Schwinnnnnn! Part deux

In progress

Complete

Schwinn update:

I was surprised at how quickly this went. I took everything off the bike to soak and scrub the gunk off of every little part. As I removed the rear derailleur I began to wonder if I would be able to figure out how the chain went back on. This is also about the time that I realized I hadn't been keeping track of the parts as they were coming off the bike. I sifted through the bowl of parts and couldn't recall how they all fit together. 

Solution: forget about it. I took a photo for nostalgia and hopped on my other bike to go to the bike shop for parts. Although the bike shop is only about a mile down the road, riding into a strong wind on semi-flat tires made for a slow ride. You may be wondering why I would ride on semi-flat tires rather than go to the gas station one block from my apartment. The answer is pure economics. I'm not paying 75 cents for air when the bike shop has free air. 

At the bike shop I picked up new brake and gear cables, two new tubes and tires, handlebar wrap and a bike map. Armed with parts, I made the much easier ride home on fully inflated tires with the wind at my back. 

Once home, I cranked up the oldies on the CD player and decided to tackle the monster. It took a little while, but after looking at a few photos online and making a few extraneous phone calls, I found a place for every part. This morning I finished adjusting the gears, tightened the brakes, and wrapped the handlebars, just in time to take it for a 3 mile ride downtown to meet a friend for brunch. 

Within the first block of travel I began to wish I wasn't already running 15 minutes late. I also wished I had double checked the brakes and properly adjusted the seat height. Instead, I made do with what I had: a seat that was too high, and brakes that barely worked. Thankfully I made it there and back in one piece. When I got home, I did the right thing. I hung the bike up and thought to myself, "Aw.. forget about it." 

Schwinnnnnn!

I don't have much to report on the running front right now. I'm basically just trying to get in the habit of running on a regular basis again. In the meantime however, with the weather predicted to reach into the 70s today, it's time to start thinking about biking. Over the off-season my parents shipped me my old Schwinn 10-speed.

My best estimate is that I bought the bike brand new, during my freshman year of high school, in 1989. Although I probably rode it consistently for a couple years, for the past 2 decades it's pretty much been hanging in a garage. So now it's time to overhaul this heavy metal beast and get it on the road.

I completely pulled apart my mountain bike last summer, and barring any bent metal pieces, or major complications, this 10-speed should probably be a little more straight forward. To be on the safe side, I'm thinking it could use new gear and break cables, new tubes/tires and, for my gripping pleasure,  new handlebar wrap.

The ultimate goal here is to have a bike that is a lot easier to ride in the city than my mountain bike, and to have a bike to ride in the Chicago Tri. 1) I don't think it matters how heavy the frame is, because I'm pretty sure it has to be better than riding the fat tired mountain bike on city streets. 2) It's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a tri-bike... besides, who can turn down nostalgia?