Just in time

Back on the saddle, just in time for it to get cold and crappy again. So far the rain we had this morning has been the worst, but Frankenbike has taken it all in stride. Taking a week off to fully recuperate gave me time to switch the wheels back out, so there's a workable chain line now to a hub that actually spins smoothly. Better yet, I fit the cheapo fenders on better just in time for today's wetness.

All in all not too shabby. I was actually toying with the idea of starting over from scratch on one of those Schwinn Cutters that came out this year and completely saying goodbye to Frankenbike. I had a craigslist ad already written:

"POS box-store schwinn varsity for sale. Single-speed converted, recently replaced bottom bracket, tons of miles. The single-speed cog alone was $20 new, so that's what I'm asking for the entire thing. I'll even put on a low-mileage michellin cross tire."

Oh the joy of abandoning my Frankenbike. But with the different wheel on and the armadillo holding up, I think it could actually last another winter if it had to. What the hell, I might hold onto it and try and paint it over the summer just to keep it as a project. If my standard of living really is going to drop, I might as well try to squeeze a little more life out of Frankenbike vs shelling out a couple of hundred for another bike to punish all winter. Thankfully, in a few weeks another winter will be months away and I won't have to think about it. Awesome.

Current beer-scale: 7.9