Freeman
Dirt Disciple
A few years ago an old friend of mine pulled up in front of my house without notice, and unloaded this bike from the back of his van. He had bought it new about 1972 when he was a young man and used it to commute, a Fuji Special Racer. It had been in his attic for decades before he dropped it off, knowing I liked to ride bicycles a lot and that the bike was likely to fit me as we were about the same height. The tires crumbled in my hands to dust when I was taking them off the rims. I went over the bottom-bracket, wheel bearings and rear derailleur, whatever it needed to get it back on the road. It's leather saddle was quite hard but a soaking in mineral oil helped it. The bar tape was petrified, and I left it alone, as to me it showed the history of the bike and it's owner, along with all the scratches and oxidation of chrome, paint and alloy. One day I rode to his house on the bike and he happened to be home and was happy to see the bike again. He jumped onto it wearing nothing but socks on his feet and took off down the street. I have asked him more than once if he wanted the bike back to ride, but he was sure about giving it to me and has moved on to other things in life. I snapped this photo of him sitting on his old friend. P.S. One of the only changes he ever made to the bike while he owned it, was to put a closer-ratio set of gears in the back, which he said fit the terrain better which he had to ride back then, it also happens to fit the type of riding I usually do.
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