Sunday, September 23, 2012

Little Miss Dangerous




Did I Mention That I Have Been Off...the Bike
Man, it has been a hell of a no-ride ride getting through the end of summer in Florida and the total rebuild and painting of my Old Schwinn le Tour. No riding for me is usually accompanied by extended periods of increased sloth and drunkenness. I did that but also there was an unexpected rush on trailer rentals which means suddenly it is up to me to get the derelicts ready for occupancy. Not the two-legged derelicts, I mean the ones on wheels although there are plenty of wheeled derelicts here too; perhaps that sounds insensitive but come down and spend a little time in the trailer park and you'll go home as politically incorrect and hardened as I find myself becoming.

And So: 
A little time on two wheels usually softens me up but instead I have been hacking away at these beat up old trailers and meanwhile scratching together the scratch for a little pile of bicycle parts and accoutrements to spruce, paint, rejuvenate and ready the Old Girl for new adventures and some extended mileage. Bear with me while I reminisce over the last few weeks of bikework. There will be a lot of pictures, so feel free to skim.

In the Beginning

I had little interest in those "skinny tire" bikes;  my belief was that a sturdy mountain bike was more suitable for the kind of Urban Bashing and Beach Cruising that I liked to do;  it was obvious that this fragile little dragonfly would not serve my needs.  But Coyote is an old friend and he only wanted twenty dollars.  I had stumbled across this "fixie" thing online and thought "Maybe I can build one of those" even though I was only vaguely aware of what a fixie was and had no idea what I would do with it.

Then, Just Like That...
I got some degreaser and some new 27" tires and tubes and did my best to get her up and running.  If anyone is interested, you can go back to the earliest pages of this Booger to co-experience the crazy days of my beginning to learn about fixing bikes.  FIXING bikes, not FIXIE bikes.  I still don't know anything about those things.  But after a while I got everything together in some kind of primordial fashion and went for a ride.  WOW.  Suddenly, I had discovered flight!  Swift and sure, this bicycle tracked like it was on rails.  Soon I found myself tearing along country roads in a way I never knew existed. I was hooked!

The Forums, the Late Nights, Poverty Vs. Parts and the Joy of FedEx
Well, that title says it all, does it not?  I was instantly swept up in the fever of studying into the wee hours of the morning, reading about all things Road Bike.  I drooled over derailleurs and contemplated cleats and yeah and verily, I do now confess that carbon was one of my desires. Yes, all things carbon were coveted by this impoverished near-derelict sitting in his dilapidated trailer, staring deep into the screen, unashamedly hooked on bicycle pornography.  How dare I consider these exotic bits and pieces, many of which I did not understand the use of, and none of which I could afford?  I needed a motor for my Big Truck, did I not?  Then it happened.  The Blonde, in a moment of inspiration, brought home from somewhere a big orange and black FOR SALE sign.

"What are you selling, my dear?" I asked.  I was experiencing a tiny hint of apprehension.
"Nothing.  I thought you might want to sell the Big Truck."
"WHAT?!  I've had that truck for twenty years! She was Once Lost and then Found!  I've put four different motors in her and I'll be damned if I'll ever let her go! Are you insane?"

She is not.  I have always made it a planned thing in my life to have one clearly sane person close to me so that I don't have to be.  It can be a hard chore for the sane ones, but they seem to stick around all the same.You can read all about it here, in a post I wrote called Big Trucks Go, Big Trucks Come.  But this is what my beloved Big Truck looked like.  

Man!  I loved That Truck!
The guy that bought her got scammed by shady mechanics and she still awaits a new power plant.  I fully expect to get her back again one day.

How To Mend A Broken Heart (And A Bicycle)
The proceeds from my heartbreak went to pay some much-needed payments, but I managed to set aside a few bucks for bike parts and a workstand.  I got a few cans of paint and some specialty bike tools and got to work.  The end result was quite satisfying and so, armed with a modern 700c rear wheel and new drive train I was extending my rides Way Out There,  riding farther than I thought realistic and eventually I found myself getting sorta-fit and doing all-day rides that took me past the dreaded-yet-desired 100 mile mark.  I was a Real Roadie at this point, I thought.

More thought than miles,  said the Voice.
"Voice!  You're back!  I thought you weren't talking to me anymore!"
I'm not.  But someone has to monitor your Blogular un-poetic license.
"Whatever.  And shut up, I'm trying to reminisce without booze."
At least I don't have to watch you cry and type at the same time.
"Hey!  That's not...that was Joan Wilder, not me."  Stupid Voice.

                                                                         So Anyway
The mid-end result was a pretty roadworthy little vintage Schwinn.  I put a lot of miles on her, had some adventures and even flirted with the Big Time. A visiting dignitary provided us with the only existing photo of Me Little Darlin' during this phase of her ascension:


Whoops!  How did that get in here?  That's the Old Drive-in Movie theater in my home town where I lost something back in 1972.  Can't remember what it was...


There we go!  You might note that she looks a little more capable and perky than she did in the previous "before" picture.  Black and white, also, like the drive-in photo.  I wonder why those went out of style?  They made for some awesome Saturday nights.

Let's Wind This Up, said the Voice
"Okay, Voice, Okay.  Sheesh!  Whose Booger is this, anyway?"  So anyway, after many happy miles I began to detect noises that made me wary of getting Too Far Out There.  This occurred at about the same time I started to think about overnight camp rides, something where I could go sixty or eighty or yes, even a hundred miles out, spend the night in a new place, then ride home in the morning.  Or not.  Maybe go another leg of fifty miles or so and spend the night and then finish up the next day.  ( I realize that I have employed some questionable geometry in this fantasy, but hey, that's what fantasies are for.  Pretty much.)

Rock and Roll Show
Creaking and groaning noises from the bottom bracket and highly questionable brakes and tires and frayed cables and rust didn't fit into this fantasy all that well, so, following on the heels of yet another minor infusion of cash,  I ordered up a pretty fair pile of parts.  One night, in anticipation of FedEx,  I took a few parts off the bike in preparation. It felt good.  I liked it. So... I took a slug of rum, a follow-up slug of beer, locked the Voice in the bathroom and took the whole bicycle apart.  I took it down to bare frame, got out some sandpaper and started sanding.  Over the next couple weeks I worked my way through a few (4) bottles of rum, many (100) (a century!) bottles of beer and two (2) packs of varying grit sandpaper and six (6) cans of flat black Rustoleum.   I listened to a lot of Classic Rock,  I danced a little and  I switched to cheap wine (3) (jugs) and kept going, polishing parts, cleaning the chain and cassette and the derailleurs and brakes. Everything went really slow and with great deliberation.  I wanted it to last.  I was having fun, man!  I polished rims and sprayed and drank and received parts from the United States Postal Service (remember them?) and the FedEx truck came three (3)(!) times and a Loyal Reader even pitched in.  I fretted and worried and then, when I went to let the Voice out of the bathroom he wasn't there.  I shrugged my shoulders, went back to drinking and polishing and assembling and cussing and then,  just like that, there she was:



Little Miss Dangerous

Whispering Pines Trailer Park and (Bicycle) Rehab
#80


27 comments:

  1. SWEET!!!!! She looks awesome and ready for many, many more miles!

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    1. Thanks Dan! She is new and strong and now I can focus on getting some miles in without worrying about damaging the frame (the bottom bracket issue had me pretty worried.)

      That Schwinn frame is a very smooth ride and while the frame is a little bit large for me I like it just fine. I have a theory that all that steel dampens the vibrations and spreads my considerable load. Whatever the case, I am happy with that bicycle.

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    2. With the amount of seatpost you have showing it looks like the old girl fits you just fine. Looking very nice too, I might add.
      Nothing like a steel frame and some fatter-than-skinny tyres to help you eat up the miles.

      Jonathan.

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    3. Jonathan, those are Kenda Kwest 35's. The biggest tire I could fit on the bike. They have a pretty high profile, as you see, and absolutely contribute to the softness and solidity of the ride. This is my second set; after three thousand miles the first ones were still good for another few hundred miles. But I wanted to dress her up for the rides ahead and for the photo session. Thanks!

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    4. 35s = awesome. I ride 35s on my commuter Crosscheck, they sure soak up the bumps and are pretty fast to boot. I can't imagine ever again getting on a bike running 23c tyres at 100+lb. The thought hurts my spine...

      You're doing it right, Tim Joe.

      Jonathan.

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  2. Tim Joe,

    My gentle jibe about photos has been quickly and amply rewarded. And, with a rollicking textual rundown to boot.

    She looks so forlorn in that first shot. Bare naked alloy drop bars? Those babies need tape! No wonder you had to act.

    By the second photo, she obviously has found her home.

    The final photo of her in her new and stealthy finery captures her essence: she has come into her own as Little Miss Dangerous.

    Oh yes, the new look to the Booger is really toney too.

    Bill Hopp, The Anonymous Hoosier

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    1. Bill, I am surprised and delighted at the results. Even my mistakes on this project worked out for the best. For example, since I could not locate any 1200 grit wet sand paper for the final sanding, I gave her a thorough rub-down with some white rubbing compound I had lying around. This altered the flat black to some kind of subtle sheen that doesn't show in the photos, and the finish is hard and slick without a coat of clear. I didn't want to clear coat, I want to be able to do touch up without any extra effort. This ain't a show bike: she was born to be ridden and I was born to ride and that is my plan. A very satisfying project.

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  3. Wow...you changed the look of ur site just last night (or maybe this morning)! I was just checking in yesterday...very studious look now...kind of makes me want to be quiet as I read.

    And so...the pic on your last post WAS INDEED the newly dressed gal! And who needs carbon anyway! My trusty road steeds are aluminum and steel (1 of each, and before anybody asks why I need TWO road steeds, the steel one is for TRAVEL)...she's a Ritchey Breakaway...the frame comes apart and she totally fits into a 26"x26"x10" S&S hard-case for shipping (shoehorn included...it's a but snuggley in there closing the lid). She was with me over in England earlier this year for 3 months, doing just what she was made for). And my 'fast' bike WAS an 03 Canondale Caad-7, till I crashed 3 years ago, dented the top-tube but good, so got a frame replacement from Cdale...they gave me a 09 frame (Caad-9 now...oooooohhhh!)...well, not exactly GAVE me the frame, if you know what I mean. So my 3 yr old 'new' frame is adorned with 03 parts..but they work just fine!

    And I love your old truck (we call those "bread trucks")...I've been trying to get one of those for my work for a while now, but they keep giving me stupid mini-vans (I'm a gov contractor, so not much choice but to take what the GSA folk give me). Just got a new Dodge Grand Caravan last week...I'd trade it in a moment for a Bread-Truck. (I'm a field service electronics guy...like to carry lots of 'stuff' on my calls).

    Hopefully you went out this weekend and christened ur new/old steed well (and didn't waste any booze breaking a bottle over her bow...that would be criminal...and would likely ding your new paint!)

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    1. Matt, my old truck had an aluminum body. I installed 2 inch foam insulation all around the inside and paneled her with 3/8 plywood painted with light gray porch paint. It was never hot inside and with the ability to drive on the Beach here where I live she served as headquarters for our Hobie activities for many summers.

      As a work truck there will never be a more able vessel than a step van. The ability to stand up and sort through parts bins, collect your thoughts, eat lunch...everything clean, dry and serviceable. And you get to cruise around pretty high up with the doors open!

      Thanks for the compliment on the new look. It ain't much but I was bored by the old one. Make all the noise ya want, this ain't no Sunday School!

      tj

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  4. Wow TJ! The old girl looks gorgeous! You've done well, my friend, and I hope she gives you many more miles and years of joy.

    Love the new look of your place, too. Seems like a quiet library, available for reading, contemplating, and softly speaking with friends.

    Truck looks awesome. And you're right about a step van; they're the best.

    What is it about old iron? I'm sitting here this morning waiting for a junk yard to pick up my 94 Park Avenue that has finally given up the ghost after one rear ender too many. Best car I ever owned and it was 9 years when I got it.

    Keep up the good writing, my man. We all love it!

    B in VA

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  5. Brian, much sympathies on sending your Old Friend to the Great Scrapyard. Hopefully some portion of the plentiful steel in all things Buick will find its way into a fine handcrafted bicycle.

    Since you and Matt both feel the need for a place of quiet repose and contemplation, so be it. Me, I have always been surrounded by books. This is the least book-surrounded I have ever been; I let go my huge personal stash during my second divorce (I was planning to go to sea or join the circus and needed to lighten my load. Her new husband (fifteen years ago!)was oft heard to complain bitterly about the continued existence of the "Tim Joe Room" where #2 (that comes out wrong every time) (Dangit, see what I mean?) (Maybe I'll start calling her "Deuce.")where Ol' Deuce had installed the four six foot by eight foot bookshelves I had built lo these many years ago and hung the stain glass window I stole from one of my Ruby Tuesday installations. That stupid oriental rug I paid $300 for went on the floor and yea and verily, that room was in fact a suitable shrine to a worthy man of letters and also a place of quiet repose, although my second son told me there were many loud discussions concerning the Tim Joe Room and the New Guy's train collection. After many years of pleasantly enjoying the fact that we were no longer together a bitter rift ensued and now, since they live in Chicago and I live in Florida, the fate of that room (and my book collection) remains to me a mystery.

    And sadly, I never went to sea nor joined the circus; and yet my life since then has frequently found me a bit tossed by the waves and my current situation is nothing if not circus-like.

    So there ya go.

    tj

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  6. Sweet that you put the tire labels lined up with the stems.

    And I like the red cables, too. Kind of like KITT from Knight Rider...

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    1. Those are the original cable housings, Kenny. I replaced the inner wire with Jaguar stainless steel cables. I couldn't decide to order red or black housing so I put the decision off to another day when I have some more money and need to round out an order.

      Kenda now puts their .com address in raised white letters on the sidewall which I didn't like until I saw it on the bike.

      I originally lined up the stems (schrader, by the way) with the white letters, didn't like it, took the tires off and put the stems on the label proper. Thanks for noticing.

      tj

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  7. TJ

    Very cool that the trusty steed got a make over. The next best thing (maybe even a better thing, come to think of it) to a new bike is a well-loved one given new life. Who knows how many miles lay before those wheels now? Gotta love thinking like that...

    We had a 'bread van' like that when I was a kid. All aluminum body, courtesy of Grumman if I remember (canoes & bread vans - must be a hell of a company). My parents had it decked out as a camper, and we put a bunch of miles on it. Many fond memories...

    Like the new look of the blog. Looks like my upstairs room - home to books and dust.

    Steve Z

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    1. Grumman also makes golf carts and fighter jets. That van of mine had beautiful precision riveting just like an old B-52. Man, I miss her! Thanks for coming by, Steve.

      tj

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  8. Love the look! Both the site and Le Tour Redux, thank you for including the before shot, what a transformation. She looks so stealth you may have to become a bike ninja. Enjoy the new ride Velo Brother

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    1. If I became a bike ninja right now it would be the Chris Farley version. I'll be getting some photos over to Cameron later. Thanks for all your support, RR!

      tj

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  9. TJ:
    I picked up a Schwinn LaTour Mixte 4 years ago. Said made in Chicago on the front plate,
    which internet says it was made between 1979 and 1981. Were you able to define the year more
    precisely? It's been a lovely ride after putting new cables, tire and a low front gear. It is much smaller
    than your ride, however.
    Wish you many good miles

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    1. @EdmundWilson: Stamped on the head badge (front plate) are four nearly microscopic numbers. The first three numbers indicate the day of the year and the last number indicates the year. I have spent much time pondering this system: why not TWO numbers to indicate the year? Is my bicycle a '71 or an '81? I determined her to be an '81 by looking at the old Schwinn catalogs provided by Findley:

      (http://www.trfindley.com/pg_schwinn_cats.htm

      My Le Tour matched the one in the picture for 1981; it came that year in Cloud White and Sable Black, so my new paint job is, in fact, not far from the (other) original color.

      Thanks for coming by, I hope to see you again.

      tj

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  10. Tim Joe, thought I was in the wrong place when your library showed up surrounding the booger. I guess change is good, it seems to happen anyway so I roll with the flow. I got caught up in the bike porn too but when I was in one of those places that sell shiny bike stuff I looked at one and the sales guy said " you might want to look at something in steel as these have a weight limit" My favorite rides now are stuff made in the 80s and early 90s. I have a two year old aluminum road bike but after only 1700 miles the components are getting tired. Your project bike looks so much better than all of the new stuff, keep riding it forever.
    Doug

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    1. Doug, I was bored with the old vanilla look, both on the bike and on the Booger. Waiting for bicycle parts is a secret joy, and knowing that you have old school steel under yer butt builds confidence. I just this minute came in from a little fifteen miles shakedown cruise and she flatted! I have a loop I ride that has a little drawbridge and one BIG span that involves some pretty good climbing and a fast descent. I wanted to try out my new 1x7 drivetrain ( no front deraileur)on the steepest climb around. She did just fine, and I was surprised at my strength considering the downtime...but we made it fine and on the downhill she was as rock solid as ever. Then, at the bottom of the hill, KAPOW the valve stem blew off! WTF?! I'm running Schrader valves so now I will look into whether or not those presta inserts might strengthen the whole affair.

      It never ends and that is part of the fun. I'm looking to get her dialed in and ready for camp-trips and who knows? One day I might just keep going...

      tj

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  11. Good Morning Tim,
    I can second all the kudos on the new look of the blog but the new look of your bike.....stunning!
    I believe that you have made the proper decision on rebuilding this bike. I am starting the same type of project on a 1979 Univega that I bought new back then and then was neglected for many years. I did some work two years ago to get her rideable and then lent her to one of my boys to be his college bike. I got it back this last spring abused and unrideable but I plan on getting it going to be my everyday commuter. That job has fallen to my LHT and while I love that bike and the smooth ride it gives me I want it to be set aside for tours.. With winter approaching I will have some shop time to devote to this project! I have a skinney tire road bike and I am ready to find a young guy to sell it to. Steel frames and wider tires are my choice too!
    You have done a nice job on your Schwinn and can ride with comfort and confidence!!!
    Isn't that what it is really about? Let the bike hot shots stand around before rides and compare outfits and brands of carbon bikes. They have lost the true reasons for riding a bike in my opinion, which is mental health.
    Have a blast!
    Jim

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    1. Jim, the mental health aspects of cycling are very real. Not just the increased flow of blood to the brain, (complete with endorphin cocktails), there is the simple ambient change of hassling through traffic to find that peaceful trail or country lane. there is the absolute coolness of being in the next town over and making it there under your own steam...

      For me, there is also a huge mental health assist in caring for the bicycle, the tinkering and lubing and the wheel tuning...wheel tuning has got to be one of the mellowest pastimes ever. A couple cold beers, some smooth jazz and a spoke wrench and I am on another planet for the next hour.

      Thanks for dropping by, man. Good luck with your project. We look forward to seeing the results.

      tj

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  12. Tim Joe, I forgot to give you the double word score for the Joan Wilder reference. "Joan Wilder? your Joan Wilder!" I once had a 1977 Volkswagen Camper van that I named "My little Mule Pepe'"

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    1. Can you believe that was 1984?! Argh! But did you watch the trailer? That movie was a blast!

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  13. TJ, I bet you've read all of those books. You have the wisdom of many lifetimes.

    I like the 35s on there.

    nicholas

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    1. Thanks, Nicholas. I deny the accusations of wisdom; I know a lot about art, I just don't know what I like. I do know that I like fat tires on bicycles and the camaraderie of the Clan of the Two Wheels.

      tj

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