just bikes: classy raleigh

A few weekends ago I rolled up to lock my bike outside a store and discovered this beauty already parked there.



A vintage Raleigh in green. Classic Raleighs seem to come in such elegant colours! Modern manufacturers, please take note. Lime green should be left in the 80s.

The Brooks saddle (and I'm very tempted to put a sprung version similar to this one on my shock-less, at-the-complete-mercy-of-potholes bicycle) looked new.



Much to my delight, as I returned from shopping to unlock and leave, her owner turned up! You know how people and their dogs/partners/cars seem to "match"? I could say the same for this bicycle and her owner. Classy (but not 'vintage'-- probably late 20s/early 30s) and --ahem -- probably British. Apparently the bicycle had been in mint condition 2 years ago when she had aquired it, including with a skirt guard, but regular use (regular use? a good sign!) had left it less than pristine. To my eyes, that hardly mattered: this was one seriously good looking bike.

save this for me

Yellow dress, green bicycle, fields and trails and a piano on the dock.

round helmet roundup

It surprises me that people are still surprised by my helmet. Usually I get asked: "Is that a skateboard/snowboard helmet?" It's happened twice in two weeks: once was a coworker (male, used to have a bike but doesn't currently) and once was the girl at the bike rental shop where I recently rented some beach cruisers for my Mom and sister when they were visiting.

I think it's about visibility, because I would say that at least 30-40% of the helmets I see on cyclists these days are the round style. That's not inconsequential at all. And yet ... if you aren't looking, you don't seem to notice. Cyclists are invisible until they get in your way. They're generic "entities" on the road; no one looks close enough to see what kind of helmet or shoes they're wearing. I didn't.

The manufacturer with the most variety is the well-known, well-stocked Nutcase. My preference is for their subtle, classy "Super Solids" line.



I own the purple and have seen it around on a few other people, both women and men.

More stores, however, seem to stock their line of prints.


Another brand that carries an extensive selection of round helmets is Bern. Their Muse line comes with a short, formed brim as part of the shell.


There are more colours and patterns; these are just a few of my favourites. These shots also show the helmets with the snow-sport insert but apparently they come as a typical bicycle helmet as well. Sidenote: if you're in the market for a snow-sport helmet, most of these manufacturers I'm mentioning have options for that as well.



Alternatively, Bern offers a line called Berkeley with a soft brim.


And lastly, a brimless version called Brighton.

Bern divides their helmets into 'Mens' and 'Womens' so I've only shown the Women's lines here. There are comparable versions in their Men's sections which, depending on the size/shape of your head and colour preference, may easily be suitable for some women, too. These definitions are really just suggestions, anyway.

For brand #3, I looked at Mace.


I find that as a whole I like the patterns on their C4 line (above) and Trigger line (below) better than many of the ones by Nutcase. They feel more "grown-up", which, I'll admit, does sound a bit odd coming from me, considering how I'm always talking about how cycling makes me feel like a kid again. That said, there's a difference between feeling like a kid and looking like one, and when I'm going to work in heels and dress pants I just wouldn't feel right with polka dots on my head.



I guess there's just no accounting for taste.

There are a number of brands other than Nutcase, Mace, and Bern that produce round helmets and I hope to cover them in a future post. I have to admit that I've seen a few "sporty"-style helmets here and there that don't look too awful. Usually they've been in black or another subtle colour and suit the person who's wearing them. My preference is still for the rounder shape because (a) that's what our heads are shaped like, and (b) they remind me of scooter and motorcycle helmets, which have a certain romantic/sexy image.

Until our bicycle infrastructure gets considerably safer and the mandatory helmet law goes away, bicycle helmets could use all the positive association they can get. You might as well buy one in a colour/pattern/shape you like.

this video turned my head around

Riding a bicycle makes me want to sing, too. Crooning in place is so over.

just bikes: step over for ladies

Occasionally, among the bike blogs and comments and forums and articles I read regularly, someone will imply that step-throughs are basically mandatory for wearing a skirt. It does make mounting easier and narrow skirts needn't be hiked up quite so far (though a certain segment of the population may consider that a positive, no?), but there's nothing stopping a true diamond frame from being a lady's bike.

Mine is a compact diamond frame, purchased because I didn't like the alternative presented by the bike shop at the time (one of those extra-low step-throughs where there's only one thick, curved piece instead of top and bottom tubes) and didn't know that anything else existed. Now I wish that I'd done more research and bought something a tad easier to mount, but in the end: it's an annoyance, not a deal-breaker, and it's not going to stop me.

Exhibit A:


Isn't that lovely? (No, this is not mine. Spotted outside the YWCA.) The flowers on the basket and the Nutcase helmet and that retro green of the bike even coordinate well together. The sad thing is that you'll rarely see this colour on step-through bikes because so many manufacturers don't consider it a "women's" colour. (Bah, humbug: like "mint" is? My brain associates 'mint' with little-old-ladies and/or hospital scrubs, not classy urban fashion.)

I have to regularly remind myself to obsess less about having the 'right' bike and focus more on just doing it. In nice clothes. For the right reasons. Whenever possible.

just bikes: red with white polka dots

Oh, my! A custom paint job -- including handlebars -- that matches the saddle cover. With red cable housing and a flag on the rack. If this isn't expressing your personality, I don't know what is.

a new life

...for the old bicycle that has spent the past 30 years in my parents' basement(s).

It's a red diamond frame BRC Harrier. It has swept back handlebars with glittery red grips (with holes in the end for streamers!) but because of the similar level of saddle to handlebars it's not actually very upright.

Although it's a diamond frame, we think this bike was my mothers' because it's smaller than the other bike hanging around down there: a red Raleigh road bike with drop bars from approximately the same era. However, she doesn't seem to have many memories of actually riding it.

Last weekend I tackled the decades-old rust on the chrome of the handlebars and fenders. Here are some before and after shots.









I discovered that one of the pedals had lost a nut and was working its way off the crank. My Dad, who always seems to know just what to do in mechanically-related situations (whether cars, motorcycles, or -- now I know -- bikes), gave me a quick lesson on how exactly the pedal stayed on and how to fix it. Thank goodness he has a workshop full of miscellaneous pieces! Now the pedal is firmly attached once again.



Test ride!



My parents live on top of a hill so I rode back and forth a few times along the the few blocks that comprise the plateau, without descending too far. I passed a man walking his dog three times and he seemed a bit confused by the third time. I suppose it's expected to see kids just riding back and forth around the neighbourhood for fun but unusual to see an adult doing so.

Next up: we take it into the shop for a lookover and to replace any old parts that may have safety implications: brake cables, inner tube, etc. I visit my family for a weekend about once every 4-6 weeks and don't like being without a bicycle when I do, so this is going to be mine when I'm there. It also (somewhat) makes up for the fact that my primary bicycle is neither vintage nor well-crafted. There's just something so lovely about the lines of a lugged steel diamond frame.