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Why do you love your bike?
Do you love your bike?
I do. Mine’s orange, and I call it The Cheetoh.
My husband built it for me, after my last bike, The Bumble (yellow and black), got stolen from a bike rack in the courtyard of the Austin American-Statesman about five years ago.
A new book recently came across my desk. “I Love My Bike,” by Matthew Finkle and Brittain Sullivan ($16.95, Chronicle Books), will make you yearn for the day you rode for the first time without training wheels.
It’s 159 pages of portraits of people and their bikes.
There are commuters and BMXers and roadies and fixies and hipsters and hybrids and banana seats and monkey bars.
And a lot of weird mustaches, actually. I’m not sure what that’s about.
Want the book? The person who best describes their bike and why they love it, and posts it on this blog, wins!
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By Tom Forshee
June 13, 2011 10:39 AM | Link to this
Why do I love my bike(s)-
Sorry to say Pam but I have a few bikes in my stable and I love everyone of them for their own purpose. If I have to pick one though I would go with my newest addition- the Redline Monocog 29er. This bike is everything that a bike should be- simple- only one gear, light weight and those big tires roll over everything. When you ride a single speed bike all you have to worry about is pedaling- not what gear do I need to be in it really puts the focus and enjoyment on just pedaling.
By Maureen
June 13, 2011 10:51 AM | Link to this
I love my bike because it empowers me to go where I need to under my own power. I love flying on the downhills and working my way up the uphills. I love soaring past traffic jams in the bikelane and occasionally passing other cyclists in a triathlon. I love its purple, white, and gold color scheme. I love my bike!
By Becky Bullard
June 13, 2011 11:26 AM | Link to this
My bike is a cotton-candy pink beach cruiser named Bonnie. Bonnie is somewhat overweight, which leaves me huffing and wheezing behind everyone else when we go on group rides. I tell her it’s okay, she’s just big-boned. For a pink ol’ lady, she’s pretty tough — she took a tumble out of the back of my husband’s pick-up truck, but that certainly didn’t stop her. She may have a few screws loose, but Bonnie’s the only one for me.
By Amy Lynn
June 13, 2011 12:06 PM | Link to this
To say I am most alive on my bike would be an understatement. Betty Blue has only been with me since 2010, but we already have a bond that is beyond words. We have been through Ironman’s together and she has had blood, sweat and tears shed on her through the long miles as well as a few other fluids.
She is a candy blue with highlights of silver and white. She has a matching white seat and blue tape for the aero bars that she fancies along with blue clips.
She is a young gal, but knows how to take the turns fast and efficiently like a vintage pro. She keeps me determined for the goal in each race and loves the looks she gets from other riders.
I am most alive when we speed down hills at over 35 mph. Stress, problems and worries are out the window when I saddle up on Betty Blue. It is just me, her and the engine.
By Big Z
June 13, 2011 1:24 PM | Link to this
I rock a beach cruiser - faded/crusted/chipped two tone paint, **** rusted, she sings! (squeaks and squeals at best), duct taped / foamed barely holding on for dear life surfboard rack, walmart plastic bagged seat (recently reupholstered), bent/warped front wheel, tennis racket handle wrapped handlebards (for comfort, LOL). She has seen 5 Texas beaches in her lifetime…
Why do I love her so much? She brings me to the Waves… Without her, I would have no love in my life.
By Kevin Crawford
June 13, 2011 1:51 PM | Link to this
Wow! This is like picking your favorite child.
My first two bike live in the garage, arguing over who’s turn is next. My road bike is built for long days in the saddle wandering far from home. She’s taken me to Shiner, Wichita Falls, across Iowa and maybe one day thorough the Rockies. Then there’s my triathlon bike who just loves to go fast. Don’t put a lot of extra gear on him; it’ll only slow us down.
Two others live a more relaxed life out in the shed. My new friend is my mountain bike. This is the first bike I didn’t feel bad about getting that first scratch. We both got one together so it was a bit like a badge of honor. Finally, there’s the Antelope. She’s a rescue bike who visits from a good neighbor. A little older, she doesn’t have all the new tech the other ones have but is always ready for a run through the neighborhood for a cold one with friends or to a nearby restaurant for a bite. Old bikes don’t die, they just take you different places at a little different speed.
So I guess I love them all for the same reasons: they’re always ready to go, quiet and clean and each dedicated to their purpose. Remember, the perfect number of bikes is one more than you already have.
By Mark Cathcart
June 15, 2011 2:37 PM | Link to this
I love my bike because it doesn’t mind that I have other bikes; I love my bike because it doesn’t mind if I ride it hard; I love my bike because I never feel guilty if I go out with another bike; I love my bike because even when I’m all sweaty, and even dirty, it never says anything; I love my bike because I can let a friend use it and there is never any jealousy except my friends rarely want to leave afterwards; my bike never complains when my bike shirt and shorts don’t match; my bike always enjoys being oiled;
By Pam LeBlanc
June 15, 2011 3:06 PM | Link to this
Oooo, this is really tough, but I have to go with Becky’s pink beach cruiser named Bonnie. (Although out of sheer sentimentality I nearly picked Kevin, because he has an Antelope. I had one of those — it was so heavy and clunky I renamed it the Canteloupe.) Congrats Becky! Pam