Zen and Bicycle Repair

So I finally got my bicycle back from a friend who had it due to a series of strange events, but I must say that I am thrilled. My original bike was stolen and almost completely trashed due to being ridden in some sub-zero temperatures, and much harder than any Sport-Chek bike should be. I used to race BMX, so I'm pretty good at riding in a reckless manner, and I am sure that lead to the death of the bike. However the thief now has a broken bike.

I however decided to try and balance some karma by stealing a bike from the university that had been tagged as "In violation of bicycle parking", and was long abandoned. I later found out the bicycle belonged to a friend of mine, and she gladly allowed me to steal it. Here is a picture of the bicycle in all it's glory.

I took off the front and rear fenders, as well as the back brake. The back brake was broken, and the fenders were rubbing. As well, it looks much cleaner now. So I am going to do some upgrades to make this the coolest thing ever:
-Get a new seat; The current one is horrendous.
-New pedals; The current ones are probably older than me.
Remove the chain guard; It's ugly and I never wear baggy pants anymore.
-Make it a Fixie?

The reason for the question mark is the fact that riding a fixed gear bicycle can be extremely dangerous if not taken seriously. However, it is apparently very rewarding once you can get the hang of it. It will also let me remove the extremely antique gear shifter, and horrendously rusted gears. Think I can do it? I'm not too sure either. I have however found this resource online, and it seems I may just need to go wheel shopping. "How To Build A Fixed Gear Bicycle"

Let's hope I don't die.

Labels: adventure, holidays, lethbridge, life, summer