gugie 

The Iceman cometh*


*The Iceman Cometh is Eugene O'Neill's marathon play about a group of drunks in a New York City bar in 1912. The characters all have their own pipe dreams. They cling to past glories and are delusional about their futures.

RandolphCarter

Well, "a group of drunks" and "they cling to past glories" is pretty on target here...

gugie 

I resemble that remark.

Andy_K 

Speaking just for myself, even past glory requires a certain amount of delusion. I came in second in a spelling bee once....

philpeugeot 

So I finally finished the challenge with roughly 108 miles on the 760. I completed a 25 mile jaunt on Sunday heading to the Sunset District, another 2 miles on Monday for a trip to the dentist, and 15 miles on Wednesday. Over the course of more than 100 miles the Trek has proved itself to be a worthy steed, especially considering the whole rig cost only $69.64. I don't have much to say except that I had much fun maintaining the bike on a shoestring budget and wouldn't hesitate to do this again. Some pictures of my last few outings:

Taken on Sunday on the Great Highway. Strong winds, non-aero routing not helping.

On the only decent trail close to where I live. Getting here is a bear thanks to the hills in the Peninsula, but is well worth it for the ride.

Captured some wildlife roaming the area despite controlled fires here.

Final picture of the Trek in all its glory, basking in the sunlight.
I hope to put many more happy miles on the 760. Good luck to those completing the challenge and hope to see you next year!

jdawginsc 

My body is finally allowing a bit of time on the bike. Forgot my camera/communications device Wednesday night but got in a lovely 10.1 mile excursion this morning. Add to 8.6 the other night and the 4.1 miles already on.

22.8 miles so far. Might have to plead for an extension on the miles.

SLimestone Peugeot is growing on me a bit, but is heavy as heck. SunTour mechs are interesting...quick in upshifts, sloppy in downshifts...could be the copious amount of rust lining the housings and the cable...gives a new definition to friction.

Liking the tires more. Long a$$...Er....arm cantilevers are keepers no matter what...LUV them...would probably work even better if adjusted.

seat sucks live tissue off of the bum each mile. My knees asked for toe clips and since pedals were something I received in a huge lot I opted to change them out. Add $5.00 for the reclaims for $85.00 as is. Stupidly forgot a bottle cage and bottle...

I overpaid, but thought it was a cool bike. Jury is still out on whether it is a long term relationship or a fleeting love affair...”if you can’t be with the one you love...”



Sunrise...

rustystrings61 

Glad you are feeling better! I look at this bike and think to myself, "This baby cries out for drop-bar conversion!" Maybe post-Challenge?

I went to bed last night with visions of rising early and cranking out my last 20.7 km this morning. The alarm went off at 5:40 - so why was I struggling into wakefulness at 6:29? No mileage today, maybe tomorrow. I did at least have enough spare time before work to putter around in the shop, long enough to conclude that the fleet will soon experience a purge and a shift of some machines into long-term storage mode (pedals off, bars turned 90 degrees and rolled down to allow tighter stacking). It's starting to look like an episode of hoarders in there!

jdawginsc 

i can relate to the issue of space. Krakhaus, Randy and Hazetguy have frames that are my size and tempting, but need to clear space and my common sense deficit.

Still dealing with overbuying a ton of extra fixers that I was going to give to students. I just couldn’t crank them out fast enough! Good use of stimulus funds! 18 given away, 14 left over. 4 of those sold.

...and the drop bar was next if I thought it had promise...it’s sort of sluggish...or I am...

could be the rust, grime and completely non-maintainedness of it. Did break down and sure up the headset and front hub...they were both loose.

ollo_ollo

"It was dark and I was tired" is my only excuse: After riding 100km on the Follis, I moved on to the the Raleigh Super Course. While overhauling its hubs, something about it was niggling at the back of my mind. It looked pretty big there in the work stand. I finished up the hubs, measured, seat post is 23". Standover is a smidge over 33", DOH! Was supposed to be 22", biggest I can ride. First time I skipped a test ride, but the leather saddle and Soubitez generator set had my eye. Seller was haggling with a buyer for 1 of his Mountain bikes, so I just handed him the $$ and rolled the SC out to my car. His ad said a 22" frame, but the only place I can find 22" is straight up fromBB to Bottom of Top Tube. The IRIS leather saddle and Soubitez light set will go to a French bike & the Super Course moves on. I withdraw the Raleigh Clunker. Don

Iris Leather Saddle

Soubitez Generator & Tail light

Soubitez Headlight



Bye Bye Super Course

northbend 

Nice picture of a Beautiful saddle, Don!

rustystrings61 

I took the as-yet-unnamed Sirrus out this morning for a 21.2 mile jaunt, which carried me to 115 km total for this bike. I did the reverse of an old loop, going out Flatwood Road with its curious blend of stately estates, the Republic garbage service (formerly Powell's Trash Service) and assorted trailers, down to Klugh Road where I got to descend the short steep nasty hill and hit 35.8 mph at the bottom rather than test my bypass sutures with the brutal climb. From there I turned onto Old Hodges Road, which is the old Abbeville Road when you're going the other way, and it becomes Blue Jay Road at some unspecified point on its way to Highway 185. I just ride 'em, I don't name 'em.

(Well, wait. That's not entirely true. Had I turned left instead of right on 185, I would have descended past the scary looking place that used to have dozens of metal lean-tos with shackled fighting birds underneath them. Every so often one would get loose and meet his nasty treacherous end as roadkill, giving the place the name Dead Rooster Hill. But I digress.)

From thence I rolled the gentle climb up to Hodges, back to Dixie Drive and then a wild thought crossed my mind and I turned and rode down Pine Drive to Pinetree and from there to the Y, where I was in time to meet members of the local WeCycle group. I chatted with them and we rode together for a couple of miles before I peeled off for home.

The Sirrus is simply awesome. I'm still fiddling with the indexed shifting, and I suspect a newer chain, perhaps even a 9-speed chain on the 6-speed rear would solve the chattering back there.


The pond at Oak Alley Farms

Old Hodges Highway ...

... which becomes Blue Jay Road

Playing hide and seek with the rising sun

Horses at a gracious farm

Same place as in 2016, different church building and bike.

2016, the year I (1) first got pulled into the Clunker Challenge and (2) before the lovely old church burned down. The '75 Motobecane is long gone.

rustystrings61 

So I wound up running three bikes this year for a total of 384 miles/618 km - and I still have another week to run up more km, which is highly likely.

$60 for the Cannondale (trade, based on actual outlay for bikes traded in)
$20 labor fee to remove horrifically stuck seatpost
$10 for well-used tires
$1 for well-used rear brake pads
$2.91 for very well-used pedals, clips & straps
$0 for bottle cage, 130 mm rear axle, Shimano bar-end shifters, shift boss cable stops and shift cables and housings (scavenged goods)

Totalling $93.91, with 113 km.

It's a nice bike, and I could see myself keeping it and finding the correct fork for it and using it for cycle-camping. I note that I have not actually been cycling camping since 1976, but my son and I have talked about it, so ...


Then there was the '88 Centurion LeMans -

$35.00 - initial purchase
$1.96 - four M5 bolts from Lowe's
$1.00 - Miche Monolithic crank scavenged from trash-picked bike
$6.00 - housing
$4.00 - rear brake cable
$2.00 - used toe clips from the stash (from some long-forgotten part-out)
$2.00 - used white bottle cages (technically free, and if memory serves they were used and cheap when initially purchased)

My spending grand total for the first 100 km was $51.96 - but then I spent $15.00 on a new chain, and rode the bike a whole bunch more, so my final total is more like $66.96 and 395 km.

The interesting thing here is, I can also see keeping this one as well. At this point in its career it is a carefree beater, cosmetically rough, lots of mismatched parts, does not look like it’s worth stealing - but it rides very well, it moves right along, and I just plain like it. So, keeper.


And finally there's the '88 Sirrus -

$50 - purchase price
$5 - used 39T chainring
$4 - bar tape purchased c.2006
$10 - used tires
$12 - brake and gear wires
$1 - used bottle cage
For a total of $82, and 115 km to date, and surely more to follow.

I really, truly, genuinely like this bike a lot. It has reminded me of how much fun light zippy bikes with skinny tires really can be, and I have greatly enjoyed it. It is an absolute keeper, and other bikes are going to have to go to make room, and that's that.



And not counting this year, but waiting in the wings for next year, the '89 Schwinn LeTour. I will freely confess that I was sorely tempted to try to rush it into running condition and crank out the last 100 km on it before midnight next Saturday, but - no. A man should know his limits, or at least recognize that one can only misprioritize things so much before bad things ensue. So, mothballed and awaiting next year -

$15 - purchase price

Narhay

1 week warning

RandolphCarter

Seeing as how my current status is 'stuck trying to resolve chainline issues due to singlespeed conversion' it is a reasonable assumption to conclude that I'll fail to complete the Challenge.

Again.

But, the journey is itself the destination, and the real prize is the friends we made on the way..

Right??

Well, assuming our Fearless Leader conducts another one of these travestiescontests over the winter/spring I'll at least have a head start on things...

nlerner

I sold my entry after one test ride. Life is too short, etc.

jdawginsc 

Hope to finish one. But life happened. I started too late and then...oops.

i also learned what I am going to do next year...like not procrastinate and get sidetracked fixing 1,907 giveaway bikes...

jdawginsc 

Failure here...Didn’t make it. I will continue to get the miles in because I like finishing what I started, and I want to see if both bikes will make the cut as keepers.

However, I want an award for the most 🐝 riffic stickers in the competition...

I have to give props to those of you who did multiple bikes, one bike, whatever... who finished the challenge.

gugie 

I forgot to post that I got in the 100 mile total the week after @Andy_K's 100km ride.

BFisher

I made it to 81km on the Rampar "Giro Discarica."

Then I went on vacation.

I returned and promptly made space by donating a few bikes, including said Rampar.

ollo_ollo

Sunday I sold the Super Course to a tall young lady who appreciated its vintage vibe, Nervex lugs and nice ride. Will be a good campus bike. Don

Mr. 66

My clunker went for 31 miles yesterday, bringing my total for the PN10L up to 72 miles. I decided that the Peugeot was special enough to be a keeper at this time and it was brought out to the country to be keep with family at the eastern Wa get-a-way.

This ride worked out very well, after sitting a for about a mouth the tires did need inflation, I still have yet to fix the front derailleur. That's ok though I'm not in an areas that need the wide range of gear shifts. The second ride was just as exciting as the first, though I did feel a little confined. I could used a stem a little longer, I think another cm wouldn't hurt.

My reagular circuit consists of very long false flats about 10 miles, one elavation of I'm guessing of 1,200' over a couple of miles, then just over 18 miles of rolling hills. My ride is not as fast as it should be. The reason being, the roads have been done. The roads' edging had been worn out from use including heavy farm equipment has been fixed, also were sprayed with tar and spread with new gravel. Of the rolling hills is a 1/3 mile descent that is banked and blind the fastest leg is covered in new loose gravel making for possible wipeouts. That's a bummer especially at the bottom, it ramps up sharp and one power can through top gear if you shoot out of the turn fast enough.

I'm out in the amber waves of grain, I look up, I see a Redtail hawk has gotten some prey a rodent of sort and is flying to the next phone pole I slowed and attempted to grab my camera as it lands, I approached. The hawk flies to next pole, I keep moving, it goes to the next then the next and the next again. The poor bird probably flew a half mile before it circled behind me and had it's privacy.

This morn I went to go for another spin (after fixing a flat) and well the game I Spy comes to mind... I spy with my little eyes... abandoned, according to property leaser a

Centurion I checked the sn# on the Bike Index and the local authorities, it was all clear of records.

I drove back and this was in placed in the back of the 🚙 , looks to be in good shape needs tires. I will be posting found bike notice on my local Craigslist.

tyler_fred

Priorities changed and I abandoned my project. I was mid-build on the Peugeot when my sister passed from Covid. That was a tough blow, but I am slowly getting back to riding and tweaking.

rustystrings61 

That’s a 1988 Centurion LeMans in the other color scheme that year from my 2nd entry this year! Awesome bike, especially for FREE! Tange No.2 mainframe, Mangaloy 2001 forks and stays, Exage Sport that is functionally identical to 105. Mine is a keeper even after being overshadowed by the Sirrus. For that matter I still have more miles on my LeMans than anything else this year. Your’s looks like it’s much prettier and cleaner than mine! What a score!

leftthread

So sorry about your loss, man.

tyler_fred

Thank you leftthread for the kind sentiments.

Dwayne