Pinkie's Bike

I think I've introduced you in past posts to my trashy, eccentric alter-ego, "Pinkie", haven't I?  She's older and fatter than I am and loves pink and florals and old junk.  She gets me into LOTS of trouble (all of which is all HER fault, of course)!

Ever since they put the new bike trail in in Fayetteville (and, very thoughtfully, ran it just a block from my house!), Pinkie and I have had a fantasy about riding a bike to work and then swinging by the grocery store on the way home. 

Recently, via a friend of a friend, we were the lucky beneficiaries of two bicycles that were headed for the trash. 

This one is Sara-Grace's.  All it needed was to have the fender bent away from the chain.



And this one is mine... er, Pinkie's!

It looks pretty good in this photo but, in actuality, it had a LOT of rust on the blue paint and looked pretty crappy.  Thus, a new coat of paint was a must. The wheels and fenders have rust too but Mark says I can shine them up with paint thinner.  We'll see!

The chain was also a victim of rust and was more locked up than not.  Someone made off with my WD40 (Grrrrrrr...) and I wanted a little instant gratification so I soaked the chain in bacon grease that was loitering in the kitchen waiting for me to get around to washing that greasy pot.  

Alas, there was no instant gratification to be had, but, after several days of soaking via this "Arkansas engineering" method, along with a lot of work with two pair of pliers, the chain is now moving freely.

Then I got out the spray paint.  My original impulse was to paint it pink.  But then I chickened out.  I decided to go for a safe, classic black (the darned photo didn't take!).  Before it was even half painted, it was clear that black made it look sinister somehow.  This gave me the courage to go back to PINK!  AND I LOVE IT! Now, every time we come home, I tell Mark, "Look at my wonderful pink bike!"  ...like it's the first time I've said that instead of the 12th!

Kinda wishing I hadn't taken the photo with projects strung out in the background! 
It looks like the trashy hoarder house in this photo!



Pinkie is delighted about the pink turn of events!  She and I are currently looking for just the right fabric to cover the seat with and also for a wicker basket for the handlebars.  We went to the bicycle department at Walmart where we discovered that we could easily go nuts and spent a hundred dollars plus on accessories and gadgets for the bike: $20 for a seat, $20 for a basket, $20 for another basket, $10 for a light, $10 for another light, $20 for new pedals (which it doesn't need), $20 for a tire pump that rides around with you, $5 for a bell, etc, etc.  We decided to go home and "freesourcefull it".  Which is slower.  But more satisfying.  And definitely cheaper!

Stay tuned for the finished product. I just couldn't resist giving a sneak peak! 

I'm so excited to ride town around on my silly giant pink tricyle!  With lots of groceries in back!  I'll be "that crazy lady who rides around on the pink tricycle" and all the kids in town will think I'm really weird!  I can't wait!

The other thing about the pink is that it reduces by at least 50% (boys -- and probably by a higher percentage if you add to the boys all the girls who don't want to look silly!) the number of people who are going to want to borrow my tricycle!