Just in time for winter…

I take back everything I said about the first winter gale being just around the corner… it’s here already I think as I watch bands of horizontal rain sweeping by in the gloom-scape beyond my window. I suppose we’ve been lucky though, it seems much of the rest of the country is underwater. I did feel very guilty on Friday evening having come in from a ride in glorious sunshine to see the news on TV and watch the rest of the country drowning while thousands of motorists unknowingly headed towards a stationary night on the M5.

I guess with all this rain the return of my winter bike frame from the workshop is rather timely. I’m rather pleased, it looks better than it did when new (pic below) and with the extra braze-ons will build back up into an even more solid winter trainer. It has brought an unexpected dilemma however, the new paint looks so good I shall struggle to be satisfied with rebuilding it with the same tatty and well worn parts I removed a few weeks ago. Hmmm, expensive business is bike snobbery. Sadly fleabay can no longer be relied upon as a source of cheap parts as legions of fools bid anything even remotely decent up to prices beyond the regular retail price. Just as an example I recently picked up a few spare Campagnolo seatpost binder bolts for £2 each, kept the one I wanted and sold the rest on for prices ranging from £9 to £11. Sadly though I cannot see a future where I can pay my mortgage by selling second hand bolts to muppets with itchy mouse fingers.