It's hard to believe it's only March. I've already been on a few joy rides and the Winter Blues are already a thing of the past.

I rode 15 miles on the old Trek on my commute home this morning and I just returned from a 20 mile jaunt on 'Little Blue Bike'. It's the first time out with the Volae this year, kinda a shakedown, re-aquaintment ride. I never would have believed it if I was told that I'ld be taking my 'Good' bikes out by March 12th! Hello Spring!!

Here's a quick pic of my two workhorses (commuters) resting side by side. 'The Beast' (Trek Mtn. Bike) is my cold season commuter. 'Little Blue Bike' (the Volae SWB 'bent) is my warm seasons commuter.



Please excuse all the spare parts laying about. I scavanged them throughout the winter and have yet to stow them away.

I sure hope you said that very quietly. Dont want to jinx it.
PS im whispering.

Lenny,

Yea - same here. I'm looking at an abbreviated ski season here in the Daks - all though there is a trip to Utah coming up.

I am looking forward to getting the bikes out and starting the yearly ritual of getting back in shape. If this keeps up the 6AM rides will start pretty soon.

We have had snow and only 2 days with sun this month, but it is warmer.

You need to pull the fenders off that Trek give them a good sanding, to knock any lose rust off, then a coat of rust paint, they are looking pretty shabby. I know winter commuter bikes usually look like s***, at the end of the season, but you need to give that one a little TLC, or the PETB people are going to be after you......

I'm looking at that head-badge and seeing a 3/4 view of a face. Perhaps Cranky should bring in an exorcist before he repaints the fenders.

I take it they salt the roads where you live? That isn’t allowed here, some kind of volcanic gravel or something is all they can use where it snows.

the look of the bike is probably part of the anti-theft system,after all what self respecting thief would steal a piece of c**p bike instead of the fine looking bike next to it?

There is that, unfortunately with that much rust eventually it will eat holes in the fenders, and then they are pretty much useless, depending on where it eats through first it could cause a collision. A light sanding with car body sanding paper, a coat of Rustoleum in black to seal things up, and it would be a decent service repair.

I've thought about painting them a few times but I really don't see any advantage to it. They make the bike look like a P.O.S., great theft deterent.

They looked like that some 15+ years ago when I salvaged them and retrofitted them to my Trek. The steel is probably a heavier guage than my Chevy Truck fenders!

Besides, it's great fun for an old fat guy like myself to totaly smoke some young wanna-be racer on his shiney new what-ever while riding my winterized P.O.S....studded snow tires and all!

Lenny,

Don't let'em talk about your ride like that - we all rust with age...
Particularly in the salty NE.

Considering the way the automotive industry is building &^*# these days, they probably are a heavier gauge. Actually one way to make them look cool, but still geeky, would be to sand off the rust, give them a coat of rust paint, get a couple of sheets of retro-reflective stick-on and make it striped, using pieces of the stick-on, making the stripes even, been thinking of doing this myself. Would give the cagers at night that "what the %$^@ is that?" thought, they would slow down while trying to figure it out, they would be pretty much past before they form the picture, bicycle. Been thinking checker board myself, cut into 2cm squares and applied all over the fender, so it lights up in squares. I've been putting it off though, I need to replace the fork, and I want that to light up too, so it would be a waste on the current one.