Bike Makeover #6: Practical is chic?

Sorry to be away so long, it's been one hell of a month. After my father had his crash, a month later he had himself a heart attack. They performed open-heart surgery last week, and I've been out in California since my last post, to give him a hug - gently.

Naturally, after all that he's got a new lease on life, a new mission, and a plan to ride his bike!

I tried to talk him into a new-old bike, but he loves his vintage Hard Rock, all 4,000 pounds of it. Here's the "before" photo, the bike in all its cracked-oxidized-plastic pie plate, biopace chainring, funny stem-routed brake cable glory:


Here's the "after", looking much more like a commuter bike with new grips, a bell, a basket, fenders, lock, rack, grocery pannier, and a tail light. I also lubricated the parts that needed it:


Here's the bike on my test ride across the airfield that is his commute. You can see that the mountain bike isn't a bad choice on this terrain.


Dad's briefcase is in the basket. This was essential as he wasn't going to court with a bike bag, and I knew that changing briefcases back and forth would keep him from using his bike. The bike is so large the 18" basket doesn't look as large as it really is. I tested the grocery rack on the dirt trails with a carton of OJ and a bottle of wine. That's going to work just fine.

Dad promises to update us when his sternum is healed and he starts riding. I can't wait!