And So it Begins

The restoration of the Fuji starts today. I ordered new tires (Schwalbe HS 159 Gumwalls), new tubes and Kool Stop MTB brake pads. Then I spent this lovely sunny day out on the front porch scrubbing the filthy wheels.








And removing the nasty old tires.




The wheels cleaned up very nice!




They're all shiny now and waiting for the new tires.

Cat in Rack

Well, front basket anyway.














Tesla would'nt get out of the way when I was trying to get Violet through the front door, so I picked him up and put him in the basket. I wasn't sure at first if he would fit. I have the smaller Pashley basket, and he's a 15lb Maine Coon. But he fit, and even made himself as cozy as he could. Maybe we've got a new tradition?

Inspiration

Today I rode Hedwig for the first time since the Pashley arrived. It's amazing how different a bicycle can feel if you haven't ridden it in awhile! Like putting on your street shoes after roller skating. She felt so small and light. And she is, compaired to Violet, but I wasn't expecting to feel that big of a difference.

Which got me thinking. I've had my old Fuji mixte sitting in the kitchen since last July.




The original plan was to rebuild her with new alloy wheels instead of the original chromed steel. Mainly to increase braking in the rain. But I now have two bikes that brake wonderfully when wet, so why bother replacing the wheels on the Fuji? By using the perfectly good wheels that she has, I can actually afford to fix her. Riding Hedwig today inspired this thought. I found that I love the sportier feel of the aluminum mixte frame, and love the heavier, sturdier feel of the Pashley. So how about a middle ground bike? A heavier lugged steel mixte for those sunny days.

Now, it's just a question of whether of not to keep the drop bars.

Sunday Ride

After doing quite a lot of laundry today I decided to get out and go for a little ride. It was in the mid 80's today! How could I pass that up?



















Right as I took that last picture, Violet took her first fall. I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest to try and catch her! She didn't suffer any damage though. Just some mud stuck all over the rear axel/ indicator chain window.




She's one tough gal. :)

I'm not the only one out there!

I had to go out and run some errands by car today (I nearly got blown over on the Pashley on my way home from work!) and lo and behold I spotted someone riding a bike! In regular clothes! In a ball cap! Talking on his phone! In the Bike Lane of Doom!




See him on the corner? I was cheering him on from the car. Ok, Bike Lane of Doom. For one thing, it follows along side a 4 lane highway with cars traveling between the posted 45 and 60. It makes the cyclist cross over the on and off lanes for I-26. Cars in those lanes are either gaining speed to merge with traffic on the interstate, or gaining speed to merge with traffic on the highway. Either way you've got drivers trying to get up to speed to contend with. More power to that guy for braving that cluster f***.

Then when I reached my destination I spotted this:




Someone rode to the craft store! And discovered when they got there that there is no bike parking. Or even anything to make do with. I've so far counted 3 shopping centers in town that have bike racks. And one with a No Bicycles sign. :/

Anyway, back to the bike. I love the shade of green it's painted.




And check out the lugs!










It says Volkscycle XV. I'm going to have to look that one up. Sounds like someone else has an interesting vintage German bike. I wish I could have talked to it's person. I wandered around the store looking for someone that might look like they belong to it but didn't find anyone. Which I suppose is good. That means that there is another person in town riding a bike in regular clothes. Also it means that there isn't someone willing to shop in the craft store in Lycra.

Rainy Spring

I've only had one sunny day of riding since Violet arrived! Which I suppose is a good thing. It's kept me from being afraid to use her in weather she's designed to be ridden in.

Spring is starting to show here, even though it doesn't feel like it. It's a chilly day, and I heard rummor of the S word tonight. Bleh!

Meet Violet Smith/Beaudelaire

Isn't she pretty! I couldn't decide which literary character to go with, so I named her after both. As you can see, I got a smaller basket for her. I had heard complaints about the larger basket, and since I don't really need to carry a lot up front and also need to be able to manage the hills through the country side out to the barn, I thought I would try a smaller basket out. Also, I added my other Swiss ammo bag. I've been really happy with the one on my mixte. I think that eventually I will want something bigger, but for now this will do. And of course, I sprung for the Brooks grips.


Now for the first impressions. WOW, she is a beast. Heavy and solid. Heavier than my Hercules, I do believe. But not so much that I can't handle her. I haven't tried to put her on my bike rack on the car (is that even possible with a loop frame?), but if I ever want to get her out to my bike shop I'll need to. It's just way too far away to ride (if I want to have time to do anything else that day).

For a heavy 5 speed, I'm surprised at how well I can get her up hills. I think that she may climb hills easier than my mixte! It has to have something to do with the gear range. My mixte is light and has 10 speeds, but I was able to get Violet up a hill that I have trouble getting up on my mixte. Now, she came with the new SA 5 speed hub that has the wider gear range. Maybe that has something to do with it, maybe it's the thighs of steel that I've developed over the last year, or some combination of the two. Maybe it's some sort of new bicycle delusion, who knows. But it was a pleasant surprise!

Her dynamo light is brighter than I expected. Brighter than the Cateye that I've been using for the last year. I went ahead and put my Cateye on at the front axle, just to see if that helps even more, and if anything gives me a light that is always on so when I stop I can stil be seen from the front. I think that I may eventually put a light on both sides.

I'm sure that I have plenty more "getting to know you" to do with Violet. I'm hoping that soon I can plan a leisure ride so that I can focus on the bicycle and not getting somewhere on time.