I suppose Bill still falls into the category of "new friend" and "new riding buddy". After all, I've known him only since October.
Yesterday he met my latest friend. Now you are going to meet her, too.
Here is Dee-Lilah:
Yes, she is the Mercian Vincitore Special I ordered back in May. Actually, she arrived a week ago and Hal, at Bicycle Habitat, assembled her for me. I rode her home that evening. But work, other commitments and lousy weather kept me from riding her again until yesterday.
Before meeting up with Bill, I took her for a spin of about 17 kilometers. That whetted my appetite for more time with her.
Our ride took us through a variety of vistas: spires and windows that justify Brooklyn's nickname "The Borough of Churches", neat row houses in western Queens, the nearly suburban abodes to the east, opulent estates that look out onto the bay and ocean from the Five Towns and the more ramshackle places on the way to the boardwalk at Far Rockaway.
My ride with Bill spanned about 115 kilometers. So, in all, Dee-Lilah's second ride took me for 130 kilometers, or about 75 miles, of pleasure.
Even with such varied visuals around me, I could hardly keep myself from looking at her. I mean, I still can't help but to marvel at this bottom bracket:
or these lugs:
All right, I know it's a bit presumptuous to say how beautiful one's own bike is. But, on my way to meet up with Bill, a couple of guys were wheeling two pricey mountain bikes with all the latest gadgets off a curb. They stopped themselves, and asked me to stop so they could marvel at my bike.
And, I was about four blocks from my apartment when another guy was getting out of his car and stopped to express his admiration.
It was a bit difficult to stand the bike anywhere, as the day was windy. (It's March, after all!) But I think Bill got some nice shots of the head tube and other features of the bike.
I'll devote another post to more technical details for the bike. For now, I'll just say the bike is very aerodynamic. It must be: I felt like I was flying.
Welcome, Dee-Lilah!
Yesterday he met my latest friend. Now you are going to meet her, too.
Here is Dee-Lilah:
Yes, she is the Mercian Vincitore Special I ordered back in May. Actually, she arrived a week ago and Hal, at Bicycle Habitat, assembled her for me. I rode her home that evening. But work, other commitments and lousy weather kept me from riding her again until yesterday.
Before meeting up with Bill, I took her for a spin of about 17 kilometers. That whetted my appetite for more time with her.
Our ride took us through a variety of vistas: spires and windows that justify Brooklyn's nickname "The Borough of Churches", neat row houses in western Queens, the nearly suburban abodes to the east, opulent estates that look out onto the bay and ocean from the Five Towns and the more ramshackle places on the way to the boardwalk at Far Rockaway.
My ride with Bill spanned about 115 kilometers. So, in all, Dee-Lilah's second ride took me for 130 kilometers, or about 75 miles, of pleasure.
Even with such varied visuals around me, I could hardly keep myself from looking at her. I mean, I still can't help but to marvel at this bottom bracket:
or these lugs:
All right, I know it's a bit presumptuous to say how beautiful one's own bike is. But, on my way to meet up with Bill, a couple of guys were wheeling two pricey mountain bikes with all the latest gadgets off a curb. They stopped themselves, and asked me to stop so they could marvel at my bike.
And, I was about four blocks from my apartment when another guy was getting out of his car and stopped to express his admiration.
It was a bit difficult to stand the bike anywhere, as the day was windy. (It's March, after all!) But I think Bill got some nice shots of the head tube and other features of the bike.
I'll devote another post to more technical details for the bike. For now, I'll just say the bike is very aerodynamic. It must be: I felt like I was flying.
Welcome, Dee-Lilah!
Such nice lugwork is as rare as hen's teeth. How ugly the ahead stems look compared to a stem such as this.
ReplyDeleteMany miles of enjoyment ahead of you on this beauty.
I love the purple derailleur cogs.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bike.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen an ugly Mercian and this one certainly upholds the family honor. Love the long point lugs!
ReplyDeleteThe lugs, the colors...To me this is how a bike should look. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful Justine!
ReplyDeleteYay for new bike!
ReplyDeleteVery nice, she's a beaut.
Wolf.
Thank you, everybody, for the compliments. Now all I have to do is wait for the slush and ice to clear away and I can ride Dee-Lilah--and my other Mercians--again!
ReplyDelete