Resisting my baser instincts

Behind my apartment building there is an abandoned house, kind of a tragic story which you can see here,  and as I was walking between my coffee shop and my car my vintage bike radar started pinging.  I glance over and through the trees and in the overgrown back yard amongst the 3 old cars was this Fuji Dynamic 10.

According to the classic Fuji site this bike was made for 2 years, 75 & 76, and is decidedly entry level, and its been outside for who knows how long, so of course my first instinct was to wheel it home.

And then I had the good sense to stop myself, so far, and take a step back.  On the one hand the house is abandoned, this bike is a wreck and it all likelihood it will just get thrown in a dumpster when someone finally comes to level the house and build something new, it is Seattle after all in this market no place stays abandoned for long.  On the other hand its in someones yard not out on the curb for free or for trash pick up.

Besides the ethical dilemma, there is the long list of other projects I have in the queue already

• Need to finish the Moto_GT
• Need to start the Nishiki Cresta
• Need to get the Schwinn LeTour functional so I can sell it
• Need to get the Trek 420 rebuilt so I can see if a 22.5 inch frame is a good fit
• Need to rebuild the Specialized Allez Sport so I can sell it on
• And then there is the clunker challenge Bianchi Ibex aka Barney  who could use a spa treatment

So no I do not need a seventh project.

There is also the fact that I have decided to stop working on the entry level stuff for the time being, and yes this Fuji does have SunTour down tube shifters not stem shifters but it has safety levers and comes in at 30 lbs according to the specs.  I am reminded of how good it felt to clear my porch of all the various bike flotsam and jetsam in the spring and I don't want to go back to that.

The bike also appears to be missing the rear hub skewer/axle so wheeling it away would not be easy.  The voice in my head argued for just tearing it down and parting it out as a better fate than the dumpster but I am not sure the work of tearing it down and cleaning up the parts is worth what I might get for the functional but entry level stuff on this bike.  The white shifter hoods may be the most desirable thing on the bike assuming they clean up.

In the end I turned and walked away and I try not to think about the forlorn Fuji as I pass this house almost daily.

Ride.Smile.Know your limits. Repeat.