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Jan 2nd, 2025, 5:12pm
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Topic: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007 (Read 2446 times) |
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ReeBop
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 Arlington TX
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Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« on: Jan 7th, 2007, 7:27pm » |
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It's the beginning of the New Year, and it's time to hop on the bike and ride like the wind. No, not ride like I'm breaking wind. This will be the first Sunday night group ride of the year. Three of my bikes are ready to ride but my fourth, the LeTour, will need to be broke down and completely lubed. I have a frame and fork ready to paint but it is just too cold to have it turn out right. I've made a deal with keen on the black Murray bike I have in the garage to trade it out with him if he finds it a good rider. His old bike, that I gave him three years ago is a nice 5 speed cruiser, but a big project to bring up to quality. I think he'll enjoy riding the Murray much better and I know I can work to make the cruiser into a nice rider. I have yet to do a neighborhood ride, but if the weather is dry, I'll start Tuesday night and do a 3 night per week schedule. I still have the Peugeot club racer to do as well and I'll target that for this summer. I'll set my target again for 1500 miles and several bikes in the lineup to choose from to get them. We leave from the downtown shop at 7 pm. Let's ride!
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| « Last Edit: Jan 7th, 2007, 7:28pm by ReeBop » |
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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Wicked_Witch
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 Manila
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I'm not old, you are just younger. Hehehe!
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #1 on: Jan 8th, 2007, 7:49am » |
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Dratt, Mike! What do you need the many bikes for? And I see you have a new blog section, what's with this? And happy new year. Hehehehe! Hey, I like the valentine theme. It's cute. Good thing you have some romantic bones in your body and you did not just change it to something simply word ed like "happy valentine". Hehehehe!
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #2 on: Jan 8th, 2007, 7:58am » |
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When you are a cyclist, you never have enough bikes  I decided with the new year, to have a separate journal for 2007. Glad you like the colors.  I'll write about tonight's ride a little later. Now is the time to relax before sleep 
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #3 on: Jan 11th, 2007, 6:21pm » |
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Sunday night's ride went well with 60 or so of us riding through downtown Dallas on our way to Lee Harvey's for some fireside brews, burgers and chat. I took the blue Roadmaster out and it went well except for one thing: The bike computer won't calibrate properly anymore. I played with it Tuesday night as well and it is just not working right anymore. The speed is way way off. I have a need on that bike for a computer with a backlight and wasn't in the mood to spend 50 dollars or more on a Cateye. Cateyes are great, but a backlit one is not exactly cheap. I went on eBay and found a nice one for 12 dollars. It's a little bit on the large size and has more features you could ever use, but at this price and with a backlight, I can't go wrong.
Last night, I ran into a problem with my 1982 Sears FreeSpirit Greenbriar. The bike was on the list for a complete greasing and now I'll have to move on that schedule. After about 4 miles, the crank started making horrific noises due to the bearing being dry. I won't be able to ride it again until that job is done. I can do that one in stages however and just do the crank. The LeTour needs everything done before I can take it out again. Thank goodness the 1990 Huffy Blades is still doing ok and I'll take that one out on my night rides until the new computer comes in. So many projects, so little time...
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #4 on: Feb 6th, 2007, 11:42pm » |
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Here are shots of my latest bike project. I'll call it my Beach Cruiser 2007 Project. It is nearly complete and I've already taken it 15 miles. Here are two "Before" pictures...
I gave a guy 10 dollars for this wreck but I saw some good features in the frame such as very good welding and lack of rust and huge scratches. As soon as I got it home, I knew what I wanted to do with it. I went to my favorite retro bike shop Bicycle Barn and Tom the owner fixed me up with lots of stuff. I picked up some beach cruiser handlebars, ratcheting thumb shifters, metal pedals, hand grips, v-brake pads, new rear rim axle and bearings and a new set of balloon whitewall tires. I picked up a very cushy gel seat, kickstand, seat pack and bike computer from Wal-Mart. I had a nice LED flashlight to mount on the bar, a rear flasher, lock, waterbottle and cables already in my parts stock. It took a couple of afternoons to clean and grease bearings, strip and reassemble this bike. I did some more tuning before I took it out for its first ride last night. Here are the "After" shots...
On my ride, I found the bike very very stable and easy to ride. I'll need to tighten the shifters up a little as they tend to slip. The flashlight, mounted with some rubber and metal hose clamps was surprisingly very bright. I will need to replace a rear spoke and do another tuning of the rear rim. I also will do a good cleaning to make it all shiny. When warmer weather approches, I'll pick up some candyapple red touchup paint to fill in scratches. All in all, a fun project and a great ride to add to my collection. I can't wait to take it out on the Sunday Night group ride.
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| « Last Edit: Feb 6th, 2007, 11:46pm by ReeBop » |
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #5 on: Feb 20th, 2007, 11:36pm » |
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Here is a picture of my new bike, a Peugeot PW10-E Versallies:
The bike dates from 1988-89 and is in pristine condition. This bike has been ridden less than 2 dozen times in all these years. There are no scratches and the tires show no signs of rot. It is as if it came right out of a time machine. Complete with a owner's manual as well. I will do a good cleanup, rim adjustment and a new battery for the old Cateye Micro computer on it. This will replace the Peugeot club racer project I had planned for this year. There is nothing like a classic Peugeot. Superb!!!
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| « Last Edit: Feb 20th, 2007, 11:39pm by ReeBop » |
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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1fw Messenger: reebop@imchat.h opto.org
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Posts: 1237
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #6 on: Mar 20th, 2007, 4:51am » |
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Last night, I took out the Peugeot for the first time. It drew a crowd and I got a lot of great compliments for it. I didn't have a chance to clean it properly though, but it still looked good. I had to repair a clamp to the Cateye computer sensor and replace the battery. Fortunately, Cateye had the manual for the unit to download. That thing is quite old, so I was surprised that they had it. I also bought a new Cateye light kit and mounted it for the ride because I dislike riding at night without lights. At our second stop at the State and Allen, a guy walked up and immediately offered to buy the bike. He said he had never seen a Peugeot look that good. He was amazed that it was all original from 1988 but I had to disappoint him by saying it was not for sale. After a few of his questions about the bike he smiled, shook my hand and congratulated my good fortune and walked off down State Street. I have decided to keep it a "vintage" ride and not do anything to it. I'll be gentle with it and no "out in the country" rides. I will take it to the parks I frequent though. I have a little more tuning to do, especially to the rims. They have a bit of wobble to them due to long term storage conditions. I'll have those true in short order.
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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1fw Messenger: reebop@imchat.h opto.org
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Posts: 1237
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #7 on: Apr 11th, 2007, 6:50pm » |
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Last night was the first really good evening to go for a ride in a very long time. The weather was perfect and I left my new digs to find the White Rock Trail. I took out the blue Roadmaster road bike and got in about 10 miles. The Cateye LED headlamp I bought really came in handy as after dark, several parts of the trail were very dark. I did the north section of the trail, went to just past I-635, then swung back around for home. I am having some trouble with my Bell wireless computer however and it keeps wanting to stop working without warning. I haven't altered anything in the setup so I have yet to figure out why it quits. The front derailleur need adjusting as I hear a small scraping noise when I am really mashing on the pedals. Since the move, I haven't gotten in many rides and my stamina is lacking. I will find the time to do some more hill work this spring to bring that back up. This weekend, if the weather holds out, I will get the Sears Freespirit into shape. The crank bearings are dry and the bike needs a good cleanup to bring it up to standard.
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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Wicked_Witch
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Manila
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I'm not old, you are just younger. Hehehe!
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #8 on: Apr 24th, 2007, 3:59am » |
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The bike looks really nice, Ree. So I want it for my wedding gift please! Hehehehe!
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She who have not sinned may cast the first stone.
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ReeBop
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Arlington TX
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Re: Wheels Off! - My Cycling Journal 2007
« Reply #9 on: Apr 24th, 2007, 7:13am » |
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You...you want one of my bikes? 
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| « Last Edit: Apr 24th, 2007, 7:13am by ReeBop » |
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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