My Oldest Cycling-Related Things

My last post looked at my Strava history, which started on 31st January 2010. I still own the bicycle I rode that day. But that is not my oldest cycling-related possession.

I started cycling on a Trek FX7.5 in May 2009. In classic newbie style, I was oblivious to the possibility of a flat tire. It didn’t take long for that possibility to become a reality. When I did have a flat, I was totally unprepared. No tire levers. No pump. No spare tube. I didn’t even know how to get the wheel off the bike.

Fortunately, someone stopped and asked if I needed help. “Yes, please!” That gentleman has remained a good friend.

The next day, I was in West End Bicycles to buy the basics to deal with flat tires. I walked out with a pair of Pedro’s tire levers, a Genuine Innovations Ultraflate Plus with some CO² canisters, and a Park Tool MT-1 Multi-Tool.

I have different tire levers and CO² inflator in my on-bike tool kit today. The Park Tool MT-1 has also been superseded. They are backups now. Note: I’m sure that the CO² canister that is still inside the inflator does not date back to 2009 😄.

My collection of bike tools continued to grow. A pedal wrench. Various screwdrivers. Some bigger ticket items like a Feedback Sports Pro-Classic Work Stand and a Guistaforza torque wrench. Almost all of which I still have. But enough about tools. Unless you want to read more about the tools I have.

Back to the bike I was on when I started my Strava history. A steel bicycle custom-built by Alchemy Bicycle Company. Alchemy was based in Austin, Texas, then. I visited Austin a few times during the build process, which began in early November 2009.

During one of those visits, I went to Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. Mellow Johnny’s belongs to Lance Armstrong. At the time Alchemy was building my steel bike, Mellow Johnny’s was a must-visit for cyclists. The U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into possible crimes conducted by Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team had not started. Armstrong’s name was still golden. His seven Tour de France-winning bicycles were on display in the shop.

The story is that Mellow Johnny’s got its name from Lance’s young son’s mispronunciation of Maillot Jaune, or Yellow Jersey. The Yellow Jersey is the symbol of the Tour de France, bestowed on the overall winner.

My souvenir from that visit to Mellow Johnny’s is this jersey. Made by Giordana, it has outlasted many other brand-name jerseys. It is my oldest jersey and is my second-oldest cycling item.

By mid-November 2009, the frame builder and I had confirmed the build kit and the paint scheme. By mid-December, tubes were being welded.

I drove from Houston in early January 2010 to collect the finished bicycle.

This frame, with its Easton EC90 SLX fork, is my third-oldest cycling-related possession. Apart from the fork, every other component has been replaced since I took delivery of the bike 14 years ago.

The next oldest item is a cycling event finisher’s token I received on 19 March 2011.  The Joop Zoetemelk Classic was a 150 km anti-clockwise loop from the Swift clubhouse around the Groene Hart (Green Heart) between Leiden and Utrecht.

I did some organised rides in Houston before moving to Den Haag, but none gave out finisher’s ribbons or medals. The Joop Zoetemelk Classic was one of the few organised rides in The Netherlands with a finisher’s token. Once I got back to Malaysia, my medal collection grew substantially. It was a given that the entrance fee for a century ride in Malaysia included a jersey and a finisher’s medal.

After that Mellow Johnny’s jersey, my next longest-lived item of apparel is my Rapha Climber’s Shoes. I bought these in November 2014.

I regularly wear these shoes. The uppers are still in good condition. Both uppers partially separated from the carbon sole in the past couple of months. You can see traces of the rubber cement I used to glue uppers and soles together again.

Rubber cement also glued together the velcro straps that separated into two layers.

I am on my third set of heel pads. That is the part of the sole that gets the most wear. Rapha sent me the first replacement set free of charge. When Rapha discontinued this shoe, that service stopped too. Giro, who made these soles for Rapha, still carries spare heel pads.

There are no replacement toe bumpers. A piece of inner tube is a good stand-in.

The tools, the steel Alchemy and the medals will continue to age well. The Mellow Johnny’s jersey looks like it has more years of life. As long as the uppers stay glued to the soles, the Rapha shoes will continue to get regular use.

I wish other cycling consumables lasted as long.