I bought my Hillborne to be my "weekend" bike, well aware of Grant's words that it would quickly become my everyday bike. Too true. Two summers ago, I had the chance to ride from the Bay Area up to the Oregon/Washington border and back, and my Ultimate Touring Bike (Thorn with Rohloff hub) was still in the works, so I threw a large Wald basket on the front of the Hillborne and set off. A few times on the trip, the loaded basket swung around and gouged out a large scrape in the paint on the down tube - down to the bare metal. At first it bothered me quite a bit that I could let such a thing happen, but eventually I realized that this is part of what makes it MY bike, and not someone else's - every time I see that scrape I think of the joy of that trip. I wouldn't give up that month in the saddle for anything, and certainly not to undo the scratch. At a later point in time, a car trunk rack scraped off part of the seat tube label. Again, not a problem.
A few times a year I give the bike a thorough cleaning, and I finally used a sanding block on that scrape to chase the rust away, dabbed all the chips I could find with clear nail polish, and wrapped the area of the scrape with a ring of reflective tape so now if and when the basket spins around it hits tape instead of paint. Bottom line: I ride my Hillborne almost every day. The Ultimate Touring Bike eventually materialized, and I now use it for loaded tours, big shopping trips, and rainy weather. Otherwise it's the Hillborne. It's still beautiful and I still get unsolicited compliments on it. And when I'm RIDING it, the last thing I notice is the chips. What I notice is the comfortable riding position, the comfort and security of the huge tires, and my overall bliss at using this wonderful invention called the bicycle. Sure, you can ride a beater every day and save a nice bike for the weekends, but why not be in love with the bike that you put the most miles on? Getting over your fear of chips scrapes allows you to get the most out of your bike. As long as you keep the rust at bay, no harm done. I call it abeausage. Daniel M Berkeley, CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
