He Picks 'em, I Fix 'em

Keeping busy in my little corner of the world.

So much has happened in the world since I stepped aboard an aeroplane last Friday. 

Apologies for falling behind in my reading of blogs. 

The challenges of starting again on the other side of the world have been cushioned somewhat by being able to live with my brother and his family, so I try to be useful. Two days were spent getting the vege plots ready for some seeds (Bro had let them get a bit overgrown). Two days were spent divided between personal admin (banking, tax, new SIM card, visiting solicitors, and sorting out money transfers - my bank needed reassuring that all these deposits from overseas were not some international money laundering scheme! One is not allowed to joke about such things on bank premises) and wrecking a pile of unfixable bikes to recover what I can of reusable parts.

Good tyres have been sorted by size. Inner tubes likewise, but testing them and repairing punctures is a job for later. Seats, handle bar grips, gear and brake levers, lights and reflectors, side stands and carriers, a few parts for gears, wheels over here, stripped frames over there... the scrap metal bloke will come next week.  I have barely scratched the surface of the pool of bikes that need to be assessed and allocated to 'fix' or 'dismantle'. 

I have 'recycled' about 20 so far, fixed about 8, and have possibly 100-150 to go.

Bro picks the ones we will fix. He also explains why some I think are great are not worth our time and energy to repair - none of the new families to whom these will be given want fancy road bikes, or elegant tourers. They want school run and shopping bikes.

I can't bring myself to trash good bikes, so have set the rejected good ones aside with a view to cleaning them up for sale to those who will love them - funds to go back into the community who have donated all these bikes (in all states of repair and disrepair - whether out of altruism or to clear their sheds and garages of unused rusting metal).

There will likely be more posts on bikes.

Chains - i forgot to mention chains. Bro is a hobby blacksmith. Apparently the metal that chains are made out of is perfect for smelting for some job he does in the smithy, so all the rusty old chains are recovered too.