Meet Ol' Red

I was coming back from an errand the other day and noticed an old red bike at a garage sale on our street. I'd been toying with the idea of getting a more comfortable, purposefully slow bike to just cruise around on. A bike that didn't beg for cushiony shorts, special shoes or gloved hands. The kind of ride that, if I were a coffee drinker, I'd pedal on up to a table on the sidewalk at my favorite neighborhood cafe and sip a mochalattecino while reading the lastest hipster news from a mag that you're not cool enough to know about.

Never fancy, the bike appeared to have suffered mostly from neglect and the overuse of WD-40. There was a bit of rust and grease, some dents and a few blemishes on the paint. I made an offer, and wah-lah ... Ol' Red is mine. Or ours. My better half has already decided she enjoys riding it, too.

After a good scrubbing with car soap and a soppy SOS pad, a chain degreasing and relube with actual bicycle-chain lube, she was lookin' good. I did a quick wax to bring out the shine and help prevent a few of the paint dings from turning into rust. Unbelievably, the bike looks close to new. The sellers called it "an antique," but my guess is it's no more than 25 years old. I might see if the serial number and Google can shed light on that, but it's not important.

The ride is smooth, the steel frame demands taking your time, the white-wall balloon tires absorb the bumps. The fenders collect pebbles and puddles instead of flinging them at the rider. The upright riding position is at the same time more upright and relaxed. The saddle is a bit wide for me (I'm used to a more narrow, firmer perch), but it's OK for now. Would love to find a vintage chrome headlight and taillight to complete the retro-looking aesthetic. Maybe a few other fun touches (a cool sticker to disguise Red's Huffy lineage, chrome rack, etc.). This past weekend we already got our money's worth out of the bike, so spending a little more won't hurt too badly.

The moral to the story? Don't let a little rust or dust deter you from a good time. A bonus: this heavy beast is gonna help whip us into better shape!