Originally Posted by rustystrings61

Late night last night, so a late start today. I still got in 9.2 miles before work, carrying me to 69.3 km done. I combined pieces of different routes into a pleasant little loop, including the stretch of Clem Road where all the horsey people live. I first saw this gate maybe 20 years ago, before the grand homes it guards were much more than foundations. If someone is going to go to the trouble of trying to recreate the Olde-with-an-E Europe look, the least one can do is take pictures of it and admire it.




Magenta was being balky about staying in gear, especially when I stood to climb. When I got home I squirted in some Tri-Flow, then wound up playing with the mounting screw, then removing the shifter and trying to get everything to line up just-so. I was beginning to worry I'd have to fish out the other set of Shimano indexing downtube shifters from the overstuffed bins o' parts when suddenly it all went together as it should, rewarding me with nice crisp indexed shifting. Again, sure, I can friction shift, but wasn't spending 10 minutes or so sweating in the shop with oily fidgety fingers so much better? It's all good.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I really like this bike. Perhaps my favorite part of the whole Clunker Challenge experience is taking a neglected or abandoned bike, making it rideable, and generally finding something rewarding about the whole experience. I always come away with at least some sort of appreciation of unexpected ride qualities, On the other hand, right now I have SIX Clunker Challenge bikes in my shop, the two from this year, three past contestants, and the remnants of a sixth one that I abandoned in 2019. I predict a purge in the not-too-distant future. I also predict this Centurion and the Cannondale will be sticking around.