FamiLee Life

The Completist In Me (aka a recovering B.O.B.)

Well, after months of searching, I finally purchased my (hopefully) last bicycle - a 1991 Bridgestone RB-1 - that I found on ebay. This bike completes my set of Bridgestones, including a 1992 Bridgestone MB-3 and a 1993 Bridgestone XO-3. So, as my friend CC pointed out, I guess that this makes me a completist.

But it also reveals my past as a former (and I suppose current) B.O.B. (Bridgestone Owner's Bunch). I discovered Bridgestones by chance really back when I was starting graduate school at VCU. In college in the late 1980s, I rode around on a Trek 800 Antelope. It was a hybrid bicycle that served its purpose back then. By grad school, I had started to ride my bike on trails in the city parks. One time, I decided to jump off a dirt hill and wound up on the ground, having bent my cheap forks in a 45 degree angle. Ouch. It was time to go bicycle shopping. I went to a few bicycle shops and came across the MB-3 on sale. Liking the ride, feel, and look, I bought the bike and thus began a few intense years of mountain biking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And with this purchase, I learned about the history of Bridgestones via Grant Peterson's B.O.B. newsletters. A year or two later, I was able to buy the XO-3 by maxing out my credit card. It was a frivolous buy but well worth it. In subsequent years, I rode the XO-3 more than the MB-3, in part because I had stopped mountain biking.

Okay, enough of my past...the RB-1. I am following in the lead of Peter who also is a RB-1 owner. I've openly coveted his bike in recent months as we would ride around town on Wednesday nights. It awakened the dormant B.O.B. in me and I am glad it did. I feel excited again about bicycling. Thankfully too because I need the exercise and meditative benefits of bicycling.

Well, I am getting the RB-1 fixed up right now at Hiawatha Cyclery near the V.A. hospital in South Mpls. I heard about HC from a friend of a friend who owns a beautiful Rivendell Saluki (the fancier successor to Bridgestones, owned and operated by Grant P). HC is the only place in town to buy Rivendells (check the place out and support local businesses!). I walked into the store and explained to Jim (the owner) what I needed done on the bike. Being 15 years old, the RB-1 needed a new freewheel, chain, pedals, tires/tubes. He asked for my name to write down the order and said, "Oh, you're Rich L." Somehow he knew me. When I asked how he knew of me, he said, "I've read your blog." Too funny. Small world. I suspect it's because I've sometimes written about bicycles. So in return, check out Jim's HC blog where he sometimes lists sales. As for me, once the RB-1 is ready, look for me riding around town.