My 1982 Schwinn Varsity

Ever since I had been working in downtown Boston I often thought it would be cool just to have a beater road bike. I figured I could go to NJ and get my old bike and convert it to a single speed or something. Well, the first time I recently lifted the bike I nearly pulled a muscle in my back. It turns out that my "Lightweight" Schwinn Varsity weighs 38 lbs. That's heavier than both my mountain bikes. logic and reasoning told me that if I really wanted a cheap, no frills, single speed, that I could get one real cheap on Craigslist.

Well I no longer work in downtown Boston and I never really would have spent the time, effort, and money to convert my Schwinn. So I moved on...

So much for moving on...

This past weekend I was visiting family at my father's house and I saw my bike hanging in the garage. I took it down and put air in the vintage Panaracer tires and took it out for a spin. The bike was filthy and had seen better days. However it rode solid. I imagine at 38 lbs. that the ride should feel solid.

I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. I am pretty sure I am not going to do anything major to it. I will definitely have to clean it. From there we'll see. I imagine that maybe this could be my winter bike while the expensive, shiny bike is on the trainer. Then maybe put the Schwinn on the trainer while the expensive, shiny bike is on the road in the warmer weather.

The bike has all original parts.

There isn't a quick release lever to be found! It still even has the bike shop sticker from where it was purchased.

It needs:

• new brakes,
• probably new tires.
• It could stand to have an upgraded seat post and seat.
• The pedals WILL be replaced!
  (I think I still have scar tissue where the original saw toothed pedals often hit me in the shins.)
• New handle bar tape (or no handlebar tape)
• New handlebars?
• and whatever breaks in the course of use...

38 lbs.! Maybe I should mount a tank turret on it ;-)

UPDATE: Project Schwinn

I've dedicated a section in my Amazon aStore to my Schwinn Project. I plan on listing an parts I find and use on my Schwinn there. I would like the tires but they seem to have been discontinued. Right now I just have some single speed conversion kits listed. NOTE: these aren't Schwinn specific.

Visit the Project Schwinn section on my aStore!

"Do The Test" British PSA

A cool bicycle awareness PSA from the UK.

Direct Link:

• DO THE TEST

Spring Training

I set my alarm to wake up at 4:45 AM this past weekend so I could get on my bike trainer. Yesterday it went off, and I rolled over and turned it off and then went back to sleep.

This morning it went off again. I almost went back to sleep. I got up and got on the bathroom scale. Then I went down into the basement and got on the bike. Nothing like a discouraging number on a scale to encourage one to do some exercise.

Phat Tuesday Ride

I received a notification via email (from The Cycling Site) that the Phat Tuesday Rides are starting up again.

So that's one less excuse for not getting out there riding ;-)

Bike Trainer

My youngest daughter decided to start crying at 4:30 this morning. Notice I didn't say wake up. Elizabeth has the unique ability to cry while she is still asleep. Really! Anyway, I got up and rubbed her back and that settled her down. I wasn't really going to get back to sleep myself and I was planning on hitting the bike trainer today anyway so I really have to thank my daughter for getting me up so I can work out :-)

Chris Carmichael's Weight-Loss Workout

I got up early enough to get on my bike trainer at 5:01 AM. I was able to push through and complete the full hour of Chris Carmichael's Weight-Loss Workout that I had mentioned in the previous post. Man did I sweat a lot. It felt good. Maybe next time I'll set up a fan.

Clif Bars

Normally after a decent bike ride I would wolf down a Clif Builder Bar. They are 270 Calories but have 20 grams of protein in them. They are great for post ride recovery and satisfying enough so that you don't undo all the hard work by pigging out. However, this morning, I decided to take a pass on it. I am trying to lose weight after all.

VH1

Side-note: Did you know that there are actual music videos on VH1 at 5:00 AM? Imagine that!

The Neglected Trainer

Off Season Training

I got back on the bike trainer today. I was awake at 4:45 AM and I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep just to wake up at 6:00 AM. What to do...

I ran out of excuses:

• My bike was set up in the trainer in the basement waiting for me and collecting dust.
• Sitting next to my bike were my bike shoes and a clean pair of socks.
• Also laid out were my indoor bike training clothes (an old pair of bike shorts and a very breathable athletic T-Shirt).
• Plus, I recently purchased a 16 ft. headphone extension cord so I could listen to the TV while I'm on the trainer (the TV is hard to hear while on the trainer and I don't want to wake up the family).

Also, I had broken down and printed out a spreadsheet of Chris Carmichael's Weight-Loss Workout that I read about in Bicycling Magazine.

Obviously, once a month on the trainer is not going to do me any good. Especially since I was only able to complete 34 minutes of this workout before I ran out of gas. However, I do feel real good this morning having done at least this much. Now I just have to keep it up. Spring is coming and I don't like feeling so slow at the beginning of the biking season.

Biking at my New Job

My boss at my new job here at Monster Worldwide is an avid biker. He actually used to race and occasionally commutes to work via bike from his home nearby. He mentioned that when the weather gets better there is sometimes a group of riders that head out for a ride at lunchtime. I am looking forward to bringing my bike to work and getting in a few lunchtime rides.

I'll need to spend some more time on the trainer so I don't embarass myself with my early season legs.

Sheldon Brown 1944 - 2008

A local bike legend passed away this weekend. I never met the man nor did I realize how well known he was in cycling circles. I stumbled upon his site [Harris Cyclery] when I was working in Downtown Boston and intrigued by all the single and fixed gear bikes all the messengers were riding. I was considering resurrecting my old Schwinn Varsity from my youth and making it a city bike that I could ride around during lunchtime. I never did do that.

I saw his picture and thought "There goes an odd bird..."

Anyway, the tributes are popping up across the blog sphere. A Google search will find many, however I just like to highlight a few:

• fixedgear
• Bike Snob NYC
• Bike Commute Tips Blog
• BikePortland.org

He was indeed well known and will be missed by even those who never met him...

A tribute blog has been set up where tributes and memorial rides and such can be posted.

• http://sheldonbrown.blogspot.com/

Short Winter Ride

Road Biking with the Mountain Bike

I dropped one daughter off at a birthday party, the other daughter was home napping. After a quick run to the bike store to get an inside the vehicle rack for my father, I had just enough time to sneak a ride in. With the road bike all clean and waxed and set up in the trainer, I wisely rode my mountain bike. I'm glad I did. I saw a lot of potholes, puddles, sand, and mud. I even saw a couple of other bikers out and about.

Speed was not a goal

Just getting out was the goal. My legs were ok, but the winter biking hiatus has definitely taken their toll. I only did 8 miles, but it was frigging *

NOTE:

"Frigging" is actually in Firefox's spell checking dictionary!

cold and windy and I had to get back in time to go pick up my daughter.

The goal is to get enough riding in before the spring so that I won't be so rusty when the weather gets nice...