As I entered the house at the side door, his dog greeted me and we descended the steps together. There, he had been diligently and lovingly adjusting the brake shoes for me, and he had just replaced the bar tape, as he didn’t want his old gal going off in rags, or limping.
He had purchased it in July of 1983 from the original owner in Ann Arbor, and then rode it for the next several years as his only mode of transport. The bike was plastered with strips of reflective tape, in a rainbow of colors, because, he said, he wanted to be seen at night.
He turned his attention back to adjusting the brake, trying to get it “just so”. I could see that he was parting with a loyal friend, and I wondered why.
He told me that he was ill, and couldn't ride it anymore.
There was no doubt. He was entrusting his bike to me, so I gave him the money, and he wrote me a receipt, on the back of his original receipt from 1983. He had paid $370 for it then. - I was certainly getting off easily.
I thanked him, and as I loaded it into my truck, he struck up a conversation with his neighbor. I felt that he welcomed the distraction at that moment, the moment that I pulled away.
I got home and I got busy. I tore it down to the bones, and I cleaned every bit. – And I labored to remove every bit of that infernal reflective tape: I wanted it to look good – as good as I imagined it did when he first laid eyes on it.
The next day I photographed it. Nature cooperated ,and gave me the lighting that matched my mood. When it was done, I printed a set of 8x10 color glossies and mailed them off to his house.
I wanted him to know that I would be a good custodian for his bike.
A few days later I got an e-mail, entitled,
“Fuji -WOW!”
Hello Auchen,
Thank you for sending me the pictures. I was impressed and happy to know that you actually wanted that era of bicycle and weren’t going to part it out. It looks great, I just wish I had a reason to need the bike myself.
I do hope it stays with you and that errant automobiles and potholes are void of your path.
- A.
. . . It’s funny that he thought I might part it out. I s’pose us flippers grow horns after a while, and people see it, but this Fuji will indeed stay. It is MORE than a great ride and a beautiful bike.
