True Cost of a Supermarket Bike

slartibartfast wrote:

When I got my first XC racing bike it juist wanted to fly up hills and I
thought to myself "This thing runs up hills like an Elk". That made me think
of the Monty Python "Miss Anne Elk" skit, so after that I just called it
Anne. Nobody got it though and every time I explained it I got realy strange
looks, but at least it gave me a chuckle. thats the only bike I've ever
named.


I rode my bike by a moose once.

In article ,
Ryan Cousineau writes:

Don't listen to Tom.

That's good advice. As a 'for example', I'm currently considering
detailing my fork blades with some Celtic knotwork design, which
is probably going to turn out to be a stoopid thing for me
to attempt.

....

I saw two bikes behind a
dumpster while on a ride, confirmed they were up for grabs, then drove
back with my car to nab them.

My first good bike, a Mikado tourer, was another garage-sale recovery.
It attempted to hide between a fairly bad Peugot and a very bad Apollo,
but its protective camouflage and lack of decals could not hide its
qualities. I nipped it up, put ugly bar tape and an orange seat on it,
and gave it to my dad.

The Pinarello, admittedly, hunted me down, and then seduced me with its
pretty chrome and sexy Italian blue.

Actually, I think all these synchronicitous examples tend to
support my conjectures. They're certainly different than
flipping through a catalogue, pointing to a particular model,
and saying, "That's the one I want."

In my own case, I've had many bikes come to me -- friends &
acquaintances discover I'm into fixing 'em up, and they drop
their old, neglected ones off like orphans at my doorstep.
Okay, I've had no hum-dinger DeVincis or Mariposas or
Marinonis given to me. And I've also had some junk pawned-off
on me, too. But some of my 70's Japanese lugged steel frames
are really elegant, and deserving of TLC.

But the synchronicity/destiny thing can work with brand new
bikes, too. All it takes is to impulsively, spur-of-the-
momently step into a bike shop just to look around, and
suddenly & unexpectedly espy the apple of your eye, and you
know it's Right. The trick is to not force it -- just bide
your time and let it happen when the time is ripe.

So, Elisa, take heart. The bicycle gods demand that we first
demonstrate that our hearts are properly set toward riding
before they do us any favours. You've already done that
admirably, so the ball is rolling. I believe they'll present
you with the apple of your eye, and sooner than you'd think.

And it'll be exactly the appropriate bicycle for you.

That appropriateness is why I'm stuck with ol' Pig Iron (a
hoary, old, basic mountain bike from the '80s), instead of
a sleek, steel-framed, Campagnolo-equipped Marinoni Tourismo.
But ol' Pig Iron and I have been through a lot; the bike has
turned out to be just the faithful, tough, utilitarian workhorse
I need, and I'm grateful for it. By the way, I just found this
bike, abandoned after the resolution of a local transit strike.

The bicycle gods move in mysterious ways. I just wistfully wish
they'd set me up with some better rims & tires. But I know they
will, when the time is right.


cheers,
Tom

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