Nostalgia

      Life is funny, this bike came my way because the son of the man who fixed it up considered it too old. I considered myself very fortunate to find it. Alaska is not a haven for old bicycles so this '86 Le Tour sparked a sense of nostalgia in me.  It made me realize that nostalgia is relative, whereas for me this bike is a classic to the young man it was fixed for thought it was junk. Lucky me. It has in fact brought back many memories of my other bicycles; A girls bicycle which, at the time, was so big my vision bobbed above and below the handlebars! My first new bike was a firestone 500 that served me well, delivering papers seven days a week for years. When we moved to Alaska there was no room for it. My next bike was a '71 Schwinn Continental complete with water bottle. My good friend Scott had bought one as well and our highlight was riding around the village of Nenana drinking Boones Farm strawberry ripple waiting for the sun to set, it never did. In "85 when my son Rusty was born I purchased a new Trek 460 and when I was in the fitness mood rode many miles on that bike. After it died ( didn't know much about working on bikes then) it was a couple of years before my next bike, a Kona Lava dome which I still have. Now I have the Kona, a Trek 520, and a hand built Lemond. This winter in Thailand I plan to travel by bicycle to various temples so the Anchorage trip will be a nice start to cycle touring. The Le Tour will go to Thailand and be my main recreational ride.. Here is a picture before sanding and repainting.

About 6 hours of sanding and it is ready for painting: