7,000 club

My ’65 Deluxe Typhoon has a speedometer on it that was installed before I acquired the bike, and my goal is to roll it over, eventually.  When I received the bike in ’08 it was at 5,000 something and yesterday I was close to 7,000 before I left for a ride.  (The odometer in question has 4 places on it for numbers so 3 thousand more miles and it’s back to being new again.)  I had about 23 or so miles ahead of myself but the day was nice so a route was planned.

 

I was glad that I had a working multi speed hub as I rode through Farmington Hills, and although the scenery and housing is nice, the hills are quite unforgiving.  I wished I had ridden a lighter more geared 10 speed, but I got a workout none the less.  You can see the ride here.   Although my ride was long, I discovered a great park along the way, complete with hills and a tranquil stream.  Pictures were taken, mainly of the bike, as I reflected upon the ride thus far as well as the ride ahead of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found an interesting sign at the park in regards to Bicycle lanes: I thought it was slightly ironic considering there aren’t many around the area at all.   At least there was one on the street next to the sign, even if it was only a block long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed my odometer was at 7,000.1, and let me tell you, it sure is nice watching all five wheels of that spedo. turn at the same time.  I’m just hoping it’ll still work when it finally reaches 9999.9.  How many miles exactly for the season I’ll never know, nor do I much care, as I share my rides between 3  and sometimes 4 different bikes.

 

On an unrelated note, the high temperature for today is only in the low 60s, if that, with a strong breeze/gentle wind.  I’m NOT ready for the cold yet!

 

Is green bad luck?

I know Nascar drivers are superstitious when it comes to green race cars but I never thought that way in regards to bicycles.  My first bike was a green Schwinn (see last post) and that really didn’t give me any trouble, but my wife’s green Varsity has been troublesome the last few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two nights ago she asked me if we could go on a ride.  Back up- let me tell you where I got this bike, if I haven’t already explained it already.  The neighbor down the street had two Schwinn Varsities that she didn’t want anymore, so long story short, I got them, and my wife wanted one of them.  Anywho….   I have to get it rideable first, which means tire inflations, etc.  Mechanically it looked alright enough to go on a short ride (she isn’t one for going miles and miles) and since I had already replaced the rear tire with a slightly better one, I aired them up and off we went.  A half block from the house it starts raining showers.  No big deal, it was only one grey cloud overhead and there was sunshine close by.  Turns out, it wasn’t close enough.  It came down something fierce.  Poured for a good while.  After being completely drenched, we went home.

 

Last night her brother was playing in a work softball league and she wanted to bike over.  No problem, she jumped on the varsity and I on my respective bike and off we went.  Just over a mile from the house the rear derailleur cable broke, right at the lever, which meant the bike was still rideable, just not as easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say that once we got home from our approx. 10 mile ride, she was worn out.

 

I replaced the cable today which was easier than I thought it would be, considering the cable is one that is completely covered, leaving only the ends exposed.  On every other 10 speed I’ve ever worked on, the cable is exposed in most places with the exception of near the shifter, the bottom bracket, and rear axle.   Things wear out and not everything is going to be perfect on a used bicycle, but considering her recent run of good luck, I’m beginning to wonder if a green bicycle is something to be avoided.

 

Lots of work yet to do on this bike- the foam has already came off as well as the 20″ TV front reflector.

Rain rain go away….

….seems to be the theme for today.  As I’ve watched it rain and feel the chill in the air, I can’t help but wonder how much our decent cycling weather is going to last, and how lousy in general the weather for 2011 has been.  A recap (of what I remember):

February/March were decent months, some warm days, but generally overcast and slightly chilly for riding.  Scenery was lacking, obviously.

April/May was not much but rain.  Again not very warm- I remember moving into my house on May 4th and having to run the furnace for the first month.

June/July- July was nothing but 100+ temps.  It’s hard to get motivated to go cycling for any length when you go outside and your energy is drained two-fold because of the heat.

August was a great month.   Humidity was low and the rains stayed away.  I rode as much as I could in August.  The only real downfall of the month was the encroaching darkness sooner and sooner in the day.

Any of you in the area are aware of the weather since Labor day- chilly and rainy.  It’s equally difficult to get motivated to ride when it’s overcast, chilly AND windy, not to mention rainy.  Don’t get me wrong- this kid rides all year round, but I only ride one bike in the rain/snow and it isn’t any of my good bikes.  Riding in a warm rain is a huge difference to riding in a cold rain, but I’ll do it.

 

So I’m hoping to get at least a few more nice days (heck weeks for that matter) out of the season before I have to put my good bikes away until 2012.  I’m not calling the riding season over just yet, but the last few days have been a terrible hint as to what is to come.  Layers, boots, gloves, ugh.. not my idea of a good time.

Where I got my start–

It all started when I was about 5 in my parent’s backyard.  I distinctly remember my parents trying to get me to learn how to ride a bike pushing me and letting go across the grass.  I remember arguing with them and not being happy because I couldn’t get it to work and telling them “I’ll never ride a bike” and going in the house.   No training wheels:  push and let go.  Their persistance paid off as I have been riding ever since.

 

The bike was a 1970s (I suspect) 20″ Typhoon in green.  I rode that bike everywhere.  When I got a different bike, my younger brother Mike learned to ride and inherited it.  Along came my youngest siblings and they in turn learned to ride the Typhoon.  I can remember teaching Chris, the youngest brother, how to ride, and he did great, up until he rounded our garden and BLAM right into the back of my dad’s boat he went.  The bike (and he) was ok.  All of us learned how to ride on that green Schwinn.  We rode the tar ‘outta it.

Here is a pic of Chris learning to ride it in a Holland (MI) campground with me standing next to him.

 

 

 

 

 

It was in this campground that my other brother Mike rode it into the side of a parked truck.  Again, both were ok, but he doesn’t like it when we remind him of that day, and he’ll still say “the pedal was in the wrong spot” for him to brake.  As I remember it he was pedaling towards the truck….

 

 

 

A lot of great memories of that bike.

 

Riding through through a lake w/ bare feet, the pedal cutting my foot open, etc… I miss those days.  That bike is long gone.  I asked dad what happened to it and he said “it was worn out and I gave it away.”  But dad, you are Schwinn guy, why did you get rid of it? It was worn out” is what he kept saying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was able to find a picture of another one currently for sale on Ebay, and as much as I’d like to have a recreation of the bike I learned on, its something I can live without.  Perhaps it was the taste of freedom I loved so much with this bike, I don’t know.  What I do know is it sparked my interest in biking and it sure was a great start.

 

 

 

But it’s only 8 pm…..

After dinner I decided to go out for a short ride and took my red Typhoon for a jaunt.  I decided to go here because I’d never gone up that way before.  I left the house at 7 and it was mostly clear out and didn’t think I’d be out for very long, I didn’t think I was going to go that far.

 

Touring the South East corner of Southfield wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be- I had never rode there and wasn’t sure what to think about it.  I found a bike route along Shiawasee rd and that wasn’t too bad, other than the fact it had been paved a long time ago and not maintained well so staying on the road was a better option than riding said trail.  At one point the trail took me on a sidewalk, which of course was rough and uneven, so I opted to ride back on the road again.
I enjoyed the area down Meadowbrook road- I came around the corner to be met by two large deer that quickly took off towards the river that is close by.  I think I startled them as much as they startled me!  I must have an atraction to deer; I can recal riding with the Maple Wheelers last year and one ran out in front of me, testing my brakes.  I loved looking at the houses along that route; the yards are HUGE and they are in a wooded area and not right on top of each other.

 

About 3/4 of the way back I couldn’t believe how dark it was getting and so soon.  I ended up going about 10 miles total but when I got home I had been gone only an hour.  I’m not ready for the earth to get further away from the sun just yet, but I have a feeling its going to be a long cold winter.  (aren’t they all?)

 

I’m still working on getting some pictures included in my posts so y’all will have something interesting to look at.  Maybe next time.

Still trying….

I’m still new to this blogging thing as well as this site so bear with me; I really want to add pictures but haven’t figured that out yet.

I haven’t updated in a few days because I’ve been busy- working and doing all of that homeowner stuff, but I still managed to get out and do a few miles today.  You can see my ride here:  I took out the DeLuxe Typhoon because I’m still working on rolling over my odometer.  Another 60 some miles and it’ll be at 7,000.  If I didn’t have so many darn bikes that I ride I’m sure it’d be over by now.  I’m going to try to get it over by the time the weather gets too crummy for it to be out of the garage, but I’m not making any promises.  Meanwhile I’m working on a mental list of maintenance items to do over the winter months, which I’m NOT looking forward to….

 

So faithful reader, if I have any of those yet, I’m still working on getting my miles up as well as an established decent blog so you have something to read when you aren’t out biking.

Launch!

At the request of a fellow cyclist, I’ve decided to start my own cycling blog.  So where to start?  People actually WANT to read what I think and what I’m up to?  Surely you can’t be serious.  (and don’t call me Shirley.)  You can find information about me in my “history” link if you don’t already know about me.

 

Expanded upon my history a bit, I hail from a small town down south of here (Livonia) by about 70 miles or so and have moved into this area this past May because of financial and personal reasons.  I’ve been riding bicycles since my parents taught me how to ride when I was 5 or 6 on my very first Schwinn bike, a green Typhoon that is since long gone.  I was in and out of cycling through my school years until I was given a free Huffy mountain bike in about 2006.  I rode that till it took a dump-which ended up being about 6 months- and found a Free Spirit 10 speed at a discount store.  I liked riding that bike and working on it, but I knew if I wanted to ride somewhat seriously I would need something more reliable and of better quality.

 

Seeing my dad’s old Schwinn Le Tour hanging in the garage, I began a search for a decent Schwinn road bike, which I finally found in 2007.  I’ve been working on that and doing some decent riding since then.  Althought I’m aware of the carbon fiber spandex wearing crowd, I’ve determined that isn’t for me.  I enjoy the look and the feel of the old bikes, as well as the history surrounding the manufacture and life of them.  In the next few posts, I’ll be detailing each and every one of the bicycles in my fleet (yes I said bicycles, plural, as well as fleet) and plan to include pictures, if I figure out how to work the site.

 

I’m not sure what else to put in here right now; I’m sure there will be a HUGE amount of people who will actually read my initial post.  So to not bore you any further…..