eric.k-@kingdesign.com

There is a bike that has been sitting in the corner all summer and fall,

collecting dust from sanding base trim, covered in cob webs and generally

all one gray color. What is that thing? Oh?it's my rain bike. Poor thing.

Through last winter I rode it in all kinds of weather?.well except sun and

when the great weather of summer came I set it against the wall . It has

been on break, safely secluded in the recesses of the bike shop in my garage

away from the sun. Packed into the furthest corner. I saw it wink at me a

couple weeks ago! I moved the 3 other bikes surrounding it and I pulled it

out of the corner. There were a thousand miles of ground down rim/brakepad

sludge all over it. I disassembled it with the greatest care, placing all of

the monochromatic parts in one box. It sure seems like there should be more

to a bike than this. I made up a nice sudsy bucket of warm water and started

washing every little last part. Every crevice, all the hidden and past over

areas. I laid those parts out in the last hot rays of sun to dry and get a

tan. The frame was cleaned intensely and I was amazed at how much of the

frames finish was dulled from simply riding in rain, at least the drain hole

I drilled into the bottom bracket was still clear. The frame was so bad that

I waxed it. I can't even believe I waxed one of my bikes and of all the ones

to wax I choose the rain bike. With everything cleaned and dry it was time

to judge what stays and what goes on e-bay. The wheels were junk. A

co-worker "tune-up" the thing earlier last year and put the wrong size

bearings in the hubs, now they are toast. Along with cracking rims it was

easy to decide to liquidate these wheels. It was a no brainer to trash the

chain, chainrings, cassette and derailleur. I got a new derailleur for my

fair weather flyer so used the old one on the rain bike. The rest of the

parts were acquired for as little cash as possible however they had to be

new or close to it. After I got all the replacement parts I started the

re-assembly, taking great amounts of time to get everything perfect, heck, I

don't want to have to work on it until next October! Every ball in the

headset was meticulously cleaned, all the threads of every bolt were cleaned

and greased and I even cleaned off the tires. I slowly built the bike up and

really began to admire it. It wasn't the junky old bike that I was so

thinking it was just a week ago. I put extreme care into wrapping bars,

cutting cable housing, lubing the internals of the shifters and carefully

putting the computer back on. I was waiting to get a new rear wheel and

finally landed the best deal ever on a cosmic pro (super heavy) rear wheel.

Friday night I got it all together and adjusted. Saturday was beautiful but

I missed a ride. Sunday was the day. I got ready and was happy to try out my

new bike (it looked new and had some new parts anyway). It looked like there

was a small chance the weather would turn crappy so I dressed for it. I left

the house and was happy that everything was adjusted correctly and working

smoothly. That clunky chunky grinding sound from last spring was gone. I

think I was perhaps a mile from home when it started raining. Like a woman

who is pregnant for the second time the reality of what's to come stirred

fear within me. Cold and wet feet. Glasses you can't see through anymore.

The perpetual snot running down your upper lip. Flying worms. Overheating

the climbs and freezing on the descents. Long forgotten memories of rain

riding came showering into my mind and that's when I realized how much fun

it is to smile while tasting the spray from the wheel in front of you. When

I got home and set my bike in the "current bike goes here spot" I noticed

the drip dry puddle stains from last year faintly below my new wheels. Have

you ever felt lycra tights as they glide over a waxed top tube? I suggest

trying it out.