Nate's Bike Shop

I have recently acquired a 1973 Schwinn Varsity 10-speed road bike.  It is unrideable and in pretty rough shape, but I think it has some pretty cool features. I think it will be worth the time building it up to be rideable again for joy riding or using it as a grocery getter.

This bike was actually produced in Chicago.  Schwinn's that were built in Chicago are said to be some of the toughest bikes out there (at the cost of being very heavy, however). 

I am not going to be putting much money into this endeavor, as the resale value of the bike is not likely to be a whole lot. 

I should also note that this bike is a beast.  It weighs somewhere between 35 and 40 lbs.  A majority of people these days are looking to shed as many pounds from their bike as possible, so they won't pay much money to buy the equivalent of 2-3 bikes worth of weight.

Because I will be attempting this on a budget, I have decided not to restore it to its original setup.  As of now, I think I will be turning it into a single speed bike, which will also help shed a few pounds.

Today I did the bulk of the tear down.  It was really dirty and greasy, so I decided to pull everything apart and clean it, and then re-assemble with the clean old parts, and a few new parts as needed.

Bike technology and construction has changed quite a bit in the past 40 years, so this was also a learning process.

My favorite part of the bike is the Ashtabula crank, which is a one piece crank.  It is the heaviest crank/chainring I have ever felt, but it looks pretty cool and I am hoping the get the chrome on it nice and shiny.  I plan on re-using it to keep some of the vintage feel of the bike.

The fork on the bike is pretty cool, too.  It is a blade fork, so it is pretty thin and svelte looking. 

So, as of now, I have all the above parts and others stripped off the bike, leaving me with this...

Even the kickstand on the thing is heavy duty.  The kickstand is pretty ugly and unnecessary weight, but I did some research and found out I would need to buy a special tool to remove it.  So the kickstand will stay.

I am excited to work on this bike and see what results.  The frame is pretty dinged up, so I don't expect it to look like new, but it should still be fun to see what I can create.

I will try and post my progress as I go!

Music to my Ears

Since moving to Indianapolis, I have had to find new radio stations to listen to while in the car.  I particularly like to listen to Christian radio.   The current station I am listening to is K-Love (not to be confused with K Love). 

This radio station has what they call their 30-day challenge.  Basically, they are challenging you to listen to nothing but Christian music for 30 days, and to see how it changes you.

Usually, I hear people say they don't like to listen to Christian music on the radio because of how 'cheesy' the music is.  Quite frankly, I think this is a pretty crappy excuse.  

First of all, quite a few Christian songs written are based off of scripture.  Maybe, it's just me, but I don't see the Bible as being a cheesy book.

And secondly, every other genre of music has some pretty cheesy stuff.  Songs about dancing on top of the Hollywood sign, red solo cups, and pretty much anything Lady Gaga sings are pretty much ridiculous in my opinion.

I am not saying music outside of the Christian genre is all crap.  It's not.  I still listen to plenty of it.  I am merely arguing that not listening to Christian music because it's 'cheesy' is somewhat of a lame excuse.


I think we should be striving to be like David writes in Psalm 34 (first 15 verses below).  Blessing God with every chance we get, and letting our lungs expand in praise. 

Anyways, that's my rant on Christian music:)   I put a few of my current favorites below to jump start your 30 Day Challenge.

Psalm 34 (The Message)

¹ I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. ² I live and breathe God; if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy: ³ Join me in spreading the news; together let's get the word out.

⁴ God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. ⁵ Look at him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him. ⁶ When I was desperate, I called out, and God got me out of a tight spot. ⁷ God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray.

⁸ Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. ⁹ Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. ¹⁰ Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but God-seekers are full of God.

¹¹ Come, children, listen closely; I'll give you a lesson in God worship. ¹² Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?

¹³ Guard your tongue from profanity, and no more lying through your teeth. ¹⁴ Turn your back on sin; do something good. Embrace peace—don't let it get away!

¹⁵ God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.

Family, Friends, and a Fesitivus for the rest of us!

Our first couple of months here in Indy has been somewhat of a blur.  Between moving in, starting new jobs, and the holiday season, there has not been much down time.

So, here is a very brief run down of the last several weeks.

We made our first return trip to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my family (pictured below).  There was no snow in Michigan either this year, so we celebrated with the sun shining and 40+ degree temperatures. 

We had a great time playing games, eating, relaxing, and exchanging gifts.

The following pictures show just how good the Mejeur family is looking these days. :)

I was pretty pumped about Jillian's Six Week Six Pack

After the celebration in Kalamazoo, we headed back to Indy for our Christmas celebration with Jenna's family.  We got back down here Christmas night, and then celebrated Christmas the next morning.

We played games, ate more food, relaxed some more, and got to exchange more gifts.

Celebration of the New Year brought us the Vonks.  Chris and Erika Vonk to be precise.  Outside of my parents, they were our first visitors from Michigan.   We showed them the best of Indy.  However, I should note, that we don't know Indy very well yet, so our tour was a bit on the short side.

We rang in the new year with a tour of the Easley Winery, ate tacos in Fountain Square, then came home and played a rousing game of Farkle.  So rousing in fact, that Erika and Jenna struggled mightily to make it to midnight.

Our second visitors from Michigan were the Wilsons.  I lured Mike down here with an orienteering event that was held yesterday in Eagle Creek Park.

I had good intentions of taking some action shots, but once we got going and I never got the camera out of my pack.  We had a great time and Indiana Crossroads Orienteering did a great job of setting the course.

Here's our post meet wrap up...

So there you have it.  That is the cliff notes version of what we have been up to in the last month or so!

What are you doing in 2012?

Happy New Year!!  Hope your year is off to a delightful start.

I have recently been reading Dave Ramsey's most recent book, EntreLeadership.   I picked it up for 50% off, and used a gift card to buy it, so my reading of this book, would also be Dave Ramsey approved.

I am not very far into it yet, but one of the very first chapters is about dreams, visions and goals.   Being that today is January 1, 2012, I thought a quick blog on goals was very appropriate.  And for the record I am merely conveying the concepts from his book, these are not my original ideas.

New Year's resolutions are bound to be thrown around this time of year, but most of those don't last much past February.

Try sitting down a writing a few concrete goals for yourself for the upcoming year.   Your goals can be driven by a number of things: family, career, finance, physical health/fitness, spirituality/faith, social, or intellectual goals to name a few common areas.  Dave has a few recommendations for writing your goals.

A key component of goal writing, is to actually write the goals down.  This way you remember exactly what you are trying to accomplish, and you can visually see it as a reminder.  While you certainly don't have to share your goal(s) with someone, it would also help to keep yourself accountable.

Make sure your goals are measurable and have a time limit on them.

For example, 'I am going to lose weight in 2012' is a crappy goal.  It doesn't really hold you to anything. 

"I am going to lose 20 lbs" is better, but still lacks a time limit, to really push you towards that goal. 

"I am going to lose 20 lbs in 2 months."  Now were talking.  The goal is measurable and specific.  Another benefit of a specific and measurable goal, is that it gives you several other mini goals or short term goals.  If you know you want to lose 20 lbs in 2 months you can break that down to 10 lbs a month, or 2.5 lbs per week to help you stay on track.

Lastly, your goals should be something you want to achieve.  Not something your significant other, your mother, or your doctor wants you achieve.  If it is not something that you are really geared towards accomplishing, the first obstacle you encounter will likely shut your goal down.

I haven't fully finished writing my goals for 2012, and maybe I will even blog about my own goals when I do finish.  In the mean time go write some of your own. :)