Klunkin' As Promised

Wow, it looks like I'm getting back to sorta regular blogging.  Maybe.

So last week I had good intentions (and was pretty busy), but when I finally got ready to post something I just couldn't.  You see, we (our cycling community) lost a great man last week to a tragic accident.  Jeff Archer, the proprietor of First Flight Bicycles and the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology, lost his life to a drunk driver and I (like everyone else) was pretty broken up about it.  I didn't get all the way up to Statesville to visit as much as I wanted, but that didn't mean that hanging out there wasn't one of my favorite things to do.

Photo cred: Jonathan F.

Jeff has done so much for the local bike community, and he's the primary reason that we have a trail system in Lake Norman State Park.  He was one of the most knowledgeable and helpful people I've ever met too.  

Which brings me to my ride over the weekend...

Quite some time ago, my in-laws gave me an old Schwinn that had been sitting in a barn.  Instead of restoring it, I decided to turn it into a Klunker.  I went to see Jeff at First Flight because of his extensive knowledge about old bikes, and he ended up providing a set of modern wheels to get the thing rolling again.  He actually did a lot more than provide wheels though.  Click here to read it again.

So I've told that story before, but I probably forgot to mention one part:

The day I picked up the wheels, we chatted a bit about how I planned to use the bike.  I told him that it would mainly be a pub crawl bike, but that I intended to one day take it on some long, downhill gravel roads "like the old timers did."  He laughed (I can still hear him), and said he couldn't wait to hear all about it.  I promised him that I would, and that I'd probably be back in there for more parts when I did.  Unfortunately, he never got a chance to hear all about it because I kept chickening out.

That changed on Sunday.  

There was a memorial service for Jeff that day and I wanted to go to pay my respects.  I woke up and decided that I didn't want to be sad about this anymore and instead I would do something I promised him I would do.  I grabbed my nearly sixty year old bike and headed over to our little mountains to the East.

  

With the goal of riding fast on the downhills, I had to go up first:

It was high noon and nearly one hundred degrees.  I was on a bike that weighed probably fifty pounds, had a ridiculously hard gear, and might even break under my weight.  I was in for a long day.  While it may seem like a dumb idea trying to ride that contraption "like the old timers did", I was keeping a promise I'd made a few years ago.

It still meant something to me, even though now it was probably too late. 

Tomorrow, part two.  You know, the actual riding part.

Adventures Part Two

We rode bikes.  That’s how every good adventure should start (sometimes that’s the whole adventure.)  This was only the start, so we packed up and hit the road.  Since we were in the area, we decided to drop by a local store, grab some beer, and make a pit stop at First Flight Bikes.  If you bring beer they let you sit in there and drink it.

Little Miss Sunshine thinks that’s pretty damn cool.

They love beer in that place (especially when you bring enough to share.)  They even have a wall along the stairs (on the way up to the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology) that has beer ranked from worst to best.

The worst is obviously at the bottom.

What a cool shop.  I love stopping by there when I’m in town.  They are always happy to see me (again, because we brought beer), and you never know what you’ll find in there.

 

Old bikes.  Yes.  They haz.

  

We left outta there with no real plan other than grabbing some lunch.  Down some country roads, we found one of two remaining covered bridges here in North Carolina.  The other is out in the Uwharries, and yes, we’ve been there.

Anyway, this one is kinda cool too.

It’s just across the river in Catawba county, and I guess you should check it out if you’re in the area.  We kept going down the road and eventually ended up in downtown Hickory, where we found the Olde Hickory Tap Room.  We ate lunch, and of course I had some beer.

Death by Hops.  What a splendid way to die.

  

I guess that beer did something to me, since a little while later I was caught molesting some kind of German WWII gun.

Photo credit:  Little Miss Sunshine

Then we wandered around a bit more and found some ice cream in the middle of an industrial park.

And somehow ended up at DeFeet headquarters.  No one was there, but I still made my presence known.

I’m glad no one called the cops.

It was a fun time, and a nice way to spend a Saturday.  Bikes, beer, and a road trip.  Definitely a break from the norm.  

Bikes Are The Best

Remember my little project? If you’re too lazy to click on the link, I’ll remind you that I’ve been working on building my very own Klunker from a very old Schwinn bike that I found in a barn. I ordered some new wheels for it, and headed up to First Flight Bikes on Saturday to pick them up.


I know I’ve mentioned it before (I tend to repeat myself a lot), but First Flight is home to the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology, which houses a huge collection of all kinds of old bikes. You’re free to walk around and take it all in on your own, just be sure you don’t get sticky fingers and actually take something.

Anyway, I did wander around, and somehow ended up near the bathroom. Inside I found some cool shit (not literally, you sicko.) I saw some old advertisements from Schwinn hanging on the wall, one of which featuring the very same bike I just bought wheels for.

Back in the olden days this was a lot of money.


Since the wheels are newer, and the bike is uh, older, I was informed that I may have to do some modifications. The front hub was a little too wide to fit in the fork in its current configuration, and the rear hub wasn’t wide enough. That was an easy fix, so Jeff sent me down in the basement to dig through an old parts bin to find what I needed.


I didn’t even know they had a basement.

It was cold and dark down there, but luckily it didn’t take me long to find the nuts that I needed.

Even though I forgot the beer this time, I still got to hang around and shot the shit about old bikes and whatnot. I got some ideas on how I’ll make this old Klunker come to life, and I left outta there pretty excited. Jeff is always happy to share his knowledge about bikes and for that I am grateful. I said goodbye, packed up my shit, and headed back to the house to get busy on my project. I swapped the nuts around on the wheels, and immediately ran into another issue…


The axle on the old front wheel was a smaller diameter than the new wheel. I was warned that this might be the case, so I got out my tools to make that sumbitch fit.

A few minutes with the Dremel and I was ready to install the front wheel. It fit like a glove of course. The rear wheel was even easier, since I didn’t have to modify the frame.

Now I just have to order some Maxxis tires for it, find a seat (and seatpost) somewhere, and put everything together. I’ll be just like the guys in Klunkerz.

So rad.


I’ll be back tomorrow if I’m not snowed in. You know, because another round of winter weather is headed our way.

Not rad.

Keepin’ It Local

Sorry, but I’m going back a couple of days for this one.

In addition to a fun day on the bikes last Saturday, we spent a little bit of time in a couple of local shops.  On the way up to ride, we hopped off the interstate to pay a visit to The Cycle Path.  We all bought a few things to support the local economy (and Mark’s rocket habit), but for some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off the jar of Stan’s boogers.

Anyway, after our ride, we decided to pay a visit to our friend Jeff, owner of First Flight Bikes in historic downtown Statesville (right around the corner from Signal Hill.) 

Yeah, I’ve been there before, but that place is always worth a visit if you’re in the area because it’s also home to the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology.

Go check out the website, since I’ve already explained what it is in previous posts.

A few things have changed around there, so I got some new photos.  There’s all kinds of neat bike stuff to see.

Even if you visit there often, you’ll always see something you’ve never seen before.  On the way upstairs, a sticker strategically placed on the wall caught my eye.

The Beard and Mustache Club of NC?  I’ve never heard of such a thing.  Turns out that they are a thriving organization here in North Carolina that wants you to join them to “educate and empower the bearded, mustached, and those who appreciate facial hair.”

How awesome is that?

Way too awesome.  Maybe I should sign up.

Anyway, if you’re in the area, stop by to check out one of the most unique shops around.  You can show up with or without facial hair, but you should most definitely bring beer.

They even have some new southern glassware for you to pour it into.

Like A Museum, But Better

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of stopping by one of my favorite bike shops, First Flight Bicycles. Why is it one of my favorites? Well, besides having some pretty cool people manning the shop (yes Jeff and Wes, I’m talking about you), they have the best collection of vintage bikes I have ever seen. Oh yeah, they are a full service bike shop that can handle your every need too. I’ve talked about them before, but I can’t help but show them love every time I visit. Plus, they do a ton of stuff for our local mountain bike community and our local club.


I went in there for no particular reason other than to shoot the shit (although I did manage to pick up a crucial part for my 1X9 conversion.) There is always plenty of shit to shoot, so I spent most of my time in there talking to Jeff and Wes. Because of that I neglected to snap as many photos as I would have liked to. In between customer visits though, I took a few to share here:








I can’t get enough of that place, and I have to stop in there every time I’m in the area. Actually, it’s worth the drive no matter how far away you might be. Where are they? Well, you can find them at Center ST, Statesville, NC. Go there and check out the vintage bikes and chat for a while. They will be happy to have you. If for some reason you can’t make it, then you can check out the shop website (First Flight Bicycles), the museum (Mountain Bike Museum of Art and Technology), or Jeff’s articles in every issue of Dirt Rag. It’s still worth a visit in person, so get off your ass and go there.


I’ll be back tomorrow with some singlespeed stuff, weekend plans, and general randomness. Lucky you.