The weather was cold and windy this evening and my cousin and I had made it a bicycle event like none other. It all started earlier in the day when I had this insatiable urge to ride my bike. I had ridden earlier on Friday, a night ride in 29-32 deg weather and had not the slightest bit of discomfort, maybe my face was a tad bit frosty but other than that it was all good riding, just the crisp clear air and the wonderful blood flowing throughout my body. I love cycling.
So after I had ran my errand for the day, I called my cousin and basically told him that I was coming over and going to fix his old hand me down Fuji with another donor bike I had picked up for him earlier in the year as a "Starter" road bike.It was a great day. After some quick swapping of a rear wheel and a quick fill up of the 20 year old dry-rotted tyres, she was good to go.This bicycle is a 1972 Fuji Finest with some ad-hoc bits and bobs like dissimilar wheels and brake levers. What is important is that this frame is LUGGED and that means QUALITY. Look at those ornate lugs, looks like a Waterford eh! I am suprised we didn't get a pinch flat this night to be honest. First stop was my home to do a quick bike tune up and tea break. After the quick tune we were ready to brave the weather, it was ten o'clock at this time. We made a casual 11 MPH stroll a mile to the diner for a quick coffee break and discussion about the remainder of the night, that is if we were going to continue riding or just park it. Riding was great for him, he was just so blown away by the speed and ease of mobility that the cold didn't even phase him. After all it was getting rather late and cold with the wind chill out there. We thought it over briefly then made it so, we were going to ride, and I was happy to see another convert, well, not so much a convert as to a cyclist turned into Roadie. Randy was really digging this bicycle, as it was his first true road bike, he was hooked. We were to continue riding. We went another eight miles to the video store to rent the most bad ass movie ever made ever, more on that bit later. By the time we made it to the video store, my digits and toes were officially cold, they needed a warming up proper, however, the video store was closing in five minutes, as we arrived 5 shy of zero hundred, so we grabbed and like a blacksmith, made a bolt for the door. What a ride home, all head wind at fifteen knots, not so fun and very cold, very cold indeed. I had come to my conclusion that my winter riding gear is perfect down to 29-30 degrees, there after the wind and temperature extremes are too much and start to wreak havoc on the extremities, which really isn't too bad after all. All things considered, I was wearing my normal summer riding shoes with two layers of socks and my Craft lobster claw gloves. I believe it was time for boots, not a problem as in these conditions, the last thing you want is speed anyway.
What a treat it was to see another bicycle come to life and be thoroughly enjoyed no less, truly a joy to see.
-WCFTW
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