I remember when I was a kid growing up in the Midwest, when someone got new sneakers, everyone would try to scuff them up.  They would reach out a foot and try to scrape it against your new white shoes.  At first you would resist, but I do recall feeling self-conscious about having bright, shiny shoes.  They always looked better after a few weeks of running around.

Today was one of those scuffing days for the new bike.  It was the first rainy commute ride for the Hunqapillar.  It rained pretty hard all the way into work, but it was nice and warm, so I really enjoyed the pleasant washing.  Everything gets mighty green when it rains, and the colors are much more vivid.

I got there and wiped off the grime, a bit, but definitely got to test out the fenders.  These Sykes fenders are flat and don’t have any “wrap” around the tire.  As such, they still do a good job of keeping the bike clean and most of the water off me.  There is a bit more splash, but it wasn’t bad – I arrived with just “damp” shoes.  Here are some pics I took on the way home.  The ground was still wet, but it only misted a bit, so I stopped on the Ravenna ravine bridge and snapped a few pics of the fully baked final build.

On the Bridge

Fenders are lookin’ red

This is a big!! bag

Home and Vivid!

Rearview

Proper Useful Bicycle

All demons sorted on this one.  Now it’s time to ride it ’til it looks used!