Isn’t it strange how a bicycle — a machine made up of hollow tubes, rubber tires, a chain, and gears — has the ability to cause swooning and lascivious thoughts. And dreams of sprinting from behind a leadout for the finish line or enduring a long slog of a climb for the reward of a descent at speed. Cars and automobilia have the same effect — the E30 BMW M3 or Lancia Delta S4 Group B rally car causes motorheads, at least those like me who love boxy sports cars from the 1980s — to perspire and dream of speeding through a curvy road in autumn, the leaves gold and red and the sunroof (if equipped) open.
But a car, like a bike, is only a tool. And like a tool, it can be misused. My grandfather’s toolshed is filled with implements older than his 85 years, all worn with age and use, but all perfectly still suited for the tasks that they were intended. The BMW M3 that deserves a driver who’ll spin the engine up to its rev limiter on occasion and who will test the tires through an ess-curve is misused if its used as a beater, covered in dents with rusty rocker panels and an engine with an intermittent miss. Same too with the bicycle — a skipping derailleur, a worn chain, tires cut — contribute to the complete machine’s losing its mechanical magic. Just as there’s few things in motoring as fine as a well-executed heel-toe downshift, there’s nothing finer than the metallic clunk of a Campagnolo drivetrain dropping into its next cog, or the raspy whispering snick of the Shimano drivetrain humming along.
Keeping your tools in good working condition should be a paramount concern. However, this is not a call for overjudicious cleaning and maintenance. A bike looks good with some grease on the chainring, it looks good with the residue of a rainy ride on its downtube. So too does the car — an immaculate car is an unused car. Some wear on the edge of the clutch pedal, a leather gearshift and boot worn from a thousand forceful grabs of the hand, a few rock chips on the front airdam from a late-night screamer down a dark road. These are the indications of a well-used and properly-used tool.
And while all machines worth lusting after are also worth lots, it’s best to use these machines as they were intended. Ride that DeRosa SLX with C-Record; drive that BMW M3. Exercise reasonable care. By no means am I urging on abusive practices — unnecessarily driving a RWD car of which only a thousand exist in a driving snowstorm, or riding a valuable (not the same as expensive) bike to the bar for a night of drinking — are unfitting, unbecoming, and bad practices.
