Bike Garage Sale, May 1st

Bike Garage Sale May 1, 2010

The sale originally scheduled for Saturday, April  24th has been scrubbed due to rain.  We now plan to have it Saturday, May 1st from 8:00 am - Noon. at 811 Kellogg Ave, Ames.

There will be LOTS of bikes, accessories, parts, tires and tubes and car/truck racks for sale -- mostly used but some brand new. 

We have several kids' bikes, some adult bikes, some tires, wheels and parts.  Most bikes have been refurbished, although we have a couple of mechanic's specials and a great old Gitane road bike looking for a home.

 Here are some examples of "classic" bikes we'll have at the sale:
(top photo)
Kabuki Submariner Mixte -- a die-cast, stainless steel frame bike from the 70s.  All original except the tires.  Rideable as is; could use new bar tape and a saddle. $50.

(second photo)
Classic Gitane road bike from the 1970s.  This all-original French 10-speed needs some TLC.  A great fixer-upper project. For $50 it's yours.


A couple of customers have asked to add their bikes to the sale.  (The more the merrier!)  If you have a used bike you would like to have us include, please contact us before Saturday, May 1.

More items that will be for sale--

Pickup truck bike carriers (right) -- These are brand new.  Each mount holds one bike upright and firmly in place inside your truck bed.  No damage to either the bike or the truck., and they save space so you can still carry cargo.  We have several of them.. $15 each..  Accessories also available for these.

Yakima Roof Rack(right)  with two bike mounts.  Includes crossbars and locks; $50 takes it all.


Keep checking this blog -- we will add more items as we get them ready for the sale, so look often!

More bikes --

(right) This is just one of several 3-speeds we're selling in this sale.  Both women's and men's models, most with Sturmey-Archer internal hub shifting (they don't make those anymore!) If you're a fan of 3-speeds, check them out.

 Kids bikes (mostly 20" wheels) -- boys and girls, some  multi-speed, with coaster and hand brakes.  None priced over $25.

Good bikes for grown-ups -- (too many of them to post photos)
Trek 7000 Multitrack -- 18" frame

Giant Nutra hybrid -- 21: frame -- even has original owners manual!

Schwinn Frontier -- 18" frame, bright red

Giant Iguana hardtail -- 15" frame, silver.  Urban assault tires. $125

Trek 620 -- made in Wisconsin,, hand-braised cromoly frame.  New rubber, tape, brake hoods & chain.  53cm/21" frame road bike -- great for a triathlon. $150.

Panasonic 3-speed  w/coaster brake.  Hardly ridden.  19" frame.

Woodward High Trestle nears completion

     A pleasant Sunday drive (in our old Volkswagon) on a beautiful April  afternoon took us across the Des Moines River near Woodward, IA.  This gave us a great view of what will soon become one of the wonders of the Iowa cycling world:  the high trestle on the Ankeny-Woodward trail.  Parts of the trail opened last year, and its most dramatic feature is nearing completion.
     The new trestle spans the DM River and takes riders on the last trail section into Woodward.  Crossing the broad river valley on the original stone piers left in place after the rail abandonment, construction of the span connecting the piers began in 2009.  We watched the construction cranes move farther and farther out over the river during the low-water season last fall, until winter put a stop to our sightseeing.
      Today's trip to view the bridge progress gave us a surprise.  Construction of the bridge floor seemed complete; it now spans the river and construction cranes are mostly gone.  It appears (although I have no official word to verify this) that the bridge is there and lacks only railings and (probably) a finished riding surface and approaches at both ends to make it bike-ready.
     The extremely high water level (thanks to one whopper of a snowpack that had to go somewhere) made the trestle look even more dramatic.  We are already anticipating our first ride on this section of the new trail, currently scheduled to open in late summer or early fall.

Looking through the trees, the bridge is so  long I could not get all of it into one photo..

 

Riding across it is going to be one SPECTACULAR trip!

After the bridge the trail rolls into Woodward through two new underpasses just completed.  Note that the trail surface is smooth new concrete.

Roadside Cleanup

Saturday, April 3rd, members of Friends of Central Iowa Biking cleaned up along the roadway on Cameron School Road.  Members pedaled their bicycles out to the start point and donning their yellow safety vests, walked along the ditches and cleaned up the usual paper, plastic, cigarette packages,  beer cans, and food wrappers.  Burger King, McDonald's, Marlboro and Keystone Lite were the most popular brand names.

This year, they also picked up a mattress, a pillow, a wood pallet and a motorcycle windshield.  Steve Libbey used a long tree branch to remove a large plastic sheet from a tree.

Participants included: Craig Corson, Jim Gregory, Denny Jones, Steve Libbey, Steve Moehlmann, Terri Nelson, Don Nystrom, Wolf Oesterreich, Terese Peters, Rich Van Valin.

Jim Gregory (Bikes at Work) loaded his trailer with the mattress, pillow, pallet and 10 bags of trash and brought them back into Ames for proper disposal.

Photo taken by Dennis Jones