Two of my favorite hobbies are cooking and sewing. In both of those activities, you start by gathering your materials. That's where I am in terms of training for my triathlon. The race is not until August, so I have a ton of time, but I also have a ton of materials to gather and not a ton of money to work with. I hope that I will be able to buy a decent bike at some point during my training, but that is not an option at the moment. So, today I ventured into the back of my shed to rescue the barely-used Huffy that my parents bought me at Kmart for my high school graduation in 1997.
Pictured above is my exact bicycle, nicely cleaned and polished by somebody trying to sell it on Craigslist. Mine does not look like this. I put it in my shed when I bought my house in 2003 and never touched it again until today. Just getting it out of the shed was a challenge because it was wedged into the dirt floor. When I got it out into the daylight, I was concerned that it might not be usuable, as it was caked with dirt and more than a little rust. I don't have a hose nor any suitable cleaning products, so I wound up working on it with some Fantastik and a couple of dish rags. Shockingly, it worked! After about a half-hour of scrubbing, the original green color was actually gleaming through and I could see that the rust was not nearly as bad as I had thought. Both tires are flat, so I didn't get a chance to test it out, but I know plenty of people with air pumps, so I should be in business soon.
If I wind up having to ride this thing in the actual race, I think I'm going to play up the juvenile theme by attaching a basket, a horn, and some streamers. If you have a dog, walk it proudly!
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