I spent the winter months tearing down and building back up my 1986 Schwinn Passage including many upgrades. It has been my favorite bike to ride and I am very happy with how it turned out. I have had occasion recently to think about which one bike I would keep if I could only keep one, it might just be the Passage.
Part of the reason for building up this 80's Japanese touring bike was to use it for the Tour De Lopez in April. It was a ride I have been thinking about doing for a decade and it almost didn't happen because of back issues so actually getting to ride it on my freshly rebuilt bike was especially rewarding. Did I mention there was beer at the end?
June ended up being vintage Mountain bike month. I had wanted to find a lugged steel 80s Mt. bike for a while and for a total outlay of about $50 I found two, a 1984 Nishiki Cascade and a 1986 Miyata Trail runner respectively. I have made some progress on the Miyata and got the Nishiki down to the frame and conquered a stuck seat post.
I also accomplished my goal of riding to a baseball game this year in June, they even won!
July was just about my "bikeyest" month ever, just a few highlights:
- Felt like I blogged just about every day (19 posts)
- One week I rode four different bikes
- Had a fun ride in Portland on my birthday and there was beer!
- Finished working on the Ritchey Project
- Capped off the month with a gravel ride on the John Wayne trail
October featured getting to ride on the Willapa river trail on an upgraded, but not finished, Miyata Trail Runner on a beautiful fall day and also kicked off my 2nd consecutive Coffeeneuring season.
There are plenty of projects in the queue so we'll see what happens in 2018. Happy Holidays all and remember to Ride.Smile.Repeat.
