the first bike that each of our kids rode, which we bought at the Regent Ave Value Village in the early 1990s. I'm going to ride it in the grad parade tomorrow for the last time, as B is graduating, and she's the last of our three. It's going to be a moment.
And it's a pretty sweet bike.
It was originally a metallic green with a banana seat, but G wanted a pink bike, so we painted it pink, and she didn't like the banana seat, so we made it a mini-cruiser. S was just fine with this, but B wanted it to be green, so we painted it back again. The paint-job's not that great, but the bike still works pretty well.
Today I noticed though that the back axle had a lot of play, so I thought I'd give it a bit of lovin' and tighten it up. The a little more involved than I had remembered, to remove the back wheel of a coaster bike.
After you loosen the axle nuts you realize that you have to take them right off in order to remove the fender stays, and then you have to remove the clamp that hold the coaster brake lever in place. Very intense. Anyway, I succeeded in removing the wheel and tightening the bearing on the axle, so she's tight and turning smooth. Let the knees around my ears riding begin.
Working on a bike this small with a 9/16 wrench, then an 11/16 and a crescent, brought back all sorts of good feelings about messing with bikes - changing them from banana-seaters with ape-hangers, to proto-BMX jobs with rims and pedals that simply could not stand the pounding of landings off of home-made ramps. Every time something busted I don't recall frustration so much as a sense of opportunity. Fixing and modifying was (and is) as much fun as riding.
That's probably some sort of metaphor for life - mine at least. I'm always tinkering. Always thinking there's something better. Sometimes this is just plain counter-productive - if you're worried about being productive - but I'll tell you, that doesn't stop me from wanting to take it apart to try to make it better.
Ride report
in: 13'C wind 20 ks NE
out: 18'C wind 25 ks NW
1 comment:
I remember the banana seat coaster bike converted to BMX style! I was very proud when I could ride that one to school - jumped every curb on Park Street that day.
T
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