[otto_kretschmer]

I retired and moved back to Arizona from a 18 year stint in California. I turned 56 not that long ago and I've been twiddling my thumbs since I moved back home. I started to go over to my sister's house every morning to walk the dog with her. It was a way to get out of bed and start my day since I no longer have to get up at 3:00 and do a 112 mile commute. We walk 2 1/2 miles and it definitely helps.

I was thinking about the El Tour de Tucson. Its a 100+ mile fund raising bike ride held in November. I did it once in college and once right after when I was working at the local bomb factory. The last time I rode it was at least 25 years ago.

I bought a Cannondale road bike around 1988 when I was in the Navy. I rode it on both Tours but it hanged on the wall of my garage the entire time I was in California. Sunday I pumped up the tires and rode it up and down my street. There is no way I can do a hundred miles on the bike the way it is now. The bike was too small for me when I bought it but when your young you can adapt to it. I will have to make some changes.

option 1: Tweak the Cannondale with mountain bike bars. Bring the bars back and up 4 inches and it probably will be comfortable enough to ride.

option 2: Build a "new" bike from a vintage steel frame and parts I can find on Craigslist.

option 3: Buy a new bike off the rack or maybe have one custom built.

I want to start riding over to my sister's for the dog walk. Its a 9 mile round trip to add to the 2 1/2 mile walk. There is lots of time to get ready for the Tour in November.

I decided to take option 1 and 2. I can't touch my 401k for another 3 1/2 years so I have to be careful with my spending so no new cars, motorcycles or Rolexs.

I was browsing Ebay and I found a vintage Andy Gilmour frame for sale. It is a 26" frame and thats about 66 cm. My Cannondale is 59 cm so the top tube of the Gilmour is about 2" taller than my Cannondale. My inseam is 84 cm so the Gilmour should fit me.

Andy Gilmour is a local bike builder. He moved to Arizona from Scotland, maybe in the late 60s and may still be building bikes. My sister used to race bikes in the early 70s and she had Gilmour build a bike for her. The Gilmour bike is going to be a bit of a Frankenbike. I'm just going to scrounge used parts off of Craigslist. It's a vintage frame so I don't think many new parts will work on it and there are lots of good vintage parts out there.

If the Gilmour bike doesn't work out I'll just hang it above my fireplace as art and I'll probably move on to option 3.