The Challenge - Part 2 - 'The Classic Bike'

 It was the classic looks and clean paint scheme of the Bridgestone RB-2 road bike that first caught my attention. I was in desperate need of an upgrade because at that time I was attempting to compete in individual triathlons and the old bike I was riding fell well short of what was needed.

Don't Laugh! The old Clunker bike that
actually did its job! (circa 1985ish)

 Back in the summer of 1994 my old red clunker of a bike that I had used for a good number of years had by then seen better days. Not even sure what brand it was but it weighed in around 28 lbs, quite heavy for a road bike, and possessed old heavy cotterpinned crank arms, three worn out crankset gears designed more for casual neighborhood cruising than the open road, and brakes that bordered on being dangerously inadequate. I had actually put a good number of miles on it and eventually swapped out the cotterpin crankset to a newer and lighter weight one with a better gear ratio (52/42). About all I can say for it is...well, it served its purpose and provided a means to an end. It did its job. I really wasn't looking to buy a new higher end bike. Even back then they were quite expensive and fell well outside of my budget. That did not prevent me from spending time browsing around the bike shop looking at the latest and greatest collections. 

Bike shops back then carried a far greater number of pure road bikes than they seem to do today. Everything is gravel bikes or e-bikes or mountain bike/hybrids. One day I made an unscheduled stop...just to look around...and spied this beautiful blue and white Bridgestone RB-2 sitting by itself over in one corner. When I sauntered over to it I was immediately enamored by its lines and styling. A salesman walked over and told me they had just received it the day before as a trade-in on a new bike. He said it was in excellent condition and used by a rider who was beginning to ride more competitively and needed an upgraded bike. I asked how much? When he told me they were asking a little over $200 for it, I knew then and there I had to somehow find the funds to get it. New, it sold for around $600 and equivalent bikes of the day easily surpassed $800 to a $1000 and higher, so the $200 price tag seemed like a bargain. The very next day I became its new owner and from that moment on, the two of us have ridden thousands of flawless miles together...that is until more recent years, but that is another part of the saga.

The RB-2 is the little brother to the higher end RB-1 which retains a great deal of respect in the bicycling world as a pro-quality racing bike and Bridgestone became a well respected name within the cycling community in its day.

The RB-2 was basically the same bike as the RB-1 with good quality components that fell a step or two lower down the scale than the top-end lines. My RB-2 was manufactured (according to the serial number) in 1987 and I believe that model became available in their 1988 line of road bikes. The one I have remains virtually in its original state except for new tires, a new chain, and some basic maintenance like new bearings and such things like that. The main difference between the RB-1 and RB-2 was the RB-1 was lighter weight and cost twice as much new.

It uses the Shimano Exage Sport line of brakes, derailleur, and gear sets. It was my first experience using Indexed shifting which by the way is far better than the old friction style of shifters. It has the classic look of locating the shifter levers on the downtube with the cables running along the length of that same tube and across the top bar. Recently I watched a biking video where the rider spent time riding a vintage '1995ish' bike that used the same configuration with the shifter levers being located on the downtube. He politely complained how awkward it was to have to reach for those levers while riding. I just smiled and laughed a little because I am so used to doing it that way it seems natural to me.

The cyclist spoiling technology available today certainly leaps into the realm of the modern era with electronic wireless shifters actuated with the brake handles, super lightweight frames weighing in under 8 kilo's, and aerodynamic styling. The physical styling of todays bikes, on the other hand, I believe leave a lot to be desired. Functionally, they are marvels of modern technology...but I still love the classic looks of the older bikes.

Costs have certainly risen as well where today to find a decent quality bike requires an investment of thousands. For me...well, I truly am an old school kind of person who prefers not only the classic looks of a bygone era, but the comparative costs as well. Being a DIYer, I can easily perform most all the maintenance on my old RB-2 where as a newer bike would scare me too much. 

Before we moved to Kentucky, we lived in central Oklahoma for a good many years. The wind truly does come sweeping down the plain in that part of the world and the wind is something you just deal with. I often found myself easily cruising along at 20+ mph with a strong tailwind, to suddenly drop to barely maintaining 10 mph on the way back and expending way more effort doing so. Try climbing a hill going into a stiff wind. That 10 mph would easily drop to 5 or 6 and I'd be spent by the time I reached the top.

I used a ten mile loop I enjoyed riding, often completing several circuits on a ride. On one particular ride I made late one summer day I found myself at the far end of that loop where the country opened up and the scenery expanded from horizon to horizon. The sun was near setting by this time as I had got a late start and I could not tary as I needed to get back to my starting point before darkness set it. I stopped and steadied the bike beneath my extended legs and leaned against the handlebars to feel the cooling evening breeze on my face as the golden rays set the low hanging clouds ablaze. Kind of nice really. Just me, my trusty bike, the open backroad, and scenery second to none. Yeah...there is more to cycling than just pedaling down the road.

If not for a bum leg that has slowed me down for several years now, I would have spent more time in the saddle. Soon, if the Stent procedure I've mentioned previously is successful, my leg situation should improve enough to allow me to once again experience the joy of feeling the wind in my face and the thrill of comfortably propelling myself down the road.  The intent here is to work my way back to where making a 100 kilometer ride is a doable thing...then maybe, just maybe, I'll witness another one of those late afternoon sunsets with a gentle breeze blowing in my face along the way. 

The Challenge - Part One

Classic Bridgestone RB-2 - Almost 40 years old
Still needs some work but overall in good shape.
The original White Saddle lies beneath the
black Gel covering (see below)

I've always been objective oriented. That is when I tend to get fired up about doing something when I have a clear objective in mind. I prefer not to use the term goal as that term tends to be self limiting for once you reach a set goal, it's like, well..now what...and motivation tends to diminish afterwards. Being objective oriented leaves the desire open ended phycologically. Once you reach an objective, it's simply a matter of extending the object of your  desire out a bit further and you just keep on going shifting gears toward a new direction with a renewed energy. 

Over the years I've remained reasonably active pursuing a variety of activities like canoeing, hiking, camping, hunting/fishing, photography, running, swimming, cycling. Although the intensity level and frequency of those activities has varied over the years as I've gotten older, I've remained committed to their pursuit. However, in more recent years I've run into an unexpected physical situation that has really slowed me down. Yes, I have mentioned it before, but bare with me as it appears I have developed a circulation issue leading into my right leg. The right side Iliac Artery, which feeds the lower extremities on the right side, has become clogged up and in the opinion of the vascular doctor I've been seeing, it is virtually 100% clogged. Oddly enough, I feel no discomfort when walking around doing normal routine things, ( the body has an amazing ability to compensate ). It is only when I place continuous stress on the leg does the problem present itself. The discomfort can be quite severe, and the doctor said it is like I am having a heart attack but it's happening in my leg. That discomfort is what limits my ability to do the things I enjoy at the level I want to pursue them. Cut me a little slack here...I am turning 74 years old soon, but, mentally, I still feel like I am 25...well...maybe closer to 35...or 40...regardless, my mind tells me one thing, but my body is beginning to push back.

Oddly enough, the left side Iliac Artery remains mostly clear and presents no real  problems, and my heart according to a previous CT scan shows itself to be clean and clear with no blockage. It seems odd to me that this one location has become a problem while everything else appears to be in good shape. Even so, it is what it is and its effects are real and troublesome. Medication (Cilostazol) has helped, but only with minimal improvement. The doctor and I have come to the conclusion that inserting a Stent into the Iliac Artery will be the best way to improve on the situation. That procedure has, as of this writing, not been scheduled, but will most likely be in the near future.

As I just mentioned, medication has improved the circulation to a degree where I've noticed enough improvement where I am feeling optimistic about being able to return my leg to where it is operating at a near normal level. So...that leads us to what this article is all about; The Challenge.

The Challenge for this year is stacked within multiple layers. I still want to pursue all the things I've mentioned and get out with my canoe and do some hiking and things, but the main focus has shifted now to where I want to accomplish something I have not done, nor been able to do, for a long time; I want to complete a 100 kilometer (62 miles) bike ride with the intent of using that as a springboard to eventually complete a full 100 mile ride at some point. The only way I will be able to accomplish this is if the Iliac Artery Stent surgery improves the blood flow enough to my right leg to where I can train at the required intensity level.

Riding 62 miles on a road bike may sound like a big deal, and in many ways it is. However, most any competent cyclist should be able to make such a ride with some careful preparation and conditioning. Being almost 74 years old with a bum leg...well, that complicates the situation some. But, I am going to give it a try. I may not succeed, but I will try regardless of the leg situation. Over-all I'm in pretty good shape weighing in at around a lean 175 lbs with no real physical limitations save for the bum right leg issue. I do believe I will be able to pull this off.

At one time a good number of years ago, I made many rides in that same range often completing 45 and 50 miles rides on a routine basis. I even performed the bike-leg as part of a 3-man team competing in a half-Ironman Triathlon. That 62 mile bike leg covered a good number of hills along the way and was a pretty tough course. That experience served as a springboard for me to pursue (in my mid-40's) to become an individual triathlete competing is several shorter events. I had strong bike legs back then, and good running endurance along with a solid swimming performance. My weight at the time was around 160 lbs and I really enjoyed the training process, even so, training at that level required so much time it just became too difficult to do it justice and still try to juggle a full-time job along with family time. Now that I've been retired for a while, I have plenty of time on my hands. I just don't have the physical capacity I used to have...mainly because of this stupid leg issue.

Catalog image - What my RB-2 looked like
when brand new. Plan on restoring it back
to the classic looking gum-sided tires.

Over the next several months, I will be making occasional posts chronicling and updating my efforts along with photographs and probably a video or two. On my previous post I wrote about my classic Bridgestone RB-2 Road Bike. Since that post I have spent a good number of hours restoring it back to an almost like-new configuration. I've also broken out my old Cycleops indoor trainer and hooked my RB-2 up to it and I've been doing some spinning around testing out my leg to see how it responds to some vigorous work. Indications look promising with the discomfort level being less than I expected, but still not where it needs to be. Hopefully, that will come with time and the corrective surgical Stent insertion along with warmer weather where I can hit the open road again and really give it a good workout. How the leg responds is yet to be determined.

In part two coming up soon, we'll take a closer look at the bike details and I'll discuss more about the training program, route selection, all those kinds of things. I'm an old school kind of person who will be riding an old school bike trying to accomplish something most older folks wouldn't even think about doing. Like I said before...I am an objective oriented person. The object here is less about will I actually be able to complete this planned ride, and more about the journey I'll take preparing for it.

Hope you follow along and maybe I'll run into you out on the road.

An Old Guy with a Bum Leg and His Vintage Road Bike

 Most of my camping / backpacking gear is over 20 years old, some of it closer to 30 years old. I target shoot with a vintage 60 year old 22 caliber bolt action rifle which by the way is still capable of shooting a dime size 5 shot group at 50 yards...the rifle is capable of doing that, not so much the shooter. I use a 40 year old fishing rig and paddle around in a 21 year old canoe. I also drive a 29 year old Jeep. As you might guess, most all of these old pieces of gear look their age, but are still functional, that's why I keep on using them. However, I do have one vintage thing that still retains its classic looks. That would be my near 40 year old Bridgestone Synergy RB-2 road bike.

I purchased that bike in the early 1990's as a used bike. It was about 7 or 8 years old at the time and if I recall, I paid something like $200 for it. Not sure the list price for the RB-2 when new, but most likely somewhere around $600 sounds about right. It was in mint condition so the $200 I paid for it was a bargain. Bridgestone had several RB models: RB-1, RB-2, RB-3, and I think even an RB-4., along with an array of mountain style bikes.The RB-2 is a middle of the road performance road bike stocked with good quality components and was comparable in performance to the more widely known RB-1, but at about half the price when new. My old RB-2 is pretty much stock and is identical to the one shown in the photo above, with only tires, chain, and brake pads having been replaced. I did overhaul it a few years back...regreased/replaced the bearings and gave it a good cleaning. Every season when I was able to ride more often I would give it a good once over and as a result, it has literally performed flawlessly. She is a pleasure to ride.

Of all the vintage equipment I use, two items stand out when it comes to receiving compliments on them; my 60 year old 22 rifle and my RB-2. I cannot count the number of times I have been out riding over the years and run across another biker whose first words of greeting are, "I really like your Bridgestone...good looking bike."  Seems my pace increases after such encounters. What I find amusing is most other riders I run into are riding newer, light weight high tech bikes and they are excellent bikes for sure, but my old RB-2 can keep pace with them...well, the bike can, not so much the rider anymore.

Some years back I loaned it to a good buddy of mine who wanted to participate in a multi-day bike ride. His old clunker bike just was not up to the task, so I offered for him to use mine. A week later about all he could do was praise how that bike performed flawlessly during the several hundred miles of riding he had to cover. He also mentioned that numerous other riders threw out compliment after compliment on how much they liked the looks of that bike.

It's not the lightest, nor is it equipped with the best components, but along with its flawless performance, its design and color scheme is what makes it stand out. Over the years I have literally pedaled thousands of miles on it. 

In more recent times, those miles have been reduced to a few occasional jaunts around the neighborhood, the reason being is...well, I'm just getting older. The bike it seems has held up better than its rider. Truth is, I recently learned I have a circulation issue with my right leg, something to do with a clogged up Iliac Artery, you know, the one that branches down into the lower extremities. Seems when I put too much stress on that leg, well, it's just not getting enough blood flow into it and that's when all the discomfort kicks in. The vascular doctor who diagnosed the situation said it was like I was experiencing a heart attack except in my leg. Fortunately, my old guy's heart looks to be in pretty good shape with the CT scan showing everything looking clear and clean. We're trying a few things to see if we can improve on the leg situation and hopefully, in the near future I'll be able to once again take off on one of those fun cross country rides without worrying about if my leg is going to hold up.

There are not many things more rewarding than reaching a point where your physical conditioning meets your desire to get out and ride. Cruising along at a good pace with the wind in your face, blue sky above, and a warm sun across your back and feeling good about it, well, I have certainly missed being able to do such things. (Stupid leg...). But...never underestimate an old guy with a bum leg and his vintage road bike. I just might catch and pass you on the road someday. Hope to see you out there.