I wasn't always a fitness freak, and usually during the winter I'm building up some chunky reserves like if I was going to have to survive for weeks with just water.

So my first mission to "get back in shape" when I hit the big three O, was to stop taking the subway, and bike 6km to work and 6km back every day. For more than 5 years, I hadn't even considered riding my bike to work, as that was too demanding.

But with that third decade around the corner, and uncomfortable roundness, I needed a solution. "Au grand maux les grand moyens", a french expression, for something like, "with big problems, you need big solutions", I told myself. I decided to bike through the long and cold Montreal winter to work every day. And even better, up and down Mont Royal morning and evening.

I learnt a few things. One, that biking through a Montreal winter will destroy the entire drivetrain. Salt, calcium, sand, snow, rain will eat your chain rings, chain, and cassette. And the hot/cold, freeze/melt cycles will have many parts rusting in no time. So advice one, get an old bike, or a cheap Walmart mountain bike to commute in the winter.

Second lesson. I was all excited. I told myself if I ride every day and in the winter, when no else is riding, come spring time I'll start bike racing and no one could possibly be as fit as me. I was so naive about what it takes to be an endurance athlete. It takes years of build up training, and everyone find ways to train in the winter, even when faced with Canadian winters.

That was then. But this year I decided to ride through the winter again. So I bought an old Cannondale Black Lightning (circa 1988) from a friend, which was in need of a revamp. So I changed the brakes, seat, had the front wheel rebuilt, replaced the handlebars with a flat bar, replaced the downtube friction shifters with 6 speed shimano grip shifters, and did a little spray paint touch up over the original pink paint job.

First test ride in early December, things are great. The rear wheel has a shimano 6 speed freewheel, and the shifting while not precise, works rather well with the grip shifters and the vintage Campagnolo rear derailleur. Grip shifters are idea for winter riding, because you can shift while wearing large mitts. Also surprising, was riding in snow and ice with small knobby 28mm tires worked very well. Probably more pressure on a smaller area works better than larger mountain bike tires.

So one very frigid evening, I decided to go for a hot yoga class by bike about 10km away from home. All dressed up with a full face cover and snowmobile jumbo mitts. On the way down, no problem. On the way back, more than two hours later, suddenly, the chain is skipping. Going up a little bump becomes a problem as the drivetrain no longer works.

That good old vintage Campy derailleur has completely seized up, and there is no more tension on the chain. Having not used many Campy components, I was a little disapointed that Campy didn't live up to its reputation. (Just kidding). I will soon be replacing the derailleur with a 15$ mass market Shimano Tourney, which I'm sure will be much more reliable than an old Campy :)

Here is a picture if this beautiful commuter.

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