Sold My Vintage Mixte.

I made the decision to sell my 1983 Centurion Le Mans Mixte (Rose). I just didn't have the time to devote to restoring her, and it was a shame to have her sitting in my garage collecting cobwebs. Sadly, I was in over my head. I had one session over at Bikerowave with the bike, and the more work I did, the more I realized how much work (and money, frankly) it was going to require. The wheels were dodgy and were probably going to need to be replaced. I tried to true them but it is apparently an art that I don't have a talent for. The cables and housing needed to be replaced, new tires, new chain, new brake pads, new saddle, etc. etc. It was just too much for me and I had to admit it.

I sold it to a gal who lives in Downtown LA who was going to fix it up for a friend of hers. That's a good friend! I wish her well and hopefully she will send me some pictures when she has it restored.  She seemed to know what she was doing, and I know she'll do a better job than I did!

Centurion Le Mans in Toronto.

When I was in Toronto last fall, it was my first trip there since I took up cycling. I couldn't believe how bikey Toronto is! I just never realized it before. I saw so many cool bikes including a lot of European style bikes and tons of vintage bikes. This Centurion Le Mans looks like it might be from the same era as my fixer upper (which I have yet to start fixing up). This looks like a very well-loved and well-used vintage bike!

CicLAvia Report Part 1 - People Watching.

CicLAvia was truly a dream. I still kind of can't believe it was real. The most common refrain I heard all day was "This is so cool." Variations included "This is so amazing," "This is so dope," "This is the best day ever," and "Can you believe we get to do this?"


Today's post will focus on some of the lovely people spotted at CicLAvia.

Spotted: Cosmo from Los Angels Cycle Chic - Making even baby wearing look chic!

I love this guy's jersey - is that a Mayan calendar?

A Bike Twin!

This lovely lady above told me her name and I'm sorry to say I've forgotten it. She has a rose-colored Centurian Le Mans Mixte very similar to mine! Hers, however, is in beautiful condition. Mine needs, ahem, a little work. We had a nice chat about the bikes and she said she'd look for my blog so I hope she's seeing this!

Check out her "Beer View Mirror." How cute is that?!

Cycle Chic Perfection!

How cute is this girl? Check out how her little owl bag matches her olive green Biria bike. And those little yellow flats? Amazing. I'd never heard of these bikes before. It seems like it's a really reasonably-priced, cute city bike. The guy standing behind her is awesome too.

Diagnosing Rose.

You may remember a while back I posted that I bought a vintage mixte to restore. I haven't posted anything about it since because, well, it's been sitting in my garage. I promised myself that I'd take care of a few more pressing matters in my life (like finishing two years of back taxes) before starting on this project. Well today I took the first step in getting it started. We took the bike (which I've named Rose) over to Bikerowave to see what kind of shape she's really in. My plan is to get the bike in working order while spending as little money as possible. I'd like to ride it for a while and evaluate it before spending a bunch of money on replacing components. The one thing I plan on splurging on, though, is a Brooks saddle. My reasoning here is that I can always use the saddle on another bike, and it'll last me a lifetime.

Over the next few weeks I'll post some pictures of the "before" state of the bike. Here's a teaser:

Photo Credit: Omar Gonzalez

The diagnosis from a very helpful volunteer at Bikerowave (Ryan) is that the bike is in pretty decent shape over all. It will need new tires, new cables and housing, new brake pads, and possibly a new chain. I also plan on doing quite a bit of cosmetic cleaning. They carry pretty much everything I need at Bikerowave, so the whole thing should be pretty painless and not too expensive. I can't wait to get started!

Oops!... I did It Again!

I bought another bike!  I've been looking for a vintage mixte that is a bit of a fixer upper. I'd like to repair it, replace some components, and generally use it as a training ground to learn about bicycle repair and maintenance. After months of browsing Craigslist, I came across this beauty last night. Tonight after work I took the plunge and drove 70 miles (each way) to get it. I don't know much about it yet except that it's a Centurion LeMans - maybe from the early 80's? I'll post more pictures and close ups this weekend. I'll be posting updates as I fix her up!

Her name is Rose. :) Had her for two hours now.