Time is not always a healer

I can confirm that 14 years at the back of a garage, under piles of boxes, bits of wood and other forgotten bits of life's lost paraphernalia - does not do bikes any particular favours. The first part of my journey back into biking is to have a bike that moves. Rather essential to this idea is wheels - and that is the first of a somewhat long list of issues that stand between me standing looking at some bits of metal that have the potential to be a bike, and me actually having one!

When first looking at my old machine I must say the idea to just get a new one and start from scratch did cross my mind, and I am sure that as I put new parts on and others fall off (which I remember being a somewhat regular occurrence, even when the bike was in what you might call one piece all those years ago), the decision to rebuild rather than replace may be one that I come to regret, but a new bike would just not be the same, I have a lot of happy memories with this bike, we have done a lot of miles together and I feel like the old girl deserves another chance. Besides, where am I going to find another set of the classic "Mint Sauce" stickers from the mid nineties!