Let me start by saying that I am not a hardcore cyclist. I wish I was, but I am too skittish riding in traffic to ride a bicycle as much as I would like. I recently moved to Portland, OR where there are bike lanes everywhere and, for the most part, it is a very bicycle friendly city. That is, of course, with the exception of the boobs who ride around in their monster trucks or SUV's yelling obscenities and pedal-mashing out of impatience and misguided anger. But as of yet, I have not been able to get used to being assertive enough to consider myself and my bicycle as part of vehicle traffic. This is really unfortunate because I have a bicycle that I absolutely love.
My bike is a 1980's Peugeot Bordeaux with a steel frame. A friend found the bike on Craigslist and pointed it out to me. I was a bit hesitant at first, but when I actually saw the bike, it was love at first sight. It was definitely my bicycle. I paid $60 and it was money well spent.
I don't know much about bicycle parts and repair (though I am learning) so my friend, Wayne, helped me pick out and install new parts for my bicycle. It has a been a lot of fun seeing the transition from the old Peugeot to the new Peugeot. We cleaned the frame and put on new Tektro R730 Long Reach road calipers, Cane Creek SCR-5C compact brake levers, a Formula Xero-Lite XR-4 road wheelset, SRAM PG-950 9 speed cassette, tires, and a new chain. I also splurged a little bit and put on a gold Nokon road cabling system. The bike looks gorgeous and I don't regret the extra expense.
This was a fun project for me and quite the learning experience. There is nothing more satisfying than taking something that looks, old, run-down, dirty, and making it new again. I'm glad to have found this bike because it has many riding years left (probably more than I do). It rides like a dream and fits me perfectly. Once I get comfortable riding in traffic, I plan on riding it much more. Until then, it sits on its rack in my apartment where I look at it fondly and admire the beautiful engineering of the bicycle.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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2 comments:
I had this exact somae bike in the mid 1980's. It was when I was about 15 or 16. I rode everywhere. We did not have bike computers back then, but I would be willing to bet we rode 50 to 100 miles every day during the summer. I had aspirations of becoming a professional cyclist...untul I was overcome with traditional high school sports, girls and getting into college.
I often regret giving cycling up. i have recently gotten back into the sport. I purchased a new bike (way more advanced than the old bordeaux, but somehow missing that certain something)
Seeing your pictures brought back alot of memories. Good luck to you. I certainly hope you get that incredible bike off the rack and onto the road soon.
The old Peugeot is a special bike and definitely has a certain something. I am so glad you took some enjoyment from checking out this bike. Thank you so much for the great comment - I'm glad it brought back some good memories for you.
Congratulations for getting back into cycling - what an awesome sport!
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