fix my bike

The Raleigh is running like a little champ. The crank squeaks and the gears very, very occasionally skip, but he is such a sturdy, well-made beauty. It almost feels like he’s happy to finally be ridden again.

On Saturday we rode to the farmer’s market and library, trying out riding with Junebug for the very first time ever. Odin’s been riding with us since we adopted him four(!!) years ago, so he’s an old hat and besides, he just rides in Jack’s messenger bag (and when Jack leans forward to get going, Odin rests his head on Jack’s shoulder so he can have the wind in his face and I seriously die every time because of how it’s totally the cutest thing ever) so it’s not like there’s much to train there. Anyway, I attached Junie’s leash to my chest and went really slowly until she seemed to get the idea what “left” and “right” mean. She’s ridiculously clever. It was a smooth ride, if ambitious for her first time with the bike, and we made it without incident. The band at the market had an electric mandolin and no vocalist and played Beatles and Zeppelin covers and were generally delightful. The crepe stand gave June and Odin their own crepe to share and the sun came up long enough for us to shop. It was a perfect day.

This ended up being less about the Raleigh that I had originally intended. But the point is I love him.

Jack took over some of the bike repair as he is on spring break and I am no longer at a point in my life where I am automatically entitled to set vacations. In doing so, he discovered something remarkable that I didn’t realize: back brakes! That is a delightful thing because our relationship was basically catalyzed by back brakes, so they always strike me as completely romantic.

Anyway, suddenly the single handbrake makes sense. Internal hub DUH. I still have so much to learn.

I pulled the wheels off of the Raleigh last night. Seriously, this is such a gorgeous bike, it just kills me. Even the valve guard was steel. It HAS a valve guard. I swear, I actually felt myself starting to say something like, “They sure don’t make ‘em like this anymore!” but managed to stop myself before I had to die of shame for saying something like that.

Once I had the tires and tubes off, I had pretty much gone as far as I could, but Jack was still working on the Bianchi, so I decided to poke around superficially. The brake pads appear to be in good shape though I will probably replace them in any case, and the rims have little brake wear. At this point I’m thinking that the brakes and the tubes are all that are not original, but will know better once I take it out. The chain is toast.

The first Dive Bar Bike Tour of the season is a week from Friday. I committed us because having a deadline means I won’t be able to just dink around for months until the weather gets too bad to make it worthwhile, a la the Peugeot. Nope, the Raleigh’s debut is in a week and a half, rain or shine. Yay!

Stopped by the library today to pick up the DK bike repair book. Frankly I don’t know why we don’t just buy that damn book, we check it out so much. Anyway, they didn’t have it at Midland, so we picked up a few others that looked to be useful (read: had the most pictures). I haven’t had the time to diagnose any issues on the Raleigh beyond the tubes; I need to get them replaced and then take it out and get a sense for its overall condition and any specific areas for concern. The frame itself looks to be in remarkably good condition for its age; I need to ask Grandma how often she rode it as it looks to have been in retirement quite a while. I also need to ask her if it has a name.

Got a little motivation last night when the four of us decided to ride rather than drive to St. Johns to see Watchmen (which, incidentally, was so, so disappointing, or maybe I just didn’t get it). We rode Ryan’s and Eric’s cruisers while they rode their street bikes, and every time I ride a damn bike through this city at night, it’s like the very first time, no matter how frequently I do it. I just love it so much. It also reminds me of our first night together, riding on Jack’s handlebars through a silent city, and how he showed me how you miss everything from a car. Oh, The Raleigh, we’re going to like each other so much.

I started to add the goal of riding a century, but then it occured to me that I might want to start at the beginning.

Grandma’s cruiser came to me. I asked for it as it’s a 40-year old Raleigh and I don’t know that anyone in the family knows what that means. I plan to restore it, obviously, and then Jack and I will both have a cruiser. However, I still have the Peugeot in pieces, and let’s be serious; it would make more sense to bike a century on the Peugeot than the Raleigh, though the latter certainly gets style points.

I am really struggling with the cold this winter; for the first time in my life it’s really getting to me. The thought of sitting out on the back porch with cold metal parts actually makes me want to cry. I give this weather one more month and then I’m selling the house and moving to San Diego.