The time has nearly arrived, August 30th is the beginning of the Fall semester at Modesto Junior College. I will be attending the East Campus several times a week and I decided that the most logical way to get there would be on a bike. There are many advantages and disadvantages to bike commuting, however as a young physically fit male I cannot justify driving 11 miles to school when I can cover that distance in 30 minutes on a bike.
One of the advantages of bike commuting is obviously avoiding the parking fiasco that JC's are notorious for. Another major bonus is avoiding paying parking fees and purchasing gasoline, however the downside is having to fight a city of drivers that are not used to bike commuters. Unlike, many of the more urbanized communities, Modesto city planners have not focused on creating more bike lanes and bike paths to incentivize bike commuting. The challenge will be to cycle in a defensive manner and "claim my lane" when needed, then comes the wet cold weather.
As a future bike commuter I feel that I am an ambassador of the entire cyclist community. Small seemingly benign acts like waving drivers through at a four-way stop when they have the right of way or positioning myself in the center of a right turning lane to allow drivers to make right hand turns will ease any tensions that may arise.
I began endlessly searching the Craigslist.org listings in my area for a worth-while commuter bike. The search was frustrating and unfruitful for the most part. Road bicycle owners seem to over-value any bike with skinny tires. Mountain bikes, bmx, and beach cruisers are a dime a dozen that sell for far less than they're original retail value. After more than a month of searching I found a diamond in the rough. The bike was a 1990 Miyata 721A, the seller was asking for $150 and was quite firm that his price was adequate. After a quick google search I found two comparable 721A's that had sold for $300-399.
Thanks to Miyata Bicycle Catalogs blog, I was able to find the original specs as well as several entire catalogs. While, Miyata does not specify the weight of the complete bike, the comparable 1989 718 weighed in at 21.5lbs. One of the negligible "downers" is that the bike is bonded aluminum, which the Trek bicycle company introduced in 1985. There were problems early in the bonded aluminum game, but by the time the Miyata 721A was produced they were well worked out. The technology was originally used in the space industry and trickled its way down to bicycle frame technology.
During the 1980's an influx of Japanese bicycles entered the American market, this was largely due the negative yield of the Yen to the U.S. dollar. Many bicycle companies had their frames being built in Japan, to name a few: Specialized, Centurion, Bianchi, Panasonic, Fuji, Miyata-Koga. Some of the highest quality frames of the 1980's were coming out of Japan. Info via Sheldon Brown.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bike was in excellent condition and rode fast and smooth, very smooth. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the bike, the perfect condition of the original paint, the smooth shifting on the DT shifters. My willingness to haggle over a few dollars suddenly faded, I returned from my short test ride and paid asking price, $150.
Please welcome the newest member of my cycling faminly, a pristine condition 1990 Miyata 721A.
I swapped the Vetta saddle with a Sonoma 155 BG saddle by Specialized and removed the beefy metal pedals for some generic plastic clip-ons.
The Miyata 721A was a classified as a higher end touring/racing bike and featured a 21 speed Exage 500 SL by Shimano. Small features like CO2 bottle inlet, hidden cable routing, aluminum frame construction allowed the Miyata 721A to be light, stiff, and very racy.
The new problem now is taking it to school. I am fearful of bicycle theft and have been told by the Bikeforums.net Classic/Vintage forum that this will definitely attract thievery. I have spent all of my commuter bike budget and don't know what to do. At the moment, I have no option but to take it to school and lock it up with as many locks as I can carry and pray for the best.
I nervously await the new thrills and anxieties bike commuting can bring...
