There has been a new twist in my riding lately. Shirley’s artistic pursuits have led her in some interesting if not unusual directions. Rust is one of her primary mediums. She has a rusting operation going on under our deck – if a piece of metal doesn’t have the good sense to rust naturally, she’ll help it along. As of late, I’ve facilitated this behavior by collecting rusty detritus encountered on my rides. There is a lot of that stuff and I stop and pick up pieces that will fit in one of my jersey pockets. The picture below is one of my recent finds. Last weekend, I saw a really large piece, too much to tote. So, upon returning home, we got in the car and took a ride in the country, recovering the artistically oxidized metal plate.
Rust is OK as art, but not on a bike chain. I clean my bikes regularly. When riding in the rain, as happened a week ago, the running gear gets particularly gritty and a good cleaning is necessary. The picture shows me hard at work on the Trek. The bike stand is a hand-me-down from Bill and the rolling bicycle shop on the left was a surprise from Shirley. I guess it takes a village to take care of a bike…as well as all of that homeless rust.
Progress since last Tuesday: 115.1 miles and 6,376 feet of climbing. Total for the year stands at 3,607.6 miles, leaving 1,392.4 miles to go for a 5K year.
3 comments:
What the heck are you wearing while derusting?
that was a really good, interesing post. and, please, respond to your public's questions on your blog by posting a comment yourself. will be checking back to see what you ARE wearing. actually, it looks like mom's old cordurouy (sp?) work apron. is it?
The outfit is actually a Craftsman shop apron over my biking clothes (I'd just returned frm a ride). Said outfit includes shower sandals over short biking socks.
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