I saw grass!!

It wasn't green by any stretch of the word, but it was there, and it was visible. Definitely something that gives hope to the approaching spring (and improved cycling conditions horray!). I have recently taken a bike that has been in the family for generations (my dad used it, so that makes it plural) and had seen better days, and I gave it new life. I used it after I sold my bike back in London (that I had grown out of), and after moving here, I repainted it in British Racing Green with gold trim (it was neon snot green with silver patches where it was starting to rust). It served me well for a while, and shortly after beginning my employment at a bike shop, the parts on it started to disintegrate. So I stripped everything off the frame threw out most of it, and put the frame on the wall in the garage for another day. A few times I was tempted to throw it in with the load as we were heading to the dump, but I decided to hang onto it.


This spring I got the urge to build a single speed bike. So I perused the catalogs at work (having forgotten about the frame in my garage) looking for an economical steel frame that would work well for my intended purposes. Well there weren't any that were quite economical enough for me. Then one day while I was tidying up in the garage, I saw the old frame hanging on the wall. **light goes on**. I quickly cleaned it up and took it into work, Finding some nice cheap parts in the parts bins and putting on a different fork so I could use better brakes I began turning it into a sort of Frankenbike. Slowly it took shape and with some borrowed wheels from one of my other bikes, I was able to take it out for a spin and rode it to school the next day.




There is something different about riding a bike that is truly yours, that you built, you fell like you know the bike inside and out. You notice the smallest noise, or the slightest amount of play in the headset (which had to be adjusted). Riding with only one gear was also an interesting experience, as I'm used to having at least 14 to chose from, and as many as 27. The original gear that I chose was a little too big and found it a bit too hard when the wind started up in my face. Changing gears is a bit more labor intensive now, but I think I've found one that will work nicely.
It is a bike that I built to be a commuter, that looks cheap and is cheap to minimize the chances of someone stealing it. But there is something special about it, it's not just "a cheap bike" it's the cheap bike I built. It took my father around town, to school and work, and now it does the same for me. It has served my family well, and looks like it will continue to do so for at least a few more years. Whatever form it may take on.

Pictures will follow soon.