the dirty old man

The oldest bike we own is also the most belligerent.

A couple weeks ago I changed the tires on Frenchie. Since Sir Walter died this spring the SBR has been swollen with new components.  Not that most the parts were brand new, it's that the parts were new to the reserve.  Including a pair of brand new Panaracer tires, I've been putting the same Continental Ultra Sports on the bike since 1999 (a tire I don't think they even make anymore...) and have worn quite thin.

So I put the new tires on, and they are awesome, except that they are slightly wider than the continentals.  So I rode home from work the first day with a millimeter of fender clearance. It was like riding with a break on every time I needed to push it.  When I got home, two seconds with a vise grip  fixed a problem I have been too lazy to fix for three years.  

Then last Monday we went to Redwing and biked to Cannon Falls. 

reviewing the list of original parts on the 1972 Peugeot UO8 I ride:

-frame

-fork

-threaded headset

-quill stem

-bottom bracket cups

-seat post

-brake cable guide

-seat post bolt and nut

I still have the original rear wheel, but in storage.  Nothing too impressive and I don't much care for the wavy lines.

The seat post bolt is breaking I think.  I could not get the seat to stay. Every mile or so it would sink about a quarter inch. But I had already used my spare seat bolt on another bike, and had not replaced the one I keep ziptied to my rack! damn and blast!

Guy Woodhouse

Some folks are curious what Guy Woodhouse looks like.  I'd say: the ugliest bike in our stable, Shannon says the greater metro.

I think it's worth five dollars.

The handsome Cannondale in the background is Shannon's winter bike.

What I like about Guy is the simplicity of his parts.  There is very little that can go wrong mechanically.  With the cube prism reflective tape on the fork and rack it glows like a christmas tree.  And with the patches of dirt and rust and overall crappy appearance an otherwise sound bike will never ever be stolen.  I hope.

Politicians that fend for me

I'll start off by saying, I know who Lynn Warlow is (I had him as a math teacher twice) he was a wrestling coach and math teacher, reserve Marine, and all around a pretty good man.  But his constituents are lazy and didn't take his campaign signs down fast enough for them to not see recycling.

I don't know Chuck Baldwin from Adam, but the same goes.

The cross wind on the mendota bridge made the new fenders whistle like some '80s horror movie sound track.