2 Wheels Maybe

I ran across two news articles this week that made me simpleton-on-a-simple-bike happy! Seriously, I am not kidding - heroes and role/roll models! Both articles tell the story of three guys who competed in and completed a 200-mile gravel grind on Walmart beach cruisers. Don't take my word for it, you can read the articles for yourself: Singletracks - They raced (and finished) the 200-mile Unbound gravel race on bikes from Walmart. Outside Magazine: These Guys Finished Unbound Gravel on Beach Cruisers from Walmart See, I didn't make it up! See, I'm not the only dork out there who rides a cheap/simple bike in places where people normally ride expensive/complicated bikes. It's downright exhilarating to find articles like this!  And they didn't do extensive upgrades. They even ran the stock tubes. (But they did add sealer, and all three completed the race without a flat.) I wrote a post about something similar on Mesquite Hugger several years ago. Lubbock on a Bike Jun...

I didn't get to ride much in the early part of the month, but there was still a lot of bike activity overall. May was a month with a big influx of fixer-uppers - lots of fun possibilities... Huffy Vintage 10-speed (looking for a new home after a little cleanup and tuning) Giant ATX760 (waiting for a resto-mod + new yellow paint) Mid-60's Western Flyer (Patina, Paint, or Klunker?) So much history in that paint I decided to go with Patina - a coaster brake hub and a new chain are on the way. Convert to 1-speed, add brakes + seat, find a new home? Better as a bike or a donor? After several great years, the Specialized went to a new home Godspeed, Abraham! Clapp Park  (May 22) A McAlister Lunch Ride (May 24) Maiden Voyage on the Single/Fixie (May 23) Alley Hopping (May 25) Lunch Ride at the Lubbock Lake Landmark (May 29) (I've posted a more detailed version of this ride over at Mesquite Hugger ) Okay, that's it for May. I'm hoping to have more to share for June and I...

 So, yes, it's Spring and that new bike fever is upon me. As you may know already, I grow more simple-minded simplicity-minded as I grow up. If you place a complicated thing and a simple thing in front of me, I will be drawn to the less complicated version 9 times out of 10. And this is especially true of things with wheels. By the way, I replaced both derailleurs and both shifters on my old mountain bike this weekend. And, well, um, ugh. It's needed repairs for a long time. But I've been putting it off. It's complicated. (Literally, the mountain bike is much more complicated than the ones you'll see below.) Here's what I've been riding while the mountain bike has been incapacitated: Favorite Bike 1: The Coaster-Brake Worksman Klunker (No Cables, No Levers, No Shifters) It's not complicated.  See the klunker in action here The old klunker has no cables, no levers, and only one thing that needs adjusting - the chain. When I look over the handlebars all I...