So last week,Lyle got a bike as an early Christmas gift.
Today, my wife and I get our bikes.
Lyle got his from SM Toy Kingdom.
We got ours from the Land of the Rising Sun. Junked bikes from Japan sold here in Davao City as cost-effective surplus vehicles for everybody.
After buying Lyle’s bicycle, we proceeded to Azuela Cove and let him ride around in the small pocket park a bit far from the people. This was the area where young kids would also play with their skateboards.
The third time we did it, the guard told us that the place was not for bicycles.
Nor was it for skateboards.
So, we decided to get our own bikes to ride around with Lyle outside.
We went to many places around Davao City but eventually found our preferred bikes at the big Japanese Bike Place in Cabaguio.
I knew what I wanted.
And I scoured the place until I found the item I was looking for.
This:
Yeah, it’s not much.
The handlebars were torn off. There was rust in a few places. No baskets. Crimped fenders.
A total piece of…
But never underestimate Filipino ingenuity.
They said they could deliver it in a workable state within 3 days.
My wife opted for a city bike.
I don’t have a picture of the bike because what she ended up with was not the one she originally chose.
Here’s another look of the trike from the back.
And just one more.
Oh yeah… that front tire definitely has to go.
There was someone else in the junkyard that day. Another dad who was looking at getting a 3-wheeler for a project vehicle.
So, I didn’t let go of this one while they were there. I also made it very clear that I had made up my mind about getting it by bringing it to the front desk. The owner then told me that it was good as reserved for me but they would need three more days to prepare it.
After Three Days
True to their word, they got the bike and trike ready on Wednesday and we immediately loaded it onto the pickup.
It was a tight-ish fit because I still needed to find a way to figure out how to do it right. We then proceeded to Azuela to try our new bikes out.
I’d say they did a pretty good job of putting the trike back together.
Here’s what it looks like:
Obviously, it needs to be modified a bit more to suit my taste.
DIY Mod
So, here’s what the trike looks like rafter we got it from the dealer.
They may have fixed the fenders a bit but they’re still crimped at some points and will need some very dedicated metalworking done to get it looking like brand new.
Because they’re a bit bent, they kind of rub against the back tires which is a bummer.
So the best solution for now is just to remove them completely and ride the trike with naked rear trikes. I’m not planning on riding over puddles anyway so mud won’t be a problem.
I also didn’t like the rear basket so I swapped it out with a bigger crate. It’s the same one as those we use in the farm for harvesting durian.
Voila!
Looks a bit better.
A Few Hours Later…
2 bikes and a trike!
Oh so happy!
PS. We used my wife’s GCash GLoan for this to make the purchase of these vehicles more affordable.
