I'm having a lot of feelings today...
This probs isn't what you thought you'd see when you signed up but it's my page and I like sharing my stuff so behold one of my latest pet projects. My friend the bike mechanic has been busting my balls about replacing my Peugeot bike cuz it's barely holding on together, the fork is slightly tilted, etc and I don't question his word so if he says I need a new bike I do.
You know how some people will literally forget where they locked it and then a tire disappears, then the handle bar and so on until eventually the rust or the snow plower destroy whatever's left if the city doesn't remove it? (If you don't know, look up videos of snowplowers vs bikes)
Anyway, my buddy is like the underground Chip Foose of bikes and once made me a custom bike (I actually asked for it pretty much since I met him about a decade ago) and gave it to me just cuz. I was honoured, he's my bro and it meant a lot to me. It took him a while to make it because my height requires a frame a little bit larger and there weren't that many. Cut to me looking for a new frame, whenever I saw one that looked big enough I checked with him and he doesn't mess around so nothing was ever good enough to be worth the work it takes to put things together. Until I found a blotchy black one, two doors down from my place, just lounging with the trash to be picked up. I sent him a pic and he said it was a keeper. Coming from him I saved that baby from the landfill and learned what he meant, it took me a fair amount of hours to remove the different layers and types of paint that were used to conceal that it was stolen over and over but I made it. I'm down to the small nooks and crannies but that'll be relatively easier. Then another good sanding and it'll be time to paint. I think. I'm gonna go for navy blue or indigo, brown leather seat and I won't go too wild with the handles but tbh I'll let him pick the details, he knows whats what. I don't get to see him that often since he got married which kind of sucks but life is life and bitches (or relationships what do I know) take up a lot of attention.
Removing the paint was easier than I thought and took longer than I expected but it was still a royal pain in the ass so I almost cried when I realized the level of appreciation it takes to put this much effort into a gift so I dropped a line to him to let him know how grateful I was. In my head he's already in a pedestal and I'd sound like a dick if i said I appreciate him more than before but between you and I, yeah, I do.