Bike Chain .... RUSTED!

I've mentioned S's fun little bike before. He really loves his bike. He takes it quite seriously. The other day I came home to find his bike up on the third floor back porch. I came in the house and asked him if he had given up on the concept of riding the bike to school for the season. He replied that his friend who works on bikes told him that leaving the bike out in the "elements" was a really bad idea, and that the chain will rust. When S heard this he realized that the bike had experienced a 30% reduction in efficiency. He said he has to peddle much harder than before.

I thought it was really funny that it took someone else telling him that the bike wasn't efficient for him to notice anything, but as soon as someone did the bike wasn't up to snuff anymore.

I left, and when I came back later the bike had moved back to the bottom of the stairs, chained back to the tree where he usually keeps it. One thing had changed, though. The bike is now covered with a pretty gray tarp. You'd think it was a motorcycle, or corvette, not a used, single speed bike.