This Mutt in one Bounty

 Wednesday morning, in my quest for a errand bike that fits 29" mountain bike tires yet doesn't require a ginormously long rigid fork, as most 29" mountain bikes would, I experimented with my first 27.5" mountain bike. That bike was a cheap experiment, originally retailing in the mid four hundred dollar range and depreciating more than two thirds by the time I bought it, and I was genuinely astounded by how good cheap bikes had become. In addition to riding shockingly well, it has chainstays that are fifteen millimeters LONGER than my primary mountain bike, a Kona Taro that was sold with 29" wheels.

I checked. Yes, a 29x2.2 tire clears the frame, not by a lot, but it does, and by starting with a 27.5" frame, I could use a much shorter fork to lower the bottom height back down after switching to bigger wheels. Sure, the angles will be steeper, but with a modern mountain bike 68° head angle to begin, nothing becomes unreasonable for an errand bike. I dropped the tires down to 45c, roughly 1.75", after drilling the rims' valve holes to accept a more durable, and readily dump salvageable, Schrader valve, and was ready for my test ride when I received a Freecycle reply message.

I was first told about Freecycle over five years ago (no decade this time), but when I investigated, was turned off by the need to enroll with personal information and email. It was a few years later, while helping someone fix a new-to-them bike for their friend, that I was told the bike, which was quite nice, was given to them through a Freecycle request. Oh, you can receive cool cycles through Freecycle? Maybe I could be a joiner.

Ever since my bike was on the leading edge of a PVTA bus that hit a deer in the middle of a field with over 200 feet of visibility in all directions, and the PVTA denied my claim for damages because "It was the deer's fault," I've been nursing along with the pannier whose zipper failed from the impact with either the deer or, a moment later, the pavement. With various straps and a dose of stubborness, it was still functional-ish and possibly increased my security that it wouldn't be stolen.

With time and usage, a lot of usage, one of the main seams was starting to match the zipper and hang open, so when last weekend someone in Greenfield offered a pair of panniers on Freecycle, I replied with, "Yes, please!" I replied a little late and was second in line, but shockingly (sarcasm), when something is free, people don't take it seriously. Back when I organized the Detour de Connecticut, my friend friend Brendan had suggested that I'd probably have three times as many people join if I started charging $20 instead of making it free. Freecycle can be similar, and it seems second in line was plenty soon when the first responder never came.

Ok, the converted bike test ride can wait. I have bags to fetch! I headed for Greenfield, and with the help of the FRTA both my bike and I arrived without negative impact, and we even managed to arrive at the donor's house on the early end of my estimated arrival window, which meant I could thank Peter in person and he could tell me about his bicycle tour on Prince Edward Island, where the panniers had served him years ago and then never used again. There isn't a tear on them!

I might need to add a lock pocket 

and obscure the logo for real life without edits, 

but wow, they're gorgeous!

Since I was in Greenfield, I grabbed lunch from the final markdown section of the co-op, then onto Salvation Army and their half-price Wednesday sale in the hopes of replenishing my running shoe supply (I had my choice of three), and finally a drop down to the can recycling location where, by completing some clean up during my cruise through town, I was repaid more than half the $3.97 I spent on the shoes. Yes, by the time I made it home, they were more than paid off!

I think these are intentional trail running shoes,

 not just what I'll use for that.

But wait, there's more. This Sunday, I was in Belchertown, and I keep finding bikes there, and I keep stashing them in the woods until I can return and collect them. This one was almost as exciting as the Team America (World Police?), but for a very different reason. It's too small for me, but it does wear an Iron Horse logo, as did the bikes for the last four years of my first stint of racing. It also wore a 60mm travel hybrid suspension fork, which is something I kinda wanted for a frame that would fit me, and also clear pretty big 29" tires!

See, it all comes around, and for anyone who's trying to make sense of this post's title, here you go. I think it's worth watching the trailer just for how awful some aspects are.