It was a beautiful sunny day here in Puyallup. this afternoon I got out and took a ride on my bike. I mapped out a loop that took me through the mid county out to Graham to my g/f's parents house, down into the Orting valley along the trail to Puyallup and back home up South Hill. Everything was great until I ran over a Snapple bottle shard and punctured the side wall and inner tube of my rear tire. I sat on the sidewalk in the shade contemplating how to fix it, and taking in the days ride. fixing a side wall tear is a crap shoot. I figured there are a few ways to go about it all, needed to get me home. luckily I was only about 2 miles from home when it happened. So I considered walking. the upside of this plan, yes upside, is that requires a walk up the hill, pretty much all the way home. Not very appealing, especially because I don't like walking my bike, I don't like being seen walking a bike, and walking a bike up a hill on first glance gives passing drivers the impression that I can't make it up the hill.
"Look Ethel. All that spandex and funny colored shirt and he can't tackle a hill. must be a poser. Back in my day we used to ride to school on all steel a Schwinn Stingray, with my four sisters and brother hanging on. four feet of snow....
and we liked it."
ah the days of yesteryear. I remember taking a look at the bicycle parked in my Grandma's shed. it had to be about 50 years old. heavy, solid, and built to put a German Panzer to shame. of course along with that came the knowledge that anything you would run over there would be no blow out. glass, metal, tacks, nails, potholes, M-80's. it was rusty and the chain was dry as Utah, by the time we saw it. but it had charachter and it was built to last.
Of course we now sacrifice durabiliity for speed, responsiveness, agility, flex, rigidity. all words that bike owners use to define and describe the feel of a bike.
I have an old Schwinn Traveller III that I bought from the Salvation Army store a few months ago. I stripped it down and rebuilt it from the hubs up. everything remained stock, including the fading decals, and worn powder blue paint job. it too is a heavy weight. The guys I talk to say they used to have a bike like that, or remember having a schwinn back in college. The one gentleman I spoke to says he favors the lighter components, and technology.
Biking has come a long way. If you have an old bike I suggest that you pick it out of the junk sitting in the front of your garage, or out of the cellar, dust it off and take it for a spin. that is if it spins at all... clean it up and ride it around the block, if for the sole reason of a comparison, a technology taste test.
(I don't recommend doing a double blind survey though) and see what you have been missing, and what you have not been missing. Oh and don't forget to just enjoy the ride, you may find that it takes you places you have not been in a long time.
