The serendipitous surprise of my life...

Howdy folks! I wanted to share a happy with you.

I've been following the discussions here about saddles and have been
coveting a Brooks for a while - with no real hope of being able to afford
one in the forseeable future.

Coincidentally, I cycled past a house a week or so ago that had a bunch of
bikes on the lawn. Stopping to chat with the owner, I find he's a retiree
who fixes bikes and either gives them away or sells them cheap. (he had a
garage with about a hundred in various stages of repair) Mr.Fixit!

I also recently discovered "Freecycle" where people give away "free stuff."
I've given away a cell phone, some biking stuff etc and today, I *received*
two bikes.

One's a basket case - Mr.Fixit will have trouble finding usable parts on
that one - the other, however, is an older Sekine 10-speed - *with a Brooks
saddle.*

The leather's a bit worn around the edges and it's a narrow-ish saddle but
I'm ECSTATIC about this find!

It says "Brooks Competition" on the sides, has the little metal slots off
the frame for a classic two strap "hold-all" or tool bag. The saddle has a
visible copper "nose" that seems to be part of the tensioner.

Both of the bikes are going to Mr.Fixit so they can find loving homes - or
at least be parted-out to restore some other bike. I'll be happy if someone
gets a set of wheels out of the bargain.

I'm keeping the saddle.

On the way to pick up the first of the bikes, I was thinking about luck,
serendipity and the existence of benevolent higher powers.

I was only able to buy my current bike due to a series of happy
coincidences: selling the old bike quickly, getting a contract job finished
ahead of schedule (and actually getting paid) - and being in a city 500
miles from home where a bike shop nearby "just happened to have" my ideal
bike at an amazing price.

All of those taken together - and now just *stumbling* across a Brooks
saddle sounds way too good to be true. Somebody's gotta be smiling on me.

Chris - *surprised* but very happy...

In article , C.J.Patten
wrote:

Howdy folks! I wanted to share a happy with you.

[snip nice stuff]

I love hearing stories like that - I am happily sharing your happy.

--
Sara

iChat: sarakirk (AIM)
So, what are you going to do? Sucker me to death?

being in a city 500 miles from home where a bike shop nearby "just happened to have" my ideal bike at an amazing price.

I hope you rode it home from the shop!