So on this snowy first day of March.......while awaiting yet an even bigger dump of snow later tonight, I just finished rehabbing a 1963 Raleigh Sports. Over a cup of tea I got to thinking..............At this time every year I angst for winter to be over, I can not wait to move on to the next season. March can be a very long month for me. (Yes, I know I live in New England and we can get snow 6 months of the year). With every weather forecast I hold my breath, hoping that the predicted winter weather system will go out to sea or head north. I truly love those first warm windy days of spring with all it means… new beginnings, growth, fresh starts, etc. etc.
It is similar for me with rehabbing a bicycle, a new beginning for something that may have been lying dormant for a winter season or for decades. I get to take a bicycle from a dormant state to something that will take someone, like a set of iron wings across the block, down the street on to where ever they want to go.
As with this 1963 Raleigh, the paint on most 40 something bicycles can be pretty tired but responds well to a good rub of wax and will look pretty darn good. Yet, what I find most remarkable is how well the chrome on these old bikes comes back to an original gleam. A few minutes of effort will remove all but the deepest rooted rust, which is not unlike tending next years grass or say my lavender plants. It is the coming warmth which they promises that brings out that gleam in people, just like a little elbow grease on chrome does.
I would really like to say "Bike Me" to winter…but apparently not just yet!
Ride like the warm winds of spring, soon I hope.
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