Here’s part 2 in our series of bike trips around Madison GA. This week we’re going to Rutledge on a Schwinn Clairemont. We’re in the process of seeing what it will take to explore the area on bikes. We’re doing this for four reasons: 1. Healthy fun. 2. Get some bikes working. 3 Scope out bike trips for the guests, who we suppose will use the bikes. 4. Test the routes out to see how easy it is in case we need to at some point.
The Schwinn Clairemont, by the way, is “a vintage beach cruiser.” These bikes were made and sold in the early 1980’s and are considered much more durable than the current models.
The Route to Rutledge
Aw, we’ve written about this place a dozen times. On a bike, the strategic decision was made to take a left at the end of the driveway, ride the half mile uphill to Wilson Road, and take a left, and take another left on Dixie Highway. The whole trip might be five miles. The trip to Rutledge on a Schwinn Clairmont would not be straightforward.
The Bike
We’re using this classic Schwinn Clairemont, with the light blue paint and the little peacock feathers. Actually you can’t get this model anymore, but you can have a very similar one delivered to your doorstep for a few hundred dollars.
The new version doesn’t have the peacock feathers, and this new version lacks the seven speed shifter on the back which allows you to go up the hill easier.
Repair Job
Although it was claimed that this bike had been ridden recently, we beg to differ. The rear derailleur was frozen, there were some chain links frozen, and the little shifter knob was not functioning properly. But on the good side, the tires held air, the brakes were very good, and the pedals worked fine.
Bike Repair in General
We have something to say about this. Back in the stone age, every 12 year old male, and a lot of females, could do routine maintenance on a bike. I suppose, in theory, that in places like Holland they still do. But, when is the last time you saw anyone try to revive a bike like this in the USA?
The reason is that if a bike is being sold for $150, and it takes a couple of hours and a box of parts to fix, the bike shop will charge you that much to fix it.
What then happens is that the bike companies know this, they make bikes with complicated but fragile features (like that shifter knob) and they expect you to throw the whole bike away when you are done.
So what we’re talking about is disposable consumerism.
Since we are trying to resist that, it’s further motivation to get these old bikes working.
The Trip to Rutledge on a Schwinn Clairemont
It was a nice day but there was no tailwind. The fat tires look good on this thing leaned up against a tree, but they make it harder to ride. Plus this thing is heavy. A road bike would be much better.
The shifter situation got better as the bottom derailleur loosened up.
The ride took a half hour, probably, which was more pokey than on the Hybrid we rode last week.
The Bounty
We’re big into the Joseph Campbell Archetype, in which someone answers the call, and ventures out from her safe place, using some sort of vehicle. There are helpers, heroes, villains, and hallucinations, and in the end, the hero enjoys the bounty. Get it? Around here, the bounty can be simple but it is no less an adventure, especially when the vehicle is an old Schwinn.
First, it was Yesterday’s which was open Today, which is unusual. The feast was modest. Lunch was followed immediately by an ice water shower.
Then, it was the Caboose, so as to give love to Rutledge. Due to the global supply chain issues, only four varieties of ice cream were available, so the brownie was accompanied by Butter Pecan rather than the traditional Vanilla. Who knew that Vanilla comes from China.
The Trip Back
We’re not going to lie. It was by car. This version of Bike Trips around Madison GA, Rutledge Version, had proven its point, as the photos attest. We have a better understanding of the bike collection, and got some fresh air.
Do Over
Would we do this again? Well, we ordered some parts for this thing, and with a little negotiation, a properly functioning shifter will be installed at some point and we’ll try it again. The better trip for this one might be to haul it into town, and ride it up and down Dixie Avenue and look at all of the nice houses.
If we’re going to have enough bikes to use this as a means of transportation, we’re probably going to have to start accumulating some. So, if you’re reading this, and live around Madison, do us a favor and click us up if you have one of those bikes, with a seemingly minor problem, but don’t feel like repairing it. Rather than throw it, we’ll adopt it and give it a little love because we can. Wouldn’t it make you happy to see it around town, being used by a happy visitor?
Would we do the ice cream and brownie again? We’d have to go out on a limb and say that we would.
Side question: Where, exactly, would be the nearest person capable of “professionally” repairing a simple bike, if you wanted to pay money for such a thing? Athens is the most likely, maybe Covington. You never know when some bike repair skills will come in handy.
Hey, here is an idea. If you have a 12-year old that needs to learn some survival skills, we will have “bike repair camp” one of these days and we will get all of our disposable bikes working again. This is the sort of Human Scale project we’re interested in.
We’re Published Authors Now
Hey, have we told you lately that we’re published authors? We’re in pre-release of our latest book “Little Southern Towns, the Nickel Tour”. For readers of this blog, some of this content will be very familiar, but you can get the whole collection, lovingly published by the same people that will sell you that bike, by clicking down below.
www.fireflymadison.com/books
