It's true. This week, I've got bicycles on the brain. It's well and proper road cycling race season, and I'm caught up in the rush. Heh. I got to thinking about the role bikes (and other, similar modes of transportation) have played in my life, so I thought I'd share
13 Bicycles I Have Loved or Admired
The streamers make it look speedy.
1) Ah, yes. Nearly every bike lover emerges from such humble beginnings. I don't know if I had a Radio Flyer, but I definitely had a tricycle similar to this one.
Beefy.
2) In time, I needed something beefier. The Big Wheel fit the bill.
How did I manage to steer this thing? Eep!
3) When I finally graduated to a more grown-up bike, I had one similar to this. I don't recall the make or model, but I do recall the saddle being broken when well-intentioned family members tried to "adjust" it for a visiting friend of the family's kid. Grrr...
Coaster brake. Huffy. Yellow. Ack!
4) From an early age, I wanted to keep up with the big boys. To that end, pictured here is the first bike I saved up money to buy: a Huffy Pro Thunder. And yes, it was the same color as the bike in the photo. I'm moderately sure it's been involved in a Huffy Toss event somewhere since I last saw it.
How this thing doesn't sink into the sand, I'll never know.
5) I quit riding for a while, but when I was a teenager in Florida, I decided I wanted another bike. My parents got me one of these: a beach cruiser. It was massively heavy and as a result I didn't get much mileage out of it. Still, it provided some fond memories for me - especially since my mother got one of her own to ride for a short while. She soon gave up on that. Florida is too frickin' hot.
Not my exact bike. But very, very close.
6) Before my first wedding, I wanted to lose weight. I found a Murray similar to this one, and thought: What better way than to buy a new bike and tootle around on it in my spare time?
Oh, right. I still lived in Florida. Ugh. I rode it enough to get myself down to a size ten, though, so I guess the plan worked. For a short while.
Oh, right. I still lived in Florida. Ugh. I rode it enough to get myself down to a size ten, though, so I guess the plan worked. For a short while.
Not going to win any races anytime soon.
7) The bike I currently own is this one, a Legnano town bike, which my hubby purchased for me in 2004. I'm riding it more than ever before, and I'm enjoying it more than ever, too.
Color-coordinated. So Italian. I love him.
8) Speaking of my hubby, here he is with his Masi street racing bike. No, I don't ride it, but I love it all the same.
And now, on to the bikes I admire from a distance. Sigh.
9) I freely admit - I don't know jack about bikes when it comes to technical aspects. However, this bike, the Specialized Tarmac, was used by both of the teams I was watching closely last year: Saxo Bank and Astana.
10) Pictured here is my boy Fabian on his Specialized S-Works Shiv - a particularly sleek time trialing bike which he used in 2010. I still think this is one sharp looking machine, no pun intended. (And the bike's not bad either. Heh.)
Cancellara. Robust.
11) Fabian again (of course) on his Specialized SL-3 as he prepared for Paris-Roubaix this time last year. Bike frames can actually break on the cobblestone roads, so the bike has to be extra-strong and remarkably robust to survive. Just like the riders.
12) This year, the team I'm following most closely is of course Leopard Trek. They are riding this model: the Trek Madone 6 Series. Isn't it lovely?
Cancellara putting his Madone through its paces. Purty.
Sleeeeeek! No?
13) And, finally we have another Trek model, the Speed Concept 9 Series for time trials. This bike costs more than my last car did, and it looks fast when it's standing still.
And there we have them: 13 Bikes I Have Loved or Admired.
So you see, I've loved bikes for pretty much my whole life.
And be they friends or family, I've loved cyclists, too.
And let's be honest:
Can you really blame me?
My Facebook Friend and Leopard Trek rider, Davide Viganò.
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