Wow, it's been a while!

How time flies! We're here in middle of May already, and I didn't realize that I haven't updated this blog! Mind you, I have been reading all of yours, as they're absolutely more interesting than mine. Like many of you, I'm still waiting for rain to stop and the sun to shine, so I can really start riding my bikes! Yes, I have rode a few times in the rain despite...it is Vancouver after all.

Since the last post, I did acquire a couple more bikes! Don't tell my strata council, but the bike room I use, is almost full....of MY bikes. Don't worry, there are still plenty of other empty bike rooms that other tenants can use. I've been called a bike hoarder by my other half & co-workers, but I like to see myself as a collector or hobbyist! I'm not really emotionally attached to all my bikes, well, maybe just 1 or 2 of them. I can prove I'm not attached, as I'll even list one here that is for sale!

Anyways, onto the ad... It's a blue Free Spirit 12 speed, with brand new aluminum wheels/tires to replace the old steel wheels that were originally on there. Recently tuned, so it shifts and brakes well. Should fit any lady 5'-0"- 5-4" roughly. If you or know of any lady who would like to see it, leave me a reply or send me an email (dcee604@gmail.com). The bike is located at my parent's place in North Burnaby. Price wise, offer me what you feel is fair, I want to this bike to go to a good home!

Chrome is still nice and shiny!

Another Bridgestone!

Hmm, I just had to post this. Recently, I acquired a pretty rare Bridgestone bike (The WildWest posted earlier)...guess what? I got another rare Bridgestone! Consider myself lucky? Some history on the bike. This one belonged to my co-worker's wife. He brought it to work, hoping that I would work on it for him. Someone had apparently kicked it in, and the tires were flat.

Well, I finally had the time to haul it home and give it some attention. His wife no longer wanted it inside their apartment apparently. Much to my horror, it had 22" tires! No wonder my co-worker didn't want to touch it! lol... After some searching, I did manage to track down some 22" tubes. I was going to buy 24" tubes, and it would have worked, but I lucked out! (Thanks Bike Doctor on Broadway!). Changing the front tire was pretty simple, as it was just removing the basket and the wheel from the fork. But the rear wheel? OH MY...everything is attached to the single bolt, the fender, the rack, the kickstand, the chainguard...I had to remove everything before I could remove the tire and install the new tube!

Fast forward, I finished putting it back together and told him the bike was ready. He then told me, he didn't want it back! Well, score for me, as it's perfectly suited for my Mom! We've been looking for a bike that fits my Mom (she's quite small). I 1st bought her a small adult mountain bike. Too big. Then, I brought home a vintage cruiser with 24" wheels. Still too big! She was eyeing one of my BMX's by this point...I was like, um, uh, no...


So, this bike is also from Japan. Looks like a child's bike actually. It's called a Bridgestone Kal-Tec.I don't think it was ever sold in North America, so someone must have brought it over with them. It's in pretty mint condition still too. It's pretty unique, as it's got a rear drum brake!Okay, onto the photos!


This is my lovely lady-friend posing with the bike.


See how small the bike is?




















This is what it says on the Chain Guard: "KALTEC leading the play star of the game"
Gotta love those obscure Japanese phrases!










On the seat tube, it reads, "the record breaker, Everyone's Hero!" Indeed!




And here's the final shot, the rear drum brake!

If anyone has any more info on this bike, I'd love to hear from you!

Happy New Year!

Okay, so I'm almost 2 weeks late, but I do wish everyone a great 2011!

I had all intentions of riding my Bridgestone to work this morning, as it's all tuned up now and ready to roll! But of course, when I woke up this morning, it was just pouring down outside my window... Yes, I'm more of a fair weather rider. I use to be an all-weather rider, but I've grown somewhat 'wimpy'!

I still haven't gone through all my bikes I own (or previously owned), so here's another!

This is a 2004 or 2005 Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike. I really liked this bike, but unfortunately, I sold it a couple years ago! I do regret it! It was quite rare as well, since I've only seen one other one in this particular colour (like a mustard colour). And yes, I kept this one inside my apartment, for fear of someone taking it from the bike room.

And here's another Kona that I use to own. It's a Kona Unit, from around 2002? It's a single-speed mountain bike. This one was quite rare as well, and I haven't seen any other one around the city. Again, I sold this one...with regrets now! This bike was really fun just to take out ride around, no gears to mess with, no squeaky brakes...just ride! Oh why did I sell these Kona's...

Going thru withdrawal from biking nowadays! I thought about biking tomorrow to work, but opting to ride the skytrain instead. Oh well, at least I'm saving some gas.

Here's another bike I use to own. Sold it to a very nice lady during the past summer.

It's a Kona Hahanna mountain bike, probably from around 1999. Nothing too special about this bike, rigid forks, etc, etc...but I had always wanted to own a Kona. Now, I don't own any Kona's! Maybe in my future though.

Ahh, it's been a while! Haven't had too many riding days, and I sure do miss it! The weather here in Vancouver has been freezing, with some snow and ice on the ground, so I don't feel too safe about riding. Can't wait till it clears up.

Since my last post, I did acquire 2 more bikes though, so that's pretty exciting! Yes, I'm running out of space again, think my total number of bikes currently sits around 14. However, that includes some incomplete bikes awaiting parts (so they don't really count, do they??)

Got myself a 1981 Huffy Pro Thunder BMX (that I'm currently restoring) and a late 80's/early 90's Bridgestone Wildwest mountain bike.


The Huffy BMX. Well, it's not much to look at now.... There was quite a bit of rust on it, and I'm trying to find a set of period correct BMX wheels. We'll see how that goes.

And here's the Bridgestone WildWest mountain bike. What's cool about this one is, it very well might be the only one in Canada! From my research, it was strictly made for the Asian market in Japan. Go figure, with a model name of Wildwest.

There is a small sticker from a bike shop on the tube, from Singapore, so I guess someone at one time imported it over to Canada. As with all Bridgestone's, it was spec'd with good components for it's time. All Shimano Deore LX & DX parts, and Ritchey alloy rims. Sure, it's not in mint condition, but in decent shape. It is missing a bar end & handlebar grip, which I will be replacing soon. I'm really proud to have this bike, and the best part about it is, I got it for FREE!
No, I don't think I'll be reselling this one anytime soon, just because of it's rarity factor. If you know anymore information about it, please educate me!

TGIF, and possibly a New Bike Day?

The work week is finally over. Everyone loves Friday no? Especially Fridays that are pay days!

And tonight, I'm going to take a look at another bike I may potentially buy... till then, here's a few more photos of the bikes I currently own, or have owned at one time.

1983 Apollo Kuwahara BMX. Restored this rusty bike from the scrap pile, and gave it to a good friend of mine as his birthday present. He loves it!

Does anyone know what this is? I think it was only ever popular in Canada. This is the 1st brand new mountain bike that I bought back in the day. I believe it's a late 90's model, BRC Litespeed. BRC is now defunct, but you'd see them all over the streets of Vancouver back then. It stood for Bike Rider's Choice. My bike is in very good shape still, as I hardly rode it.

2003 (or so) Brodie Rocket full suspension mountain bike. Picked this one earlier this year at a local police auction, just because I loved the way that it looked! It rides pretty good too.

Okay, that's enough for now, everyone have a good weekend, and get out there and ride! Will post more soon!