Well Lookie What I Found!

I found something good last week. More on that in a minute. First, a couple of other things.

I need to re-post or cross-post or whatever they call it with this:

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Saw it on Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy and felt compelled to share.

Secondly, I wanted to say a little something about street riding in the rain. I find riding in the rain very pleasant, excepting the times that temperatures are around freezing. At those times I would rather have snow. Even when the rain is cold, however, I really like that all vehicles make lots of wheel / road noise.

I mean, I don't care if your brand spankin' new scooter or car is powered by 100% baby smiles with a backup battery fuelled by nothin' but good vibes, if it has wheels, I will hear it coming in the rain. I like that. I also feel like I'm going faster than I really am in the rain. Don't know why. Anybody else feel that way?

Now, to my originally stated business. I pulled a bike out of somebody's trash last week, intending to cannibalize it for the nice fenders and rack it had. Turns out, though, that it is way too nice for that. I put air in the tires, and despite dried out sidewalls, they are holding nicely. Doing nothing else to it, I took it for a ride and was shocked. Brakes, well tuned! Shifting, just fine and limiters set correctly! Wheels true and spinning nicely! Holy crap!

Mrs. Rantwick has not been riding much, partly because she desires a bike we didn't have until now, a nice simple upright commuter. A "ladies" or "beautiful godzilla" (see BSNYC for definition) kind of bike. The kind of bike The Other Other Other Woman might ride. There's some rust and some scratches I need to clean up as best I can, but I got a perfectly good bike straight out of somebody's garbage! Woohoo!

Here are the tantalizing details:

Frame: Steel, Mixte
Wheels: 27" I think, tire markings long gone.
Gears: 7 sp Suntour on rear, single chainring up front.
Year: No Clue. Help if you can.
Made in Canada, Brand I've Never Heard Of

Now here are the tantalizing photos:

  

Have any of you ever heard of some "Aleigh" bicycle brand? After exhaustive Internet research, I am still totally stumped. So not only is this thing perfect for Mrs. Rantwick, it is some rare "Aleigh" bicycle I have never heard of! Insane!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Commenters informing me that the bike is a Raleigh will be hunted down and pestered verbally for thinking me that kind of stupid. Thinking me all other kinds of stupid is fine.

Mixte Feelings

I was reviewing some video files, wondering why I kept them, when I came across some footage of a poor lost Mixte. It was leaning, unlocked, against a tree. It had flat tires. Stolen and dropped? Drunkenly used and abandoned as "broken"? It was an Eaton Road King. Eaton's was once the biggest and best department store in Canada and is missed by many of us... at least those of us who remember it. It went under in 1999. Anyway, here it is:

I was riding to work and had no time to think about what should be done. It was a lovely Mixte in nice condition save the flat tires. Beyond that, it was a bit of Canadiana of a variety that is beginning to vanish quickly. After work, I looked for it and sure enough it was gone. If it had still been there, I would have debated with myself about whether I should take it. God knows few would love and restore it the way I would have. Is taking an abandoned, flat-tired bike stealing? I don't know. I just hope whoever picked it up knows what it is and treats it accordingly. The park where it was left is literally right beside a scrap metal yard. I shudder to think. $%^%$*!! I should have saved (stolen) it.

******

I started this post thinking that it would start and end with my sadness about this bike, but as I wrote I got to thinking: Why is it I can get all emotional about a derelict bike, a thing, one of trillions of manufactured things floating around the world, yet drive or ride by a derelict person without a second thought? Things are easy, I guess. People are hard. Perhaps one day I'll grow into somebody who is better at loving and restoring more than bikes. Wish me luck, and sorry for getting all heavy.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K