling the story of how we got from the first bike to the sleek machines of today. I find pages and pages of vintage bike posters and advertisements.

More than anything all of this information overload makes me want to hope on my old bike and go tottering off. Scoff if you will, but it's too damn cold outside for me to actually follow through. I know it's not as cold as such and such place or this that and the other. I don't care. It's like 15F out and my fat ass is not going out there for more than a few minutes. I will sit inside and read about other people riding bikes, thank you very much. I will think about this weekend when the temperature stops tormenting me and I can go for a nice long ride with the sun on my face.

In the meantime, here's some eye candy:

Cultures I wish I lived in:

Lastly, I have not been entirely wasting my time held prisoner by the cursed weather. The handlebars of the Sears, the pedals and a good bit of the front wheel are now cleaned up and looking shiny and wonderful. I tried tackling the spokes, but alas they shred the tin foil. Looks like I'll be getting some brass wool after all. Also I am feeling a bit thwarted as I can't really get at a lot of the parts that need cleaned up most. I think I will end up taking the bike apart a bit to clean things, but don't want to tear it apart before the weekend and before I can get it to the shop. My hope is that with some minimal repairs it will be road ready for this weekend...

Before and During

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I wanted to post a few of the bikes before basic cleaning and also some that highlight the damage that I'll be trying to reverse.

The Sturmey-Archer hub caked in rust and dust.

Close up you can see how dirty everything is and the extensive rust.

The hub is clean but still rust I can't get to until I take the thing apart.

Here it's easy to see how clean the hub was after a simple wash down.


Before shot of the dirt and corrosion on the pedals and bottom bracket.


It's a little harder to see the rust here--it's also not as extensive.


The rust speckles the handlebars and the gear cable is quite worn.


Not sure if the tin foil will work on the brakes yet.


This shows the completely rusted spokes. Hopefully there is still strong metal under all that. Notice the contrast with the far side fender brace which I have given a once over with the tin foil.


More damage to the gear cable: 2 cracks/splits and it's stripped below the cable guide.


The Huffy's awful looking front fender. The entire thing was rust speckled, but is now shiny except for this spot where it's actually flaking off.


The shine shows up a bit better in this photo. I'll have to figure out whether I'll touch this up with paint or just coat it with sealant so it doesn't get any worse.

Rust, Rust, Go Away

As both of my bikes are not in great shape, I have begun the slow process of trying to improve them. Basic cleaning, removing rust, tightening blots, adjusting fenders, and assessing more critical damage is as far as I have gotten. BB is the less ambitious project obviously. Light rust covers all the chrome as well as the faux-chrome parts. I was going to have at it with brass wool after watching a youtube video of restoring old bikes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C9R7XjhUuo). Then I talked with the guy at the bike shop and he said WD-40 would work great. Doing a little more research I came across a great blog called How To Fix Bikes (see sidebar)--he suggests steel wool and metal polish with great step by step directions. But it was reading the comments section on his blog that I came across the suggestion to just use some wet aluminum foil like sandpaper. So I figured--why not give that a try. It was worth a shot and maybe I could save a trip to the store and spending more money on supplies. I was very doubtful about this approach and unsure if it would cause more harm than good--so I decided to give it a shot on BB (the Beater Bike) instead of screwing up the old Sears. And I'll be damned but it worked. It worked really well. I started on a small part of the beat up front fender, continually wetting it with a damp rag. Before long it was gleaming except for a small area where the "chrome" was peeling away. Then I did a small section of the handlebar and that looked great as well. I noticed there were still little pockmarks but not more rust. I don't know if brass wool would smooth the chrome out of if it would basically just get rid of the rust as well, but for BB the Huffy, I am not too concerned with detail right now.

Of course I got curious and excited to try this little technique on an inconspicious part of the Sears bike, so I started on one of the fender braces. Now, the Sears is pretty encrusted in rust. There is basically no chrome showing except on the handlebars, head tube and pedals. The wheels and spokes are completely covered. Ditto other smaller metal components. So even though I knew the tin foil trick worked on the Huffy I did not really expect quite the same results on the Sears. Well, slap me hard and call me stupid for doubting. That little crusty, rusty fender brace came clean in 5 seconds. I didn't even really put any elbow grease into it. Wipe with wet rag, rub with tin foil, wipe with wet rag again and wipe with dry rag. Bam! it was like a new part! So now a little more believing, I went at one of the spokes. I didn't even expect to find real metal under all that crap on there, but sure enough in a matter of seconds the rust was gone and the 40 year old metal finally saw the light of day again.

I haven't really gotten much further on either bike yet. I think it will be a lot easier of a task if I can remove the part I want to work on, clean it and then put it back together. I don't have a workstand, so right now it's a lot of bending and arm twisting and I'm starting to feel like a cross between John Candy and Houdini.

I also need to take the Sears into the bike shop. The owner took quite a while to chat and help me get started when I dropped in last week and he said on of his mechanics loves refurbishing old bikes and would love the chance to go over my Sears with me. He would explain what needs fixing and give me some suggestions on how to tackle the more simple tasks. Then if I wanted he could take care of the more involved aspects. I like this compromise--I want the Sears to be my project, but I don't want to butcher it and I don't want to take 40 years to get it road ready. So hopefully this week I'll be able to get the bike down there and get started on returning it (at least partially) to it's former glory. I have given it an abbreviated cleaning from top to bottom already and am really glad to see that the decals and the paint so very little damage. I am guessing (wildly) that the chain will need replaced and maybe the bearings as well. I'm hoping against hope the Sturmey-Archer gear hub is in working condition. I know for certain the rear tire, the brakes and brake cables, and the shifting cable all need replaced. The wheels are also in possible need of replacement, but I'm hoping I can hold off on that awhile. I also know I'll need some reflectors for the Sears and a water bottle for the Huffy.

This week is supposed to be pretty cold (for NC) and with all the repairs and maintenance to do, I don't imagine I'll get much riding in until the weekend.

Not related, but ELATED!

The Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl XLIII!!! I had the best time watching this game and think I've got a new slogan-- Pittsburgh Steelers: Good to the last drop-back! Two historic records in a game that had me wishing I had an inhaler. STILLERS!!!

And not that it matters who he cheers for--but it's fun to see!

Our President, by his own admission, doesn't get too high for things. But from what I can tell, the man has Steelers fever.

Original Post can be found here: http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2009/01/12070_obama_weighs_in_on_super_bowl.html

The First Ride

So today I took my first ride. I went with my girl, Llama, to the American Tobacco Trail. This trail is an old railroad bed that has been turned into a recreational trail. The best thing about it is that it is flat. I thought it would make the perfect place for a first attempt as it would be easy and that would be an encouraging and positive start for me.

The American Tobacco Trail

The old black bike is not yet road ready so I had to take BB--the Beater Bike. BB is a relatively newish but not well cared for Huffy one speed step-through. I know people wax all poetic about their thousand dollar bikes and their performance and I respect that. But let's be honest--my performance does not require a high end bike. And though I winced at getting a box-store, mass-market, el cheapo hunk of metal (even second hand and cheap), right now it's really about the ride for me. Isn't the whole point to just get out and ride? I hope that there never comes a day when I refuse to ride on a perfect spring-ish day in February due to the bike that is available. I never want to lose sight of the pure joy of hoping on a bike and wobbling my fat ass off down the trail!

BB (The Beater Bike)

That said, my ride was wonderful. My thighs were hurting within 7 minutes and I felt like I was positively crawling down the trail. And it was great! It was great to feel my muscles working, to feel the cool wind, to be breezed past by "serious bikers" in all their gear. I took it slow and steady and let myself rediscover the whole experience. I listened to BB make unpleasant noises and realized why a bike should fit properly (aka the seat kept dumping my off the front and my knees were coming nearly to my chest cuz the seat was not high enough). I remembered why I liked riding and felt a sense of joy about riding again. I pinpointed my next "essential" gear--2 damn water bottles and some breathable shirts.

There was a little unexpectedly wonderful moment during the ride. Llama, the girl, had been running while I was riding. We were both taking a break, feeling a bit worn out and walking and I offered the bike to her. She strapped the helmet on and slowly wobbled down the path. Before long, she was coming back towards me and then whizzed past. I continued walking toward the trail head thinking about how much I was enjoying the bike, the day, the company, and the sunshine. Then from behind me, I hear a shout! "Watch out! I'm a racer!!!" and Llama went flying past as fast as she could go! I broke into a huge smile just watching, vicariously feeling the joy and appreciating that I could share it. Nothing like seeing someone in their mid-twenties racing with the abandon of a child! This is what I wanted. This freedom and innocent exhilaration, the pure fun of riding a bike. I probably traveled about 3 miles give or take today. Some of it I walked, some I rode fast, most I rode slow. But I didn't really care how far I'd gone, or that the bike is as yet ill-fitted, or that I had a few too many layers on. I had a really good time.