Finally I know

My Miyata 610 that I am so excited about now for sure has a year tied to it. It is a 1981. I thought it was an 80 but I found catalogs from 81 through 89. My bike is black and so it is limited to an 81, 82 or 83. Not sure if 83 is included but I know after that 610's did not come in black. The dead give away is the brakes. In 82 and on the brakes changed away from the center pull cantilever to the side pull. So it has to be an 81. I cannot find an american/english catalog from earlier than 81 but the Dutch versions from earlier catalogs do not even have the same numbering/name system. Not sure if a 1980 English Miyata cataloge exists online but would love to see it.
Now the final mystery that I can tell is the issue of the shifters. The 1981 610 came with Stem shifters while the 1000 model came with downtube shifters. My bike has downtube shifters. Everything else is the same exactly from the stickers to the brakes. I am thinking downtube shifters were considered higher end at the time and whoever purchased the bike or someone later modified the shifters.
I am not a purist although I am keeping the original equipment I have changed. I added a stem conversion to threadless, new stem to increase angle and I have added new drop handlebars that are wider and lighter than original. New bar tape and brake levers. I also added a Bontrager Saddle that I am very used to from my previous bike. I also changed out the pedals to a higher end/lighter pedal with toe clips. I hope I can post picture.

Kansas Solitude

I love cycling in Kansas. Sure we don't have giant mountains or large flowing rivers or an ocean view but we have something that is a cycling challenge, WIND. I am acually growing to like the wind. I know that sounds stupid as I am usually cussing under my breath for the first 15-20 minutes at it. The tougher the climb the cooler the ride down.
Friday, My son and I went to Wichita to look at a bike a cycling/facebook/twitter/blog friend of mine had. Robert Garcia of RiverCityCycling had an amazing Koga Miyata 610 from 1980. Almost showroom quality. Not sure what that is since I was looking at it in a garage. I took my 52/54 cm(not sure) Raleigh Capri. I got it from a friend who did not need it and so I worked it into shape. I was looking to trade bikes and Robert obliged me. AMAZING how much the right size bike matters for speed and endurance. The Miyata is a lighter and much better bike. I consider Robert's "trade" as more of a gift. Thank You Robert again. Someday when I get a new bike, I will make sure someone who needs a cycling boost gets this Japanese wonder bike. I spent 2 hours in the garage getting it ready for me to ride it. Lights, cages, and bags. I took it for a short spin and ended up riding 20 miles. I could not stop. I felt like a kid on Christmas who got the new bike and would ride circles under the street light for hours after dark. The difference was not freezing to death. I averaged 14 mph on my 20 mile ride. I thought, surely my speedometer must be off. I checked it and no it is correct. I went up over 2 mph on average. WOW. I feel like the ankle weights have been lifted.
Saturday I did 32 miles. I have never done more than 24-25 miles in a single ride. I rode to Sedgwick from Newton on Ridge rd and then to 81 on county line road. 81 highway was a racetrack on the way home. I averged 14.2 mph for the trip but hit 30 mph many times and never dropped below 20mph. I did another 20 on Sunday and averaged 14.4 mph. I did another 12 this morning at about 14.3 mph avg.

Hard to believe that it has only been a little over a year since my neck surgery. I am loving life and HIGH on cycling and this new to me bike.