Saying Goodbye


My bike is dying. I bought it off a co-worker for $400 about 15 years ago. He'd used it as a commuter for about 10 years leaving it in the rain and riding through snow. An unidentifiable creak has become a part of my morning and afternoon rides. Everything is tight through the drivetrain, chainring, crank and bottom bracket, but this strange sound, almost a moan, comes from the frame. I've never heard it from a friend's bike or any that have landed in the shop. I'm pretty sure the frame is rusted through and will soon fold in half underneath me while I'm sitting at a traffic light. But I want this machine and friend that has served me so well to go out in a blaze of glory. My top idea right now is to take on vacation to Hawaii and ride it off a pier that's 20 feet over the water at top speed, then just swim to shore and leave the bike as an artificial reef. I just need to figure out how to do it without burning my legs since, obviously, the bike will be on fire while I'm riding it off the pier.

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