I swear I’m not going to become a bike collector.
However…I did see this bike show up on Marketplace for $25, listed as a “kid’s bike”, but the seller measured the seat tube and it’s 19" from BB to top. Fits me just fine! So it’s totally filthy, and there is some surface rust in a few places. Maybe some delicate paint on the top tube? I’ll tread carefully. But the seat post and stem can be loosened and removed, the breaks work, and I’m pretty sure the shifting will all work once I clean up the derailleurs and chain. Wheels have plenty of brake track left, and I believe I just need to adjust the front hub to take out some slight lateral play. The whole thing has Deore DX components, replacement seat, generic rear rack, but there are mid-blade mounts on the fork! The whole frame is double butted Tange cro-mo, and the fork is cro-mo as well.
I plan to take this one very slowly, cleaning it, polishing just a little, and slowly gathering the right parts to make this something fun.