Metamorphosis.

            It was Friday, around 6AM, I was already at work - bored out of my mind - starring at the clock, thinking about the afternoon bicycle ride I planned. The regular route, from downtown via Venetian causeway to South Point and back. And then it hit me. I should ride a fixie. I had a  pretty decent road bike, I could convert to a fixie just by flipping around the rear wheel. But then it would just be a road bike with a flipped rear wheel. Nobody would really know it's a fixie. What if I removed the brakes, bottle holder, air-pump, and all the other non-sense? What if I stripped it down to a bare metal, repainted the frame, changed the wheels, and cut the handlebar?

            After work, I went straight to "You-can-do-it-we-can-help" store, bought some paint-removing spray, spatula, sandpaper, blue tape, basic undercoat spray, black matte spray, orange fluorescent spray, gloves, and hacksaw. Then I stopped by a bike store to pick up orange tires - so expensive that I had to drink Miller High Life for next two weeks - bright orange handlebar tape, and new black brake lever. Then I text my roommate to get ready for a new project. "Get ready for a new project. Remove the wheels from my bike plis. Be there in 10." He ignored my request.

            I came home, thanked my roommate for ignoring my text, then thanked him again for making coffee. I had taken my bicycle to the balcony and within minutes removed all the unnecessary rubbish, sprayed the naked frame with the paint removing spray, sit in the living room, and described my project. 'I want to convert my boring bike into something little bit more exciting. I wanna ride a fixie, and I am not going to buy it from Urban Outfitters or some other hipster store. Are you in?" I said, sipping from my coffee. He nodded with agreement. So we started the metamorphosis.

            It took all Friday afternoon and evening to remove the paint. It was lot of rubbing, and scrubbing, and scratching with a spatula and sandpaper. Old paint flakes were all over the balcony and my feet. Once I had finished, I opened well deserved beer, and watched some South Park to come to a different thoughts. Saturday morning, right after the breakfast coffee, I put some finishing touches to the frame with very fine sandpaper. It was smooth. I was proud of myself. I sprayed the undercoat paint on it, and let it dry. I was literally watching the paint dry, that's how excited I was about the whole conversion. In the meantime, my roommate colored the wheels with the orange spray. What a clumsy idiot. He wasted most of the spray on one wheel, so I had to go back to the "You-can-do-it-we-can-help" store. While I was gone he started spraying the frame, and the fork. He did much better job on that. I finished the wheels, and put some finishing touches to the frame. Instead of watching the paint dry, I decided to cut the handlebar. I did all the measurements, and slowly started hacking. It took so long that if somebody made a video, they could sell it as a seventh installment of the SAW movies - that's how boring it was.

            Sunday was the assembly day. It didn't take long to put all the parts together. I was like a little kid putting together a puzzle. I couldn't wait to see how the bike looks, and even more so, I couldn't wait to ride it. Front light was the last part I added. I put air in the tires, and that was it. The metamorphosis was over. My weekend project was ready to ride. It rides beautifully, it looks amazing, and it's unique. I thanked my roommate for his help, then I thanked him again for all the coffees, and took it for a spin. I wonder what kind of project will be next. Maybe I will go to Lybia to find out the truth about the revolution there; who knows? I am quite bored every time I am alone at work around 6AM... M.K