My bike is finally complete

After almost two years, I finally had the finishing touch put on my bike yesterday: a mechanic at World of Bikes kindly installed a kickstand for me.

I bought the stand on Saturday and thought I could install it myself. It seemed simple enough: the screw goes through the mount crossing the chain stays and threads into the kickstand bracket. However, the kit did not come with a securing bolt and I did not have a socket and wrench combo small enough to work inside the confined space between the mount and front derailleur. (I was threading the screw down through the mount, not up through the kickstand.) After swallowing my pride and spending $5 and change for the labor, I finally had a kickstand.

(At first I thought the hardest thing about installing the kickstand would be cutting it. As it turned out, that was the only thing I was competent enough to do. Depending on how tall your bike is, the kickstand needs to be cut to allow the bike to lean. The same guy who installed the kickstand told me to measure the space between the lowest part of my bike and the ground, subtract five millimeters, and cut the stand at the appropriate marking provided. The lowest part of my bike is 270 mm from the ground, so I cut at the 265 mm mark with a hacksaw.)

For a long time I thought about getting a two-legged Pletscher kickstand. Though it looks really cool, and can double as a stand when doing maintenance or cleaning, it cost $45-$60 and are mainly used for bikes with loaded saddles and panniers. I bit the bullet and bought a Banjo Brothers pannier in May (which was worth every penny because I use it all the time) but do not load it with anything heavy enough to topple the bike. So I opted for the cheap, $9 Greenfield stand. It has done the job well so far — and just about matches the color of the frame.

So my bike is finally complete; it has everything I want. Now I need to strive to be a better owner. I got a tune-up last week so everything is working well (not that it was in bad shape before), and I learned how to properly shift gears (I realized I was cross-chaining, which is a big no-no). I need to lube the chain each week while I am riding it everyday, which is no problem.

Though I am still just a novice, riding around town for chores, RAGBRAI is in the back of my mind. I am obviously in no condition to go river-to-river, but I would like to ride a day. Not this year, but perhaps next. RAGBRAI has become a Hawkeye State institution and I think it behooves me to do it — the whole thing — at some point.