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lizbeeThings that are great:
MY BIKE.
I don't think I've mentioned my bike here, which is silly, because I bought it a month ago, and I've been tweeting and instagramming and Facebooking it all over the place. It is a white vintage ladies bike, and is basically more feminine than I am. It's also incredibly easy to ride, and generally a sturdy little thing. At least so far! Fingers crossed that it stays that way, because I won't have time to do a bike maintenance class before I go away. You can see some pictures of it if you go through my Instagram feed (along with, uh, selfies, the cat, food, the usual).
Oh, good, you can link directly to pictures! Let's see...
The day I bought it.
It needed an Appa sticker ... and a Momo!
Then I got these beautiful panniers, which hold a massive amount of shopping and get compliments from strangers.
Anyway, cycling! IT'S SO GREAT. I mean, at first it was hard and I wanted to die, and now I go a lot further, and I still want to die, but with more excuse. Last Sunday I cycled withyiduiqie to the Continuum committee meeting, a couple of suburbs over, and I was so puffed out by the end -- and partially because of my stubborn refusal to climb off and walk up a hill until I'd already hit my limit -- that when we arrived, I dismounted and fell over. I am all dignity.
Somehow, though, that seemed to kill my nervousness about going places and road cycling and so forth. I cycled to work on Wednesday, right into the city, and I didn't die! (Seriously, Melbourne's drivers tend to regard the road rules as suggestions, and cyclists as targets. I was really scared!) Cycled to work again on Friday, and I'm planning to do so again on Tuesday, not least because I've saved money by not buying a weekly pass for public transport. (Not Wednesday, though -- it's going to be an extra-stupidly hot day, and I don't want to be sweaty and gross when I get to the doctor.)
This morning I cycled to Lygon Street in Carlton for a haircut, and continued to not die. I even cycled on Sydney Road, which has the general look and feel of a death trap, plusdannipenguin got hit by a car there last year, and yidiuqie saw a car hit a cyclist right outside the police station in January. Suffice to say, I'm proud that I did it, and I plan to avoid doing it as far as possible.
I realised yesterday that, although my friends have been calling my bike Appa, for its sticker and colour, it's actually Romana I. I mean, it's pretty, feminine and white. So I called it Romana for about five minutes, but then it evolved into the Vintage Ladies Cycle of Rassilon. Though mostly I just call it "my bike".
And because they're so cheap, these bikes are getting really common. Which is lovely!selvage and weaver bought one each on the same weekend that I did -- the owner of the bike store promptly put his prices up, so apologies to everyone else -- and Reid Cycles, who actually designed them, has them in even more styles and colours. So I see them all over the place. Yesterday, on our way home, weaver and I spotted a man riding a pink one, with matching pink shirt and helmet, and cherry blossoms decorating his basket.
I have to admit that when we all turned up for brunch with the same bike last weekend, I wondered if we had turned into those awful inner-north lady cyclists, or insuffrable hipsters at the very least, but I don't actually care, because I'm really enjoying myself.
I just wish I didn't get so very red in the face.dannipenguin asked the other day if I get bikey face, and I do, but it looks like this:
Like I said. My bike is way more ladylike than I am.
ETA: Demonstrating the popularity of the model, a former manager of mine just posted to Facebook, asking if she should buy one.
MY BIKE.
I don't think I've mentioned my bike here, which is silly, because I bought it a month ago, and I've been tweeting and instagramming and Facebooking it all over the place. It is a white vintage ladies bike, and is basically more feminine than I am. It's also incredibly easy to ride, and generally a sturdy little thing. At least so far! Fingers crossed that it stays that way, because I won't have time to do a bike maintenance class before I go away. You can see some pictures of it if you go through my Instagram feed (along with, uh, selfies, the cat, food, the usual).
Oh, good, you can link directly to pictures! Let's see...
The day I bought it.
It needed an Appa sticker ... and a Momo!
Then I got these beautiful panniers, which hold a massive amount of shopping and get compliments from strangers.
Anyway, cycling! IT'S SO GREAT. I mean, at first it was hard and I wanted to die, and now I go a lot further, and I still want to die, but with more excuse. Last Sunday I cycled with
yiduiqie to the Continuum committee meeting, a couple of suburbs over, and I was so puffed out by the end -- and partially because of my stubborn refusal to climb off and walk up a hill until I'd already hit my limit -- that when we arrived, I dismounted and fell over. I am all dignity.Somehow, though, that seemed to kill my nervousness about going places and road cycling and so forth. I cycled to work on Wednesday, right into the city, and I didn't die! (Seriously, Melbourne's drivers tend to regard the road rules as suggestions, and cyclists as targets. I was really scared!) Cycled to work again on Friday, and I'm planning to do so again on Tuesday, not least because I've saved money by not buying a weekly pass for public transport. (Not Wednesday, though -- it's going to be an extra-stupidly hot day, and I don't want to be sweaty and gross when I get to the doctor.)
This morning I cycled to Lygon Street in Carlton for a haircut, and continued to not die. I even cycled on Sydney Road, which has the general look and feel of a death trap, plus
dannipenguin got hit by a car there last year, and yidiuqie saw a car hit a cyclist right outside the police station in January. Suffice to say, I'm proud that I did it, and I plan to avoid doing it as far as possible. I realised yesterday that, although my friends have been calling my bike Appa, for its sticker and colour, it's actually Romana I. I mean, it's pretty, feminine and white. So I called it Romana for about five minutes, but then it evolved into the Vintage Ladies Cycle of Rassilon. Though mostly I just call it "my bike".
And because they're so cheap, these bikes are getting really common. Which is lovely!
selvage and weaver bought one each on the same weekend that I did -- the owner of the bike store promptly put his prices up, so apologies to everyone else -- and Reid Cycles, who actually designed them, has them in even more styles and colours. So I see them all over the place. Yesterday, on our way home, weaver and I spotted a man riding a pink one, with matching pink shirt and helmet, and cherry blossoms decorating his basket. I have to admit that when we all turned up for brunch with the same bike last weekend, I wondered if we had turned into those awful inner-north lady cyclists, or insuffrable hipsters at the very least, but I don't actually care, because I'm really enjoying myself.
I just wish I didn't get so very red in the face.
dannipenguin asked the other day if I get bikey face, and I do, but it looks like this: 
Like I said. My bike is way more ladylike than I am.
ETA: Demonstrating the popularity of the model, a former manager of mine just posted to Facebook, asking if she should buy one.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 08:30 am (UTC)Also, I must have your panniers. They're much nicer than mine, though I still miss the collapsible wire ones I had in high school.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 08:37 am (UTC)My panniers! Dunno if VeloGear ship overseas, but you might be able to source them in the US?
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Date: 2013-03-09 08:53 am (UTC)Those are even more gorgeous in the bigger picture. ::drool::
And it was partly about the gears and partly about a desire to have coaster brakes; we like to be able to stop in the rain. ^_^ And watching a troop of Girl Scouts who'd looked down on my "kid's bike" wipe out on a wet hill is still funny over 20 years later. (Hey, I never said I was nice.)
no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 12:49 pm (UTC)I mean, I don't think they were really designed to cater to a Quite Heavy Woman riding 18-25km a day on them, so I don't blame the bike, but I am certainly beginning to feel that I will need something sturdier if I am going to maintain this riding to work thing for long. Which I hope I will.
(the bits that fell off: some bolts from NOWHERE which as it turned out were from the seat (i have a new seat now); the mudguard (didn't quite fall off, but would have if I hadn't had him fix it) and the chain guard, which I may not bother to have put back on, the bike is much less rattly without it, if not quite as pretty.)
no subject
Date: 2013-03-10 09:09 pm (UTC)But yes, maybe not suitable for your specific needs? You should talk to
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Date: 2013-03-11 01:43 am (UTC)Still thinking of upgrading at some point.
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Date: 2013-03-09 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 05:15 pm (UTC)Heh, that is bicycling in a nutshell! I feel like no matter how much I bike, I still have days when it feels exhausting. But many more days where it is a joy!
You're making me excited to start cycling again. I had a horrible cough this past winter, promptly followed by repetitive strain injuries in both wrists which preclude all braking. I can't wait to start up again once I heal!
no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 07:03 pm (UTC)And you're not a hipster, you're a velocipedestrienne!
no subject
Date: 2013-03-09 08:03 pm (UTC)