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| The original picture on e-Bay |
What a girlie thing to say, eh? And it's an overstatement, too. All I'm trying to announce is that I've finally been able to ride the blue Viscount Aerospace Sport, and damn it's a fine ride. I've also learned that 22" is the perfect size for me (I'm 1.72m); it feels comfortable and ... well, just right. Unfortunately it took a little longer than planned; I noticed that I had high hopes to ride on it two weeks back, but it was impossible since the wheels needed some serious work, meaning the tension needed to be released and basically go back to square one. Lucky me, since I'm working in a bike shop (voluntarily in exchange of
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| Yep, that's me, adjusting the brakes |
getting my bikes fixed under supervision and learning heaps along the way), and Noah has a tendency to do things perfect, so the 40-year-old wheels are now round and true, have new tubes and tires (fitted by me), and are dutifully carrying me around London.
We replaced all cables (the outer ones are temporary as I'm replacing them with white ones), front and rear brake pads and adjusted/bent the derailleurs back in place. Admittedly, I threw a temper tantrum because I couldn't set the front brakes--even with the third hand tool, I struggled and Noah had to take over. I did it wrongly, but that won't happen again. It's not rocket science, just showing my lack of experience. Funny enough, I can service most of his bikes almost by myself, but struggle with an old centre pull brake. It doesn't have a quick release Shawn has, which confused me. Now I know how to do it, and next time will be a doddle.
I then added (and tore! How the heck did I manage that?) the white handle bar tape with blue finish and the result looks smashing.
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| The bike's now road safe |
On Saturday, I'll be taking part in the Prudential ride, mainly to enjoy the lovely weather, cycle through London without cars, and I'll also meet up with another Viscount enthusiast as he's heard my slightly desperate call for some Sakae/SR dust caps for Shawn's and the blue bike's cranks. I'll be taking along the blue beauty to show the people of London what they're missing out by not riding a Viscount. I don't know, every single Viscount I've been riding (it's only been three since April) has been smooth and wonderful. To me they're the perfect bike and I love the fact that there aren't many around London--at least I hardly see anyone riding on one. All I see is Peugeot or Raleigh and you know what? It's makes me proud to be different!
