Throughout the course of ones life, we all come to a realization that we have our place. Or should I say, we have a revelation which guides us on a path to something that becomes a part of our lives, and makes us something greater than what we are.
There are those among us that recognize the title of this thread. It is the words of a dying man who spoke them with his last breath. He discovered something wonderful. He discovered that not only he, but his entire people were living a lie. What he discovered, was the truth. Ah yes, truth. Something we all seek. Though too late in his life to make a differance, he passed on his wisdom to his posterity, so they could finally put the lie they were all living to rest.
This is what has ocurred to me over the last month. For those of you who noticed and for those who have not, I haven't been around for quite a while now. I thought perhaps I wasn't needed or wanted here on the forum. I thought perhaps I had better things to do with my life, which I of course do, none the less. However, after quietly lurking and seeing a few new faces appear here on the forum, I realized that maybe I should stick around, and perhaps my coming of truth is one I should share.
I went for a ride yesturday, for the first time in about three weeks. I started off wondering whether or not I should even bother continuing with this hobby/habit/lifestyle/obsession, whatever one wishes to call it. The storm as of late, really had me questioning my love of cycling. However, the emerging sun as of today has awoken my senses. I couldn't help but come back to the same conclusion. It is not just a passing fancy, or a hobby to take up my time. This is part of my life....
I am a cyclist, and I love my bikes.
As a result of the failing rear hub on my old Centurion, I have decided I do not want to have the wheel rebuilt. I really thought after sinking some money into it, I might as well go ahead and just rebuild the whole bike into a real commuter that I have always wanted. I don't want to ride to work on an old rust bucket with chipped paint, failing components, and wheels that are starting to cause problems after many years of trouble free service. But I want to keep my old lugged steel frame, because I like it so much. To put it mildly, and I know it sounds a little OCP'ish, but I want to ride to work in style.
So this is my tear down and rebirth of something old into something new. The old Tange #1 frame is such a nice frame, I just couldn't let it go. I invested about $800 in components specifically for this bike to do a complete rebuild, and I can see it will pay off.
This is where I started....