Big Ringin' It says goodbye to an old friend, and hello to a new old friend.

My eyes welled up as I watched a woman named Ali drive away with my awesome Masi Speciale CX.  I rode many thousands of miles on that bike and never hated a single minute of it.  Here is a picture of my ill-fated maiden voyage to Babler State Park for a percy camping trip:

A tight machine, very badly loaded by me.  It all fell out in traffic.  I lost some things...

Now, I have a new love in my life, a brand new 1995 Trek 950 Singletrack.  I sold the Masi because I wanted something that would get me across the world if I needed it to, or get me across town with Ari and Zev (due in mere weeks) in tow.  I needed something that was less aggressive and more easy going, but durable.  A steel frame in the general vicinity of mountain bike geometry was what I looked for.  After weeks of looking, I finally found an ad on CL for this new old stock beauty.

Stock, complete with bar-end handles or whatever.  Lame!  See ya.

The bike is light, and nice looking.  But the first thing I had to do was cover the decals with black tape of course, because I'm not a rolling billboard.  Nor do I give a frig what anyone thinks of my bike visually.

Decals=Lame IMO, so they get the black tape treatment.

Next order of business was to put my trusty Brooks B-17 on, strap a saddle bag underneath, and get comfy.

I believe this saddle is responsible for my continuing commitment to cycling.

But I was finding it hard to get comfy for real, so I had to replace those shitty stock straight handlebars with some trekking bars, which I got from Harris Cyclery.  For some reason, that feels like an accomplishment.

Trekking bars, equipped with new light and the bell in a creative place.  See it??

There it is!

I knew I wasn't going to be using tires that had been sitting in a box for 15 years, so I talked to my friend Dave G. at biketiresdirect.com, and he recommended the time tested Schwalbe Marathons.  They sell fenders too, so I got me some Planet Bike Cascadias, which look and feel solid.

Hello Mr. Schwalbert, hello Mr. Fendy.

Then, all I needed to do was add my rack, light, lock and my Burly trailer hitch, and I was ready to go.

Axiom Rack=I can carry drunk Ian home on it.=BOMBPROOF!

Put it all together, and what do you get?

A solid and stout world tourer, or a carrying-two-boys-in-a-trailer-commuter.

Initial testing indicates high levels of satisfaction with the trekking bars and the general geometry of the bike.  It will take some getting used to and some living in, and I'll soon replace the pedals and likely the drive train as well.  Hell, everything will be different by the time I am satisfied, but that will be a years' long endeavor.  For now, I think I have a good head start though.  I hope to see you on the MOCH!