Um Guys, Is That What I Think It Is?

In a town where fat bikes are a dime a dozen it takes a special bike to turn my head in the dead of winter.
Case and point, I saw this gem locked up at the USGS office when I got to school.

I'm operating under the assumption that I'm mistaken, but I have a hunch it might be one of the bikes that helped create "a whole new sport."  I'm thinking it is a 1981 Specialized Stumpjumper.  I'm looking at you Nick and Andy to verify or dismiss my hypothesis

 

It's welded, the '82 was lugged. The downtube decal says 'Specialized'.  The later years said 'Stumpjumper'.

I would apologize for the crappy cellphone pictures, but I'm not sorry, I was in a hurry.

I'll see if it's there again tomorrow and perhaps see if I can figure out a few more details.

\

The red Raleigh on the left belongs to a former classmate of mine, I plan on asking if he knows the owner of that vintage steed.  Oh, and for those of you into fat bikes, that is in fact a Surly Moonlander just creeping into the lower right corner of the picture.  Size small frame I believe.

In other news, Tarik let me into his club.  Got this excellent postcard in the mail:

You'll have to take my word for it, but the front of the postcard was equally awesome.

Tarik, if there is a way to procure a small stack of those, apparently custom made, postcards let me know.  I'd love to mail them far and wide.

While I am admittedly proud to be the only member in Alaska, I'd like to see that distinction changed to 'first'.  There are some fine folks up here who would make great club members.

Bike Swap Buys

The local bike club had a bike swap today. Considering I was went there with All man I feel pretty good about how little money I spent. I did impulsively purchase a new (to me) bike, but it could have been much worse.



I scored a few good deals and a couple of freebies. Dura Ace brake levers and the Selle San Marco saddle were free. and I only dropped $40 between the OnOne Mary bar and the Crank Bros Mallets. Not sure what I'm going to do with the Mary bar, but it was too cheap to pass up.

The big purchase was a new road bike. I've casually searched for an old Bridgestone in the past and haven't found anything worth what I could afford. I caught the seller of this bike just as he was arriving at the swap and could pass on what he was asking for the bike.


I am a little curious about the story behind the fork he had on there, but the frame was a good fit, 105 parts spec and everything seemed sound.

My crosscheck keeps getting heavier and heavier as it gets more utilitarian. Racks and fenders and all that goodness adds up. It will be nice to have something that I can keep simple and ready to roll out some miles on without all the extra accessories on board.

Bike Club and Bike Locks

I received an email earlier this week informing me that there would be a Wednesday evening meeting for the local bike club. I moved to town over a year ago and I'm pretty sure the last bike club meeting took place about 6 months before I arrived. Not the most organized group of riders around here.

So I cleared my Wednesday evening schedule, scarfed a quick dinner with my wife and hopped on my bike to the meeting. I was hoping to meet a few local riders, sign some folks up for a polo emailing list, and enjoy watching the dysfunction of the small town cycling scene. I made it to the meeting location on time only to find no-one there. I double checked the address, then called my wife and asked her to double check the date. . . . sure enough, the meeting is next week.

No big deal, I'm prone to missing little details like this, so I adapted my evening game plan. I rode a couple blocks over to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I managed to remember everything on my mental list, then I ADDed around the store for a few minutes and picked up a couple of impulsive things. I checked out and paid for the groceries and opened my messenger bag to load up. That's when I noticed my bike lock sitting in the bottom of my bag, my heart sank. I hastily loaded my bag (I didn't even break any of the eggs in the process) and walked out to the parking lot. Thankfully my bike was still there. I suppose that is yet another perk of winter riding. When it is snowing and sloppy out bike thieves are a little less inclined to notice or steal your ride.

The ride home was lovely, a fresh layer of snow coated the town and I was extremely relieved to have a bike to ride home on. The moral of the story I guess is double check the dates of club meetings, and don't forget to lock up your bike.

-bike wrider