commutercharli: Bikes I Ride (Last update: April 2015)

I feel like I was acquiring bikes at a terrifying rate, but I believe I am now at a stopping point--I can't imagine wanting any other bikes than the three I have now. Plus I don't have any more room! In theory the bikes have names, but I never actually use them (basically my parents' approach to their kids' names).

Globe Daily

My first adult bike. I'd been toying with the idea of having a bike for years, and after listening to D talk about going on rides and seeing a cute bike in the window next to coffee shop, I finally decided that I needed a bike of my own. I didn't actually get that original bike I saw, but I've had a lot of fun with this one. At first I used it primarily for commuting, but after I got my job and moved, it couldn't handle the 8 mile and then the 15 mile commute. Now it's my "beater" bike in the sense that it's the bike I'm least uncomfortable leaving locked outside. I ride it mostly to the Metro (and leave it with 2 U-locks), but it's also served as a more than capable grocery getter. More details here.

Wilma, short for Giuglielma

Brompton

This was kind of an unplanned purchase, though I was already familiar with Bromptons since D has one. D told me about this new demo at his local bike shop so I wanted to see it (as you do), and while we were checking it out one of the salespeople offered a one-day deal on it. We left and sat in the car and thought long and hard about it, then went back and got it. I can't stress enough how much I love this bike. The main selling point was its usefulness for a multi-modal commute, but it's just so much fun to ride that it's become my primary exploring bike as well.

Richard, partner of Hyacinth

Rivendell Betty Foy

Note: D and I actually finished putting to together the bike in April 2015! My bike is in DC now, and I wrote up my first week of riding here. I'll have more to blog about for sure, but for now I'll leave this up as a historical document (though I updated the running list to reflect that I've got everything).

I wasn't actually planning on getting this bike for a few years, but when Rivendell decided to start making the Cheviot and retire the Betty Foy, I panicked and called all over the place looking for the frame (D actually found it).

There's a longer story that I may write up later about, but for now the frame lives in a box in D's living room, and it will be at least a year before D and I (mostly D) will be able to build up.