Here they are:
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| Parlee Z3c, Medium (54cm) |
This was actually my second Parlee Z3c. The first, I broke in half going into the final turn of the 2005 Collegiate National Championship criterium. Not cool. This is probably the best bike I've ever had. I sold it to finance my failed career as a rock drummer. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Note the marvelous brown extension cord in this photo.
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| 2004 Bianchi San Lorenzo (55cm) |
This bike, I didn't actually own. I demoed it when I was working at Kirkland Bikes in Kirkland, WA. Back then it was called Montlake Bikes in Kirkland, which, if you know anything about the geography of the Seattle area, makes no sense. Anyway, this bike was made of scandium at a time before Bianchi got all weird with their marketing jargon, and was really surprisingly smooth and stiff. A great bike. I almost bought one at the time, but instead, I got the Parlee. Behind it in this photo is my 2001 Trek 5200. Note Rose's hand bag and shoes, and my Interbike badge in this photo.
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| 2001 Custom-painted Trek 5200 (56cm) |
I got this bike in 2001 when I was working at Valley Bike and Sport in Little Chute, Wisconsin. It was originally painted with the U.S. Postal Service colors. That paint began to crack around the bottom bracket, so I got the paint warrantied. When I sent the bike to Trek, I taped a piece of paper on the seat stay that said, "Please paint Starry Night with grey 5200 decals." To my complete surprise, they found this piece of paper and painted the bike to my spec. So it ended up being the only 5200 of its kind. It lives on between the legs of a good friend of mine from high school. Notice my parent's spectacular basement decor and my collection of cassette tapes in this photo.
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| 2002 Trek 5500 (54cm) |
I owned this bike for like, a week. The summer of 2002, I worked for Trek in their Show Bikes division. If you're into bikes working for Trek, as one can imagine, has its benefits; one being mega discounts. Especially on close out bikes. I won't say what I paid for this bike, but it wasn't much. Problem was, at the time, I didn't think a 54cm was my size (I know better now), but it was all they had left. So, I bought the 54, swapped the DA parts and Bontrager Race-X-Lite wheels with the Ultegra parts and Rolf Vector Comp wheels from my 5200, and sold the 5500 with Ultegra parts for about $250 more than I paid for the 5500 to begin with. So, if you're doing the math here, I outfitted my 5200 with full DA and a brand new set of Bontrager Race-X-Lite wheels, and made $250 on the deal. Sweet.
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| 2003(?) Surly Pacer (54cm) |
This was actually one of my favorite all-time bikes. I got this bike to use as a commuter on my 20-miles-each-way commute when I lived in Seattle. I spec'd it out with full 105 components, and wheels I built from parts lying around the shop. Since it was Seattle, I put full-wrap fenders on it. Really, this bike exceeded all my expectations. It was just a 4130 Co-Mo frame that weighed something ridiculous, like, six pounds. But the ride quality was great! I ended up trading it for a set of stereo speakers. Come on. It's a Surly. I currently own a silver Pacer. Easy come, easy go. Note Rose's shoes and the rear wheel of her Specialized Sirrus, and my bicycle pump in this photo.
Not Pictured: a vintage-of-some-seventies-ish-era Motobecan made of Reynolds 531 steel. I got the frame from ebay and built it up as a single speed in 2003. I used a Surly rear hub and that thing went to shit in no time. Seriously. I love Surly's shit, but don't ever waist your hard-earned scratch one of their single-speed hubs. Complete tripe, they are. I tried to sell the bike on Craigslist in Bellingham by insulting hipsters with the description, but alas, no one bought it. I ended up leaving it behind in the shed behind the last house Rose and I rented in Bellingham. Sorry, landlord.
Ahhh, "Bikes of Yore." Of course, now I feel I need to do a "Bikes of Now" post to detail my current bikes...
