It's hard to be believe that we are already into March of 2021, but here we are. January and February were quite cold, and relatively snowy for western New England. But now in the first week of March, we are at last having a real thaw. Temperatures are getting up into the 40s and even the low 50s each day. Yesterday was very cold and very windy, but today is much warmer and we're back to thawing.
It might be tempting to go for a ride once things begin to warm. However, be warned that a good deal of corrosive road salt may remain on the road surfaces, and may mix with water from melting snow to form a corrosive bath for the bike and its parts. As much as I love riding, I recommend waiting until a good, strong rain storm has washed away salt and salt/snow/water mix on the roads before riding a valuable, vintage steel bicycle. Consider visiting an away-from-the-road bike trail where there is no road salt or salt brine instead.
With that said, I am looking forward to warmer weather, longer days, and a return to the road.
Have you ever thought about making a "beater" three speed for this time of year, a bike you wouldn't worry about getting salt on?
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Shawn
https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
I had one a quite a few years ago. It was a 1960s era AMF/Raleigh Hercules. It wasn't a bad bike, but I ended up having to make space for my wife's new car and a small work bench, so the bottom end bikes left. If I had the space, I'd consider having a winter bike again, though it would probably be an aluminum because the road salt used here is lethal to anything steel. It wasn't as bad when they used sand, but the highly concentrated salts they use now... rusty stuff.
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