Rusty Gold

As Elliott was dropping us off last night at our "home" he invited me to join him in the morning for coffee at the local McDonalds where he and a few of his neighbors gather every Saturday  at 8 am for coffee.  I love this kind of stuff.  I always thought if I settled down again in a single location I would want to live in a small community where there was a local cafe, or watering hole where locals gathered to exchange news, information, etc.  So, around 7:50 am Elliott called to inquire as to my readiness, and within a few minutes was at my doorstep to ferry me out to the local McDonalds near I-95.  There were about 7, or 8 neighbors in attendance.  Of course, one of the main topics was aviation, but we also talked about the "racing scene".

Elliott has a vintage Raleigh "10 speed" road bike that he acquired a number of years ago while attending language school in Monterey, CA from its 2nd owner, and asked if I would be interested in bringing her back to life.  As is typical in coastal areas, there was a lot of rust from the salt air, and a few years of road grime built up.  Of course I am interested!!  I picked the bike up Friday afternoon intending to work on it Saturday after our coffee clatch, and got to work on it around 9:30 am.

Meahwhile, TLE and Ann decided to make a run over to Jekyll Island to do some shopping, etc., so I had the coach and trailer all to myself for the day.

I put the bike on the bike stand and began to remove its components for cleaning, greasing, oiling, etc.  I forgot to take a picture of the bike before disassembly, but here are pictures of it mostly apart.

Essentially, the bike could be ridden in its current condition, but it needed to be cleaned up, tuned up, and some grease, and oil applied where necessary.

I put my XM Radio on channel 6 to listen to 60's music, and then dove into the bike.  The hours melted away as great songs from the 60's serenaded me, and before I knew it 1:30 had arrived.........I hadn't even had breakfast, or lunch yet, so before I began to reassemble the bike I took a lunch break for about 30 minutes, then started to reattach the components.  TLE and Ann returned from their excursion around 4 pm, and as luck would have it I was just about done.  All that remained is some adjusting, and a little truing of the front and rear wheels and this green Raleigh will be ready for its 4th life.  That will get done Sunday morning.

Here is what she looks like put back together with a little shine added to her appearance.   She will never be perfect again, but she is ready to ride again.

We stayed in for dinner, and I relaxed by taking a long hot shower, then watched some college basketball.  My home team, UCLA prevailed over Washington, but #4 KU got hammered by Baylor....a big upset.  Duke won to maintain their #3 randing.  Just a week until March Madness starts!  This will be my second year watching March Madness on the road.

Thanks for stopping by!