My new bike!

Crazy weekend. I finally managed to get the seized seat-post out of the old GT Palomar frame this past Sunday. All other methods having failed, I resorted to Sheldon's cut method. 6 hours of hard labour later I'd got it out. The feeling of achievement was sensational.
But we were due to get to my Darling's birthday picnic in an hour, and I really wanted to get the bike going so, after discovering that a spare 27.2mm seat-post I had lying around wouldn't fit, I popped out to raid the local stores for a 26.8mm post.

That sorted, we realised there was no way we'd get all we needed to take to the picnic in a pannier and backpacks, so the trailer was hitched to The Pig, and it was off to Hyde Park, fighting the gears that simply needed a good deal of attention.

Sunday night, mellow from a few beers, I raided my box of tricks for a new gear cable and got the drivetrain running sweetly. The Palomar was a fairly low end model, so the running gear is cheap pressed steel Shimano 7-speed; but it does amaze me how sweetly it works, specially given how little attention it needed and how much neglect it has had.

I've been riding it all week on the commute. I've discovered that the right crank arm is bent, and that riding on flat pedals is no fun at all. But that aside, it is a barrel of laughs. It reminds me so much of how I felt riding my BMX; it is just such simple fun. Plus, competition on the commute is so much more fun on something slower - there are so many more other commuters to race!

I'm determined to resist the urge to upgrade, but will allow myself a new crankset and a pair of Eggbeaters. And maybe some new grips...