matchy matching

On Thursday morning, riding to work along Hornby, I ended up stopped at Georgia, fourth in a line of five cyclists. For December, a fiver is not bad at all! One was a courier, one was riding a fairly upright bicycle with a sprung Brooks saddle, and the other two were typical "winter cyclists" in the usual gear.

The city worker who has been manning the intersection since the bike way opened (a woman, probably near-ish my age) was talking to one of the cyclists stopped in front of me. We usually acknowledge each other as I ride past each day. Her role seems to be to help everybody get used to the new lights (pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists included) and she seems fairly friendly. As the light changed, she looked back and said, "There she is!" as I accelerated past and smiled. What...am I getting a reputation as "that crazy chick riding a bike in heels and skirts"?

Then, as I was locking my bicycle to the racks outside my building, another gentleman (who wasn't wearing any cycling-specific clothing/gear) unlocked a bike and said, "Nice colour-coordination!" in a friendly way. (Purple helmet, red jacket, purple bag-- it may not sound that way, but the tones match up fairly well.)

That evening, I stopped in at a cafe. The barista said: "You're very matchy! I like it."

A hat wouldn't get these kind of reactions. For some reason, the coordinated helmet seems to catch people's attention. As much as I wish I didn't have to wear it or carry it around, it's certainly a great conversation starter.