Riding the Fleet

In the past month or so as I thought about how much walking I was doing I would lament " I should be riding more"  and it occurred to me recently I just shut up about it and in the words of Nike; Just Do It.

So this week I decided that instead of starting the day with a walk I would instead ride my bike, and then I edited that thought to ride all my bikes.

Monday.  I had to take this bike out the work stand to ride it but I couldn't resist getting in a ride before tearing it down.  Impressions:  Fun!  this is my most racy bike and it felt like it, it was a blast to ride and a great way to start the week.

Tuesday.  I could see rain in the forecast so I went with my work horse.  Impressions: I couldn't have chosen better for my wettest ride of the week.  The 700 x 47c tires handle wet roads with ease.

Wednesday.  It had been so long since the last ride I  had to get air in the tires the night before.  The MotoGT is my oldest and most stock bike in the fleet.  I am always a bit surprised I don't ride it more.  Impressions:  As I have been riding more 80s and early 90s bikes this one feels a bit dated sometimes, but that is part of its charm and riding this French bike compels me to visit my local French bakery...

.....hmm pastries,

Thursday.  I wanted to ride the recently completed 520 before possibly putting it on Craigslist to test the market.  Impressions: I was not as done with this bike as I thought, namely the shifting to the low gears that works fine in the work stand, grinds under load on road and some other minor complaints.  I guess the lesson is I need to do longer test rides before proclaiming I am done.  I was also struck by just how smooth this 531 frame rides.

Friday.  I actually rode this bike last Saturday to escape West Seattle, but I was happy to ride it again on my short, slightly hilly, 4 mile morning ride.  Impressions:  Why do I ride this bike so little after I did so much work on it!  Its hitting its stride but I am still not sure about the cambium Brooks saddle, guess I will need to ride it more.

Saturday.  And finally the last bike in the fleet, the Miyata 112 which I bought to be my trainer ride but since I am without a deck (where I do trainer rides) right now its off the trainer.  This bike has only a front brake so for the first time I deviated my daily ride and just rode the local streets with no long downhills.  Impressions: while in some ways it is obviously an entry level bike (heft, components) it still has many great touches, lugs, maker engraved fork crown and I love the ice blue paint color.  A great example of 1980s Japanese craftsmanship.

I am not going to ride the fleet every week but it is good to be reminded of each bikes strengths and to give them all a turn on the road.  Wow, I just realized half of the fleet is from 1987! and 4 of 6 are from the late 1980s

Ride a lot of bikes. Smile. Repeat