I did not have a bike again until we moved to Canada (from Durban, South Africa). This next bike was a hand me down from my mum - white with pink and blue decals, this thing weighed about as much as I did at the time. My mum thought it was fun to ride from East Van to Stanley Park and back again on Saturdays. Back then I thought it was torture. In typical teenage fashion I complained the entire trip and made us stop often to rest. But I do remember how stunning the rides were, how it built my confidence to ride in traffic and how much I looked forward to going by the blackberry bushes along the way and stopping for a few tasty treats. That bike later became my best pal. I started highschool and rode her everyday come rain, sleet or snow. I loved the communal house we lived in at the time but those rides were my time alone to think and dream. That and well, I could spend my saved up busfare on 5c candy from 7/11 and records at garage sales. We were big on garage sales back then. Perhaps that was where I learned my love of vintage.
Other than a brief attempt at reliving my childhood by purchasing another BMX - which spent more time hanging on my wall as art than being used as transportation - it's been a few years since I owned a bike. A lot of my friends ride - for leisure, out of necessity and for hours training for crazy tours - and all have advised me as to which kind of bike to get. But I am not a hardcore mountain biker or a speed racer and definitely not a tricky BMXer (I need gears!) so what is a girl to do?
And then there she was. Crammed near the back of the rack, bright yellow tag blowing in the breeze, a ladies 3-speed Raleigh of Nottingham, her new Shwalbe, white wall tires gleaming in the sun. I love the idea of a vintage bike that has been given new life and the folks at Our Community Bikes do an awesome job - new tires, brakes, gears and chain so that she's safe and road ready but nothing to take away from her original charm. Since I am still without a vehicle these days (by choice of course) my bike has to be practical - so the basket up front, the rack in the back and a bell where necessary elements but also help restore her to her former glory. I can see it now - flowers, fruit and a baguette piled up in the basket and purchases from a day at the used bookstore secured to the rack.
It's going to be a fantastic summer!
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( 2.9 / 614 )Hello and thanks for reading.
Not much to report right now but I hope to write about some experiences once I am filming back on the Battlestar set.
Until then, all the best.
Kandyse
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