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FROM THE SUMMIT
The rims were warped, and heavy. They had that slime in the tube which just made more heavy. It was nicer after I washed it twice. It was blue and red, just like my riding shorts and FFBC jersey. Imagine this, here's this guy cruising along at a moderate clip wearing his colors, and riding a matching bike. They're probably thinking, he looks good. Let's check out his bike, bet he has a nice bike too. And then bam, he a riding a cheap department store Roadmaster! I was able to get it working pretty well. A can of spray grease, and a new shifter cable. The shifts were nice and crisp. The fit, was not so good. And rolling resistance, and the gears, not good. When I got over about 20 mph, then the slime in the tube would cause the bike to have this up and down motion, that would act to slow me down until the slime spread out. It leveled out about 20 minutes before the end of my ride. I rode that bike from Kihie to the end of the road at Le Perouse Bay and back every morning. A herd of white spotted deer crossed the road in front of me, it was beautiful, and thrilling. Deer don't run well on pavement, they tend to fish tail out of control. Only one other bicyclist passed me, and he was going fast. All others were going in the opposite direction. You can figure that any way you want, I have no explanation for it. I rode it down Haleakala volcano. I packed it in the car and we drove up. No way I was going to ride a fifty pounder up that hill. About twenty or thirty cyclists were heading up when we passed them going up. I passed all but one on the way down. They were still heading up. Coming down that road from the summit, you should have heard that sound the bike made when I used the rear brakes. It even made me wince. From then on even more of my braking was with the front. Coming down was a blast! I ended up in Makawao town feeling good. On the last day, my wife made a sign. It read something like this. “For sale $20. Works good.” I took the bike, lawn chair, book, and the sign down to the corner. I didn't even get to read a page when a car pulls up, and a man jumps out and hands me a $20 bill and rides the bike away. He said he needed a bike. If he plays his cards right maybe he can sell it for $30 next week. One last thing. If you have not paid your 2007 membership dues, please do so. Wynn Kageyama |
Our family spent this last Easter in Maui, Hawaii. I bought a mountain bike for ten dollars at a moving sale. It was the only bike I saw for sale that I could repair and ride for the remainder of the week and then be able to sell it fast when time to leave. It was a department store Roadmaster fifteen speed with a pipe steel frame, and heavy steel rims. It still sells new at K-Mart for something like $89.95 plus tax.