So when I’m not freaking out about quitting a full time career, I like to obsessively focus on a variety of hobbies. My latest project has been getting a vintage bike. I found this lovely ‘72 Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe on eBay for a pretty great price in the nearby locale of Baltimore. I picked it up in person with only minor obstacles along the way, such as forgetting there’s a toll on 95 North into Baltimore and having to pay nearly entirely with pennies. As a side note, toll booth operators don’t have a great sense of humor about situations like that.

In any case, the bike turned out to be not such a fantastic deal upon further inspection as it was un-ridable. But, like I said, I like to obsessively get into hobbies, and this was the perfect opportunity to learn the ins and outs of bikes and blow a lot of money I probably should be saving on vintage replacement parts. 2 tires, 1 chain, 4 cables and housing sets, 1 set of brakes, 1 rear dérailleur, 1 seat, 1 rear axle, 18ish bearings, new grip tape, and hours and hours of trial and error later and I present to you, my new bike:

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seat and high-rise handlebars. I had ridden bicycles as a kid, as most kids do, and I. particularly remember loving a blue Schwinn Stingray with a banana. That bike had one fixed gear and a. chainguard, designed to keep the grease of the chain off your. I say “wideish” because they were not as narrow as. racing tires, nor were they as wide as tires found on cross. bike, a 10-speed Raleigh. on our bikes for hours — when we rode over a highway on an. overpass. I rode that bike all over Naperville, where I grew up, and. That was before we became “serious” cyclists and the bikes. including six in the rear and three in the front, which included a. small “granny” gear, great for climbing hills. Some 25 years ago, when Joni and I lived in a small house in. Berryessa Estates, we both bought Univega bicycles from St. Helena. I remember one bicycle ride we took — it seemed like we were. My Dad had one, too, and we would go. riding together on the weekends — at least when he wasn’t playing. “wideish” tires. about living in Berryessa Estates is that it’s not flat.

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