So Susan is languishing in the garage, swimming in a vat of WD40, in a hope the the final few components will loosen up. She's 26 years old, and very crunchy (which is a technical term for being stuck together like glue).
Despite being slow to come apart she's in pretty great nick. The bottom bracket is fine and dandy, and most of the chrome is only spotted with small rust patches which seem to polish out. And even though she's seen the world (or the inside of a few sheds) her paintwork is in rather nice order.
The worst damage is at the back of the carrier, which is riveted onto the frame. I was hoping to remove this, but with closer inspection it's pretty resilient and will go anywhere she goes. So instead of painting the whole thing - because I'm not forking out a fortune for a new paint job, and I'm not giving her a shonky home done one - I'm going to decal the hell out of her.
This was made possible by my lovely wife, who gives me a gift every day of advent in exchange for a stocking of presents which she opens as I drive her to the airport ahead of her Christmas trip home. This morning I received these stickers...
They are pretty, flipping brilliant, and I'm going to stick them all over Susan once she's back together. There is no reason not to embrace her late eighties styling, and maybe add some spokey dokeys to boot.
She is possibly going to be the kind of bike that only a mother can love... but heck, maybe it means she's less likely to get robbed so it's not all bad.
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