My Pal, My Hero

Not long ago a conversation over a coffee planted a seed in my friend.  He had not been on a bicycle since he was a teen but now there was a spark in him, he was committing to the Tour Divide.  This is a race and an adventure that I would love to be a part of, but until or if I ever do, he is my hero.  He has made the investment in the training and the equipment.  He has purchased a one-way ticket (because he doesn't know where he'll end up finishing) and is getting increasingly nervous because he flies out next Wednesday.
I will be following him with his spot tracker all the way.  Look for him.  His name is JD Pauls. That's him in the red. 

He trains fully loaded - that's his full Tour Divide kit.  I am trying to convince him to shave his legs (when he wipes out he'll thank me, but he says he's not going to wipe out!)

We went on a really casual training run over the weekend.  In his short time on a bike his level of fitness is way above mine already (he knocks off hundreds of miles a week training) and he barely breaks a sweat compared to my 190 bpm red face (notice the sweat).
Good luck JD!

Interesting Vintage Bicycles

Lots of pictures coming here.  I'm simultaneously trying to research some of these bicycles but I could not see or read many of the makes/models.

First, here's a couple of shots just coming into Mr. Used.

Several thousand square feet of this!

Some kind of very old car under all that dust...

Now onto the bikes.  BTW if you see something you 'recognize' I'd love to hear about it.

Bicycle #1 - they had a sign on it reading "Goremost."  I found that intriguing but after a brief search I think that they must mean "Foremost" bicycles, which is a brand according to google, but not one I am familiar with.  It seems to have been associated with J.C. Penney.  Circa early 1960's?

Bicycle #2 - Kind of ticked off that these photos came out so blurry.  Wasn't using a flash on this bike and I should have been.  The result is that I cannot make out the brand.  I think it was "DNO" but it could be "DRO" or something else. In any case, it's quite something.  There's some sort of wire boat frame thing in front of it and I couldn't get another angle.

It folds in two places.

This is the hinge at the headtube.

You can clearly see the other hinge.

It has a generator headlight and some wild handlebars.

Bicycle #3 - This is a DelSol Bicycle.  Don't know anything more about them, but that's what the headtube badge says.  It utilizes a spring as a funky front shock.  The seatstays are nicely shaped as well.  A real work of craftsmanship, I'd suggest.

Bicycle #4 - This is a classic "CCM."  The headbadge is awesome.  Obviously this harkens back to the days when a license was necessary - it's posted under the saddle.  This one is a real comfort cruiser, and has some real history.  Sometimes you wish a bicycle could talk.

Even the pedals are original (I suppose, by the looks of them).

The arcing toptube is neeat.

The headbadge is a stylized "CCM"

If you look closely you can also make out the "CCM" on the chainring.

Some other interesting bicycles that were hung from the rafters.  Hard to get too many details from these.

This has a modern saddle so it must have been ridden within the last 20 years.

This last one is also a folder called a "SCOOMA."  I cannot find it anywhere on google, although I can find 'Skooma' but that's definately a 'c' and not a 'k.'

I wonder if its even possible to unfold this one!  Kind of reminds me of my back!

Anyhow, that's it for this post.  Again, I would love to hear comments and insights on these if you can identify anything or have stories to share.  Cheers.

Mr. Used

This is a place I love to go.  They'll buy just about anything from you, and their HUGE warehouse has just about anything you could want.

Here's a pic from another BLOG.  This is also who should get credit for the shot.

In any case, I discovered a cache of old bicycles in there.  Hadn't really noticed them before. 

I asked permission to photograph them and they said 'no prob.'  So I'll swing by soon and post what I saw.  They are mostly all well out of my depth in terms of the repair they need, but if you are into restoration you'll love this.

Stay tuned.

Wheel Building Advice

...make sure you begin with the correct spoke length.  This time, I did not.  After 4 attempts I realized my error.  Frustrating? Yes.  But I'm new to this and when I was at my breaking point I quit and cut the lawn.  I guess that'd be my second piece of advice.

Cheers