"Buy 'em pretty; get 'em dirty!" -GP (or something like that)
cheers,Andrew
On Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 08:48:05 AM GMT+11, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!
<[email protected]> wrote:
Update on the 59cm Clem L that my son inherited from my late father, that he
then took to college. That was 2 years ago; he is finishing his sophomore year
now, and this blue Clem has been his constant companion.
The College Clem has been ridden hard and put away wet. It’s been crashed a
couple of times. Once, he went over the bars when he had pedal strike, and a
couple other times he lost fights with black ice. My son has refused studded
tires and rode it through the last 2 Michigan winters, never bothering to take
care of it. The tires are stupid low, the chain never gets lubed…it’s
just…well, I can’t really do anything about it. But he did always lock it up.
And on at least 2 occasions, lost the keys. He has also misplaced the whole
dang bike; one time 2 or 3 days went by before he found the rack he had locked
it to. It has never been touched, as far as we can tell. The bags have been
left alone. He cheerfully tells me he’s like that Harry Potter character Luna
Lovegood; “My things eventually come back to me,” he says. 😑
Well, his bike was the worst I’d ever seen it this time. He came home for
spring break and I decided this would be the perfect time to overhaul it. I
took it to the shop and had them do the works. His chain was worn to dust, he
needed a lot of adjustment on the brake levers, the whole drivetrain needed
ultrasonic cleaning, the wheels were trued and they lubed and framesaver-ed the
thing, too. When we got it back I was shocked at how much paint damage there
is. So was he, actually. I’m sending pics so you can collectively either gasp
or clap. I’m kind of proud, actually.
My second son wants a Platypus for his college bike. He’s several inches
shorter than my nearly 6’3” older boy, so maybe a Platy would be a good choice
for him. We’ll see what we can get our hands on this fall.
Pics incoming….
On Monday, May 12, 2025 at 10:34:23 AM UTC-4 Kim H. wrote:
@Leah,
I must say that I really enjoy reading and listening to your writer's voice in
all what you share herein. You are a great storyteller.
I am glad to hear that your son's Clem is still around and not lost.
Enjoy !
Kim Hetzel.
Spring time on the Yelm to Roy Trail of which has yet to funded and completed
over the Nisqually River in Washington state.
On Monday, May 12, 2025 at 2:53:39 AM UTC-7 Ryan wrote:
Somewhere your father is smiling about that story of your son "losing" his
beloved clem, I am sure.
Glad I was proved wrong about his bike being stolen, too.
And I agree with Tom. Your writing is so enjoyable others outside the cycling
tent would get it.A good story well told is a good story... Ryan
b
On Monday, May 12, 2025 at 4:28:02 AM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
You are all too kind. I am just so happy to have an outlet here, where we can
talk all things cycling, because it is difficult for other people to “get it”
outside of our niche community. Which is why I haven’t written outside of here
- demand would be meager, at best. But cycling really is transformative, isn’t
it? And you have to DO it to understand it. There’s nothing quite like it.
On May 11, 2025, at 10:40 PM, Tom Goodmann <[email protected]> wrote:
Echoing your echo, Jason. Leah, you have a gift for telling stories (as I've
said before); I can see a collection taking shape, a cycling cycle . . .
Tomcurrently in northern Michigan
On Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 10:29:05 PM UTC-4 Jason Fuller wrote:
I'll wholeheartedly echo the love for this update. You have a knack for
threading a story, and this story delivers. Some prominent thoughts I had as I
read and finished the update - I absolutely cherish when people come to
appreciate the freedom of the bicycle. We are marketed the freedom of a car,
and cars do open up possibilities, but for short-distance travel the freedom of
a bike is unmatched. I also totally live a charmed life when it comes to
getting back things I've lost, so I fully identify with your son there. I've
lost my wallet a few times and it's always been returned to me by a good
samaritan. Others I know have not been so lucky. Recently I lost my cherished
Randi Jo coozie at a bike event, left it behind; I went looking for it to no
avail but got a message on Strava from a stranger who had found it and was
tipped off by a mutual friend. I got it back. I hope I am earning all this
karma rather than getting it for free!
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google
Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit
https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/rlzGS4r3P9E/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to
[email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fc07b13d-8d9b-4c71-809d-427c29195b31n%40googlegroups.com.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW
Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f0161d92-cdf3-4412-9d2c-6a8b1e663f27n%40googlegroups.com.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW
Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/746308017.710418.1773008201358%40mail.yahoo.com.
