So this weekend I took on a summer project…

The lure of suggested ads from social media platform classifieds was too much of a siren song to bear, and I clicked a listing for a “needs some work” road bike that didn’t look too bad. After work on Friday, I took a drive to the other side of the city, and this followed me home:

What you see above is an almost completely original 2010 Trek Alpha 1.2 that’s spent the last half-decade taking up space in a shed after serving as a commuter for a couple of years. Twelve years ago, it was a $1000 bike. I got it for at least an order of magnitude less.

As I said, it needs a little work. While it appears to have been taken care of for the most part, it came with twelve year-old flat rubber, a few dings, and the stock saddle replaced with a big box comfort special. Otherwise, everything is original issue, for better or worse.

It’s within spitting distance of road-worthy – the old tubes held enough air for me to do a quick neighborhood shakedown to make sure the drivetrain, shifters, and brakes were functional. Once I replace a few consumables, clean and re-lube some things that need lubrication, and make a few modern updates, it should be a nicely functional road bike that I’m hoping will let me advance a bit and get me past the 65 mile wall I’m butting up against with the Giant hybrid.

This was kind of always the plan; at the beginning of the pandemic, lots of folks bought new bicycles to keep them busy in a solo context, and a good percentage of those were likely to hit the used market within a couple of years as the hobby didn’t take. This one’s a bit older than that, but it’s in remarkably good shape and probably cost me a bit less anyway.

So, once I get this thing up and running, I’ll be due for new tires on the Giant anyway, so that’ll get gravel tread again and the Trek will cover the pavement side. I’ve already got a new saddle and pedals on it, and have fresh tubes and tires in the wings; though It’ll need a slight modification to convert the stock Presta-configured wheels to accept Shrader valves (but I’ve got that plan in the works). And I’m going to put a fresh wrap on the handlebars, but that’s a minor thing.

Not, of course, that I don’t have plenty of other responsibilities to deal with, but, but…shiny new project!