daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
We had another stormy day today but the sky lightened up just after sunset so Mango and I went to the nearby park to see if there were any interesting clouds. They were pretty good, in my opinion!
We only went out for a few minutes to take the photos because it was still sprinkling a little bit and there was thunder rumbling as well so I thought it best not to be out on the bicycle too long. 😁
Some of you more perceptive readers might have noticed that not only did I bring my Peugeot bicycle home, but I also took my brother’s old Bianchi mountain bike. It’s in better condition than the Peugeot was, so it just needs some new cables and will be ready to go.
Did you know that Bianchi is the oldest bicycle brand in the world? I didn’t know that before today. At any rate, this bicycle is from around 1990 and is a type of bicycle that is popular right now: vintage mountain bikes. I guess people like the steel frames, rigid forks, and old geometry. I’d like to customize it a bit with some new tires, a new saddle and maybe a front rack. We’ll see!
One of the nice things about working from home is that I can go exercise on my lunch break. Today the weather was nice and cool so I decided to take Mango to the Brushy Creek Lake. It was really fun and I had so much energy!
Now that I have two bicycles, I have a decision to make each time I go for a ride. Do I take Mango or Sophie? Both are fun (their bicycles after all) but Mango (21 years old) is more comfortable, more reliable, and more practical because of the bags. Sophie (~49 years old) is faster and more exciting, but it’ll take a few more miles of riding with Sophie for me to feel more comfortable with her reliability. I love both of my bicycles!
I took Sophie (my Peugeot bicycle) on an evening ride to get some fresh air and take a photo at my go-to bicycle photo location. It’s just a bridge along the bike path, but I’ve taken many photos of Mango (my Kona bicycle) there, so I needed to get an “official” photo of Sophie.
I think the picture turned out okay, but I am not too keen on the lighting, and also I should move the handlebar bag to the other side. I have some metal cable guides coming in the mail, so I will replace the black velcro straps.
Anyways, here’s the photo I took at the bridge:
My early-70s Peugeot bicycle is back on the road! I had to replace several parts and tune it up a bit, but I rode several kilometers on the bicycle and it was a lot of fun!
I admit to being nervous at the start, not because of the age of the bicycle nor my skills as a mechanic, but the geometry of the Peugeot is so different than my Kona that the vintage bicycle felt very twitchy and delicate. The general riding position is more aggressive and the handlebars are very narrow so any small movements you make affect the bike greatly. However, after riding for a few kilometers I was used to the bike again and enjoyed that responsiveness.
I still have a fair amount of work to do on the bicycle restoration, but I’m happy that she is road-worthy!
I hope you had a great day!
