And Her Name is...

...I'm not exactly sure yet.

But I do know she is a girl. After a harrowing 1 hour drive from Monrovia to Mid-Wilshire, I arrived to this general area I've been around a bit for the past week. And as he walked my new bike over to my car and load it up into Danny, he said, "She's dirty." Which she was, and I didn't mind at all as once again Danny did not fail to hold what I needed to transport.

He wasn't lying about her being dirty. There were a few spiderwebs on her handlebars, and a bit of grass sticking to her spokes, and she had a general layer of dirt about her, as if she was kept outside. She's also a bit rusted, with the paint scratched from her bright teal paint. She's seen better days, with her front rim all bent and other dings and scratches about, but she's now mine.

I discovered she's a Women's 1971 Schwinn Collegiate, which I guess is appropriate her being a female bicycle even though that's also strange at the same time. I'm pretty sure the paint is her original color. Everything, including the rims, seem to be the original pieces, and it looks as though she's missing parts, such as reflectors, as well as a horn or light that can be housed on the handlebars. She's a 5 speed, and I haven't checked if the gears work well or not, or if the chain has scratched up the chain guard. She's a bit beat up and rusty, but she still looks pretty good, and with a little help, I'm sure she'll be a great bike.

As soon as I got home and settled in, I went to look up more information about fixing her up. It comes as no surprise there are a lot of communities, even the official Schwinn website hosts a great message board for Schwinn enthusiasts, which I spent some time on, just looking at pictures of what she would have looked like in her heyday, even though she's not too far off. Looking at all the pictures and reading all the info makes me want to restore her to her full glory, which would include fixing all the obvious problems, get the rust off, get some new, white walled tires, new paint, and of course, decals. I'd probably use that little space alloted for a light or a horn, which would be cool. I'm not sure how much it would cost, but I figure, since I didn't have to pay for the actual bike, she might be worth fixing up, since I'm already fixing her at all...but that may come at a later time.

I was knocked out when my roommate came home and discovered her in our laundry room, but she thought my bike's really pretty...first of all, she loves Schwinns, and she's also blue, which Nat loves, and she's got fenders, which Nat loves even more. I told Nat that my bike's not as cute as hers; a '72 Suburban 10-speed that's been taken care of so well with its old skool gear shifts, basket in the front and back, her original paint, and has been kept so well that the sticker of the store from where it first came from all the way in San Jose is still in tip-top shape. Nat simply stated that I just needed to add a basket, and my new girl will be just as cute as hers.

It's pretty fitting that I get the bike just as Spring hits, and the weather's warming up, and I hope once I get her fixed up and purty, I'll actually use her often! Natilie's even excited now that I have a bike, I can go along with a ride that's starting out at the Gold Line Chinatown station which isn't so far away. We'll see what comes of this endavor...