I've been looking for a merckx in my size and budget for a few weeks without any luck. Yesterday my wife and I were promoting "Bucktown Music" our family business in a festival in Chicago when i saw this;



Ok, I know the bike looks neglected and has been modded but I liked seeing it being used and not hanging in a garage. I talked to the guy a bit, he was pretty nice. He's had it for a while and he knows he has a nice bike. Sometimes I fret every nick my bikes have or an accidental bump, this made me feel silly about them. Even though I spend a lot of time riding my bikes, I should still do it more.

That's such a nice thing to say. Better that the family heirlooms get used than preserved for I-don't-know-what. We inherited my wife's (deceased) great-aunt's antique dishes. We use them every day and don't save them for special occasions. How can we enjoy them better than using them often?

Yeah, that is a really good attitude, particularly since he has what you're lusting after.

It doesn't bother me when I see a grail bike being used or abused, its nice to see them around. What bugs me is when I try to compliment someone and they pretend like the thing's a BSO or something. There's a Fuji Newest that rolls around town, pretty much OEM, gorgeous, and I've never seen it being ridden. Its either locked up outside the coffeeshop, or being walked around. Again, I can't judge because the bike isn't being used the way I "think it should be", but when I complimented the guy, he said, "meh, its a piece of crap. Might have been nice back in the 50s or whenever it was made."

I was all