We finally got some actual, honest-to-goodness snow. Yay, snow.
Unfortunately, I'm a dumbass, and left my fendered bike over at Joel's house, because we're going to work on it later this week.
This means that I get to test out my snowpants today on my fenderless mountain bike. I rode the mtb on Saturday when I was out to buy catfood, and filled the BOB trailer with road slush, and painted myself from top of helmet to bottom of buttcheeks with road slush. I am SO classy.
The bike over at Joel's house is going to be my touring machine. Some of you know it as the Nailpolish Bianchi. I'd originally bought it with an eye to using it for cyclocross, but it is actually not very portable. With its dropped top-tube (It is a hybrid) it's awkward to get your arm through the frame, especially when there's a water-bottle cage in there. YES, I know you're not supposed to run cages on a cross bike, but I ride my bike to races and need water on the way.
Anyway, this bike will make a fine touring bike, as it is plenty sturdy. But the componetry seems to be causing Joel a migraine…apparently it is unnecessarily crappy. And the bottom bracket is shot. What I am given to understand is that we will soon be throwing away pretty much all of the bike except for the frame, fork, and possibly stem. Like the Singlespeed project, it's going to be my own wrenching, supervised by an expert. Much like the engine build for my 1959. Technically, I'm capable, but I sure like to have an eye on me to be sure the progress of events takes place in the correct order. If this bike was like a 1970s Schwinn, or an anytime Huffy, I could have it apart and back together in a couple of hours. This modern-ish stuff, however, I'm not as up on.
I decided that while the bike is rent asunder, I would take the opportunity to sand it down and re-paint it, since it currently looks like ass-on-toast, and I had a marvelous brainstorm the other night, envisioning the bike being painted a cheery yellow, with white contrast panels bordered by pinstripes of fire-engine red. I'm going to highlight the lugs in red, like I did with the silver glitter on my singlespeed, and paint the fork solid fire-engine-red. I think it will look rather pretty.
It's going to be a total mystery machine, what with the fancy-pantsy running gear, old-school paint-job, and gooofy michelle-ish set up (you are talking to a woman who prefers thumb-shifters whenever possible). With the rack on, and either my normal shopping bags or the Ortleib panniers I'm saving up for, it's going to be hella sweet. It will be my around-towner (which it already has been) and my touring bike.
We're planning a few short out-and-backs, where we'd leave Saturday evening, ride 30-40 miles out of town, camp, then come back sometime Sunday. Then we're looking to do a KATY Trail jaunt, plus RAGBRAI in July. Do you know who is stoked? I am stoked!