Yes, I'm back to blogging bikes.
There was awhile there when life, health, marriage and stuff happened. Stuff. It Happens. I was actually not riding for a couple of years. Got back on the bike last summer and then bike theft. A couple were recovered, one of them fatally wounded. Missing, was my mountain bike, the Beast.
Yeah, I know, old technology, but this was my most ridden bike. It was rugged and fast and fun. I love riding in the woods. Also, the Florida sun will kill me. I can acclimate to the heat, but not the sun.
I Finally have a replacement, of sorts. Being of meager bike budget I shopped hard for a good used bike locally but without result. The search widened. It became apparent that newer things like disk brakes and bigger wheels were not only good things, but the way to go. I looked for something respectable and modern and resorted to eBay and PinkBike. Finally found something new, in a box from a regular retailer (all those things are unusual for me) that was a solid step above entry level at a very entry-level price and went with it. Review and upgrade stories to follow.
The fatally wounded bike was my Redline Conquest. I had bought the frameset used from John Verheul who had flogged the thing as a professional racer for years. Then I raced it (as a clumsy amateur) and rode it and beat it up for years. Then it was rode like you stole it by someone who actually stole it. It died of a cracked head tube. Being the way I am, I was tempted to just put a hose clamp on it so it wouldn't collapse suddenly and keep riding. But, saving my life and already dubious dentition, was Jordan, the proprietor ofVélo Champ Cycle Sport, who pulled a somewhat used and shop-worn Charge Filter frameset out of a back room and made me one heck of a deal. More about that bike and its build-up in a future post.
So, yeah. I'm riding again and playing with and working on bikes and actually have stuff to write about these days so I'm reviving this dumb bike blog.
Thank you for coming by.
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