I carry a little notebook around with me. I write stuff in it.
Sometimes I write a to-do or grocery list. Sometimes I write funny things I hear people say when I'm out and about. Sometimes I write down blog ideas. I was flipping through my most recent little notebook a couple of days ago and ran across this old note:
BLOG ENTRY BIKES
That reminded me that I wanted to do a blog entry about my bikes.
Now, I don't have kids, but I bet that the way I feel about my bikes is the same way that people who have kids feel about them - they love to talk about them, they love to take pictures of them, they love trying to convince their significant other that they need more of them, and they love seeing them hanging on the wall in the garage. Oh, wait.
Anyway, now seems like a perfect time to start a multiple blog entry about my quiver, since this week I just added a new push-bike to it.
It's a classic (that means old) 1973 Schwinn Continental.
Shifters near the headset (this was the "in-between" stage, after shifters moved from the down tube, but before they made it to the handlebars)...
Look at those "classic" tires...
And here's a picture of it from Schwinn's 1973 catalog:
That guy's laughing because he just found out that I paid only $18 less for it today then what it listed for in 1973.
I paid $100 for it. And it's totally worth it. I found it chained to a stop sign with a for sale sign on it, next to the Santa Cruz harbor.
I've been telling Adria for a few months now that I'm on the lookout for an old steel frame in my size (the only two disadvantages to being tall are finding clothes and bikes that fit).
My plan is to remove the drivetrain and make a single-speed out of it. It's got semi-horizontal dropouts. Perfect. It's got almost no rust (that means it's got a little) and the chrome fenders and dynamo lights are in great shape. My vision is to leave it old and classic looking. I'll leave the faded red paint. Maybe I'll put cafe-style handlebars on it with brown tape and wide tires.
Stay tuned for updates...
2 comments:
This post makes me happy. :) Good on ya!
You do realize, don't you, that you need a pair of pink shorts matched with a red shirt. It's truly the only only way that you'll derive complete satisfaction while astride the 1973 Schwinn. And don't forget to post a picture of your new outfit.
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