On Your Mark!

The three bikes in the garage were getting lonely. I could tell. When a friend emailed that he hadn't worked since a June layoff and he wanted to sell some of his bikes to raise cash, I hit upon a win-win scenario. The Heron he was offering was very similar to the Rambouillet already here, but if he ever happened on a Bridgestone XO-1, I would be interested. Or a Rivendell Atlantis type bike. As it happens, my left coast pal said, he did indeed have a sort of XO-1 bike and he would be inclined to offer it for sale. So here it is: A 1980s Nashbar Mark III criterium race frame that has been converted over to a 650B bike, with cool looking mustache handlebars. There are lots of neat new old stock parts on the bike, but I am making some changes to make this more of a practical riding bike in the hills than a show bike. The candy apple red Imron paint job draws approving glances no matter what is hung on it. I've already changed the saddle to a leather Brooks B5N and hung a Baggins saddle bag from it. I need to swap smaller tires on to it, and replace the front and rear gears (the crankset and the free hub) to get a wide range of gears for climbing. I'm already working deals to sell some surplus tires and use that towards a new Chorus crankset. Chorus is on the Saluki and it works very well, in addition to being nice looking. The Suntour set in the picture is great looking too and one day I may find the right use for it.



Here is a picture of Mark in my garage with the changed saddle and saddle bag.



Anyway, I did 10 miles of hills on "Mark" last night and really enjoy being on it. I'll try it for the 16 - 20 mile after church ride on Sunday. It's a big frame for me, a 53 cm, and I can JUST stand over it without doing personal damage, but it feels super once I am on the move. It was far less money than any of the others, but I am selling the go fast KHS to restore the funds used to buy it. Alex will take some pictures of it this weekend and it will go on ebay. Once the # is back down to 3, I can always reason that they are lonely, say when an Atlantis comes up reasonably priced :)

After virtually NO rides last weekend, I am pumped about meeting John at Pintlala tomorrow and doing a nice ride. No need to race, but a good workout will be great. I got the Bicycle Jones!