The Raleigh

Picked up this Raleigh Mixte from the shop this spring. It was a left over from Goshen College bike sale. I thought it might be my only chance to get a mixte that was my size. After getting another one this has just sat. Today I started getting it ready to paint. Heat gun did quick work of the transfers and stickers. One was a registration from Wichita, Kansas. Got ½ of the frame sanded and the forks sanded, primed and painted. I always paint the forks first to see if I like the color. Not real sure if I like it yet or not. It is red but looks a little weak. It will be finished with left over parts from other bikes I have rebuilt and some of the originals. Then back to the Chain Reaction Bike Shop for someone else to be able to get on the road. Might be a cash bike if it turns out good enough, if not the it will be a work-to-own bike.

This is not an English Raleigh but a Taiwan made for you purist.  

Shop Update

I posted on May 29^th about a Schwinn donation we got at the shop and that I took it home to work on. Well I’m glad I did. Our shop has been broken into again. Not once but twice last week! That makes six times in the last 10 months. It takes a special type of person to break into a non for profit bike shop that is there to help others. Anyone that comes in and needs a bike gets one. We teach others how to maintain their bikes and help them fix any bike they bring in. These last times they took tools and bikes. Without tools we can’t help anyone. Kathy has replaced what we had to have and dealt with the Police and paper work. She was called into the shop at 5:30 AM on Thurs. and again that night at 12:30 AM by the Police when they found the break-ins. People don’t always see Kathy in the shop so they don’t realize what all she does. She runs the recycling project that takes lots of scheduling, manning, seeing to the equipment and paper work. She runs the behind the scene business for the bike shop of ordering what we need, banking, taxes and a lot more I don’t even know about, this is in her spare time from her very busy personal life. If you happen to see a young lady around the shop with a clip board that’s her, be sure to tell her thanks. Thanks Kathy!