Bicycle Nuts

This is our kitchen. This is our kitchen with all our bicycles in it. It has the good ones, the commuters, the frame that is being repainted and built up as the "art bike" and the hybrid on the trainer.

Folks who are not into bicycles look at this and shake their heads. Why would you need so many bikes? Well, first, different bikes are good for different purposes. My partner has a commuter bike that is a work horse. It has lights and fenders for the weather, unlike his good road bikes which he saves for fair weather and long rides. If I am riding a long hilly distance I take my light Fuji Supreme RC which flies up the hills. So each bike has its place and purpose.

Also, bikes are like friends. The bike you choose to ride will depend on what mood you are in and what you are planning to do. For instance, when I want to ride a bike with soul I ride my red Luna. It was hand-made by a woman in New Mexico who only makes bikes for women. Of all the bikes I have this is the one with the most soul.

Each bike feels different and handles differently depending on many factors including the frame material, the components, the geometry etc... So riding each one is a unique experience.

In our kitchen we have a weight bench, a bike shop area, and the trainer. We have no table and chairs or pot racks. The counter, sink, and stove are on one side and serve their functions, but the rest of the room belongs to the bicycle. We have our priorities!

Favorite Pic on the Bike

This is my favorite picture of me on the bike thus far. It is a couple years old so right now I am both a little fatter and a bit more muscular than that picture, but it captures my love of it all.

I am riding my first true bicycle love. My red Luna steel frame bicycle. (More on that later.)

Falling in Love on and with the Bicycle

When I met my partner, who has been an athlete all his life and a cyclist for over 20 years, I knew that a lot more exercise was going to come into my sedentary life. He got me on a bicycle and the first time we rode the full length of the Minuteman bicycle trail I had to stop at least ten times to rest. He was patient and encouraging and during those first few months together we even rode to Concord, a total of about 30 miles which felt like 100 at the time.

One of my favorite things that he used to do (and sometimes still does) was to come up behind me on the bicycle and give me a push. That he has the balance to ride and push me still amazes me, as I would surly fall over if I tried it. There is something quite intimate about his hand on the small of my back giving me a push when I was tired. It always gave me more energy to accelerate forward.

The thing that surprised us both was that I not only fell in love with my partner, but I fell in love with cycling. As I did more of it, I loved everything about it. I loved that you were outdoors. I loved that you could go distances. I loved that you could go fast. I loved that you could work cooperatively in groups to go even faster. I loved that my body felt strong. I loved that bicycles are beautiful. I even loved the clothes. I became a cycling nut.

Now cycling has infused all aspects of my life. I make bicycle chain jewelry and wear a cycling cap much of the time. I teach beginners how to ride at The Bicycle Riding School. I am also creating an art bike from an old mixie frame. I stripped it down and sanded much of the paint off last fall. (Unfortunately I forgot to do the fork.) This spring I will finish the paint stripping and repaint it. Then the real fun starts with hand painting it along a theme. I am thinking about using the theme "poetry in motion" but we will see what inspires me when spring comes. I will then rebuild it! (with help from my mechanically inclined partner mind you.)

So although my partner and I share our love of cycling, I have definitely made it my own. I don't just cycle because he does. I cycle because it is in my blood.