Today I saw something I haven't seen since before Christmas:
Yes, this is the same bike rack that just two weeks ago looked like this:
I didn't see the Pinarello or my colleague's bike (or said colleague, for that matter). However, I saw something that I wouldn't have noticed had I not parked next to it:
It's a 1970's Campagnolo Nuovo Record crankset, set up with a single chainring. It was arguably the nicest crankset in its day. What struck me, though, is that it was on a bike with this:
Yes, it's a basket attached with two improvised clamps and a toe strap. The basket looked like one of the nice ones that might be used on a Porteur-type rack.
Underneath that stem is a Chris King headset.
But the bike on which I saw that basket, King headset and the Campy crankset was utterly nondescript: A hipster-fixie frame with welded joints and black paint flaked and pockmarked like an old smokestack.
There are all sorts of possible stories as to how great parts end up on not-so-great bikes. Whoever put it together might've simply using what was at hand. Or, the rider might be one of those mashers who actually bends and breaks cranksets. Or he or she may have just liked the look of those parts. I guess they stand out all the more on such an unremarkable bike.
Anyway, the wind was starting to bring in the night's chill and the evening colors as I left the campus:
And I cut through Kissena Park for this:
I'm starting to get it all back now.
Yes, this is the same bike rack that just two weeks ago looked like this:
I didn't see the Pinarello or my colleague's bike (or said colleague, for that matter). However, I saw something that I wouldn't have noticed had I not parked next to it:
It's a 1970's Campagnolo Nuovo Record crankset, set up with a single chainring. It was arguably the nicest crankset in its day. What struck me, though, is that it was on a bike with this:
Yes, it's a basket attached with two improvised clamps and a toe strap. The basket looked like one of the nice ones that might be used on a Porteur-type rack.
Underneath that stem is a Chris King headset.
But the bike on which I saw that basket, King headset and the Campy crankset was utterly nondescript: A hipster-fixie frame with welded joints and black paint flaked and pockmarked like an old smokestack.
There are all sorts of possible stories as to how great parts end up on not-so-great bikes. Whoever put it together might've simply using what was at hand. Or, the rider might be one of those mashers who actually bends and breaks cranksets. Or he or she may have just liked the look of those parts. I guess they stand out all the more on such an unremarkable bike.
Anyway, the wind was starting to bring in the night's chill and the evening colors as I left the campus:
And I cut through Kissena Park for this:
I'm starting to get it all back now.
That's pretty quick progress! Our snow is still melting, but I am hoping to be on a roadbike again by mid-March.
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