Stripping Marianela

Oh, the indignities of being a commuter bike.  


It's a good thing I didn't complete the one and only course I ever took in gender studies.  Otherwise, Marianela and I would really be at it.  And, really, in spite of what you may have heard about me, I'm really not the argumentative type. ;-)


You see, she is in the process of donating parts to other bikes, namely my new Miss Mercian.  She insists I'm stripping her.  I mean, today she had to endure being seen without fenders along a busy thoroughfare.  Imagine how you would feel if lots of people were looking at you after somebody took your fenders.


Not only that, the--She's insisting that I say "her"--Gyes saddle is gone.  Actually, she traded it for the saddle that came with the new bike.  

It would have been one thing if I'd actually finished that gender studies course and taken others.  But can you imagine what Marianela would be saying if she'd read The Handmaid's Tale?  She'd tell me I was turning her into a Breeder or something.  


Well, I'm not going to give her a copy of THT because, truthfully, it sucks.  It has plot holes you can pedal your Surly Long Haul through, and I simply couldn't believe that women had, in essence, developed a collective case of Stockholm Syndrome--one of the basic premises of the book.


And, let's face it, if Marinela is protesting the loss of "her" fenders and saddle, she has a mind of her own.  I respect her for that, even if I disagree with her accusations!  

A Bumette's View

I was such a bum today.  Actually "bum" has kind of a male connotation to it.  At least, I don't recall anyone referring to a woman as a "bum."  Are there bumettes?  Hmm...That sounds like the name of a band or something.


(Speaking of bands:  I actually played drums for a local punk rock band when I was in college.  Back then, it was perfect for me because I didn't have to be very good at it, and I could do it drunk, which I often was in those days. But I digress.)


So how much of a bumette was I?  Well, for one thing, I slept very late.  And when I opened my door, I felt as if I'd stepped into a blast furnace.  That destroyed my incentive to do much of anything.  So I didn't ride today.  


And what do they say about idle hands?  Well, actually, I had stuff to do, but I procrastinated a bit.   I finally listed a few things on eBay, including a couple of parts I pulled off the bike I just bought.


I find that I prefer photographing most bikes and parts in daylight.  So I find myself moving into all kinds of weird spaces and position to get the light or space I'm seeking.  Sometimes, I'll go into the driveway next to where I live, as it is partly covered.  And it offers some interesting views:

Once I leave the confines of the driveway, the shifters turn  into deadly weapons:

Tomorrow morning, I'm definitely getting up early and going for a ride!

Where All Of The Pie Plates In Brooklyn Went

Believe it or not, someone has actually come up with a use for those "pie plate" "spoke protectors" that were found on so many Bike Boom-era ten-speed bikes.

I saw this display at Brooklyn Bikes and Boards, which is located a couple of blocks in back of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.


It's located in the same storefront as a shop I used to frequent:  Bicycle Station, which was owned by Michael Rodriguez.  Before he owned that shop, he owned Open Road, just around the corner from the Bergen Street apartment where I lived.  A former lover was convinced that I moved there for that reason.  I deny it.


Mike was one of the better mechanics I knew.  And, as it happened, his build and his riding style were much like mine, at least in those days. So his recommendations usually worked well for me.  As you might expect, I bought a couple of bikes and a bunch of parts and accessories from him. And, we did more than a few training rides together.


Brooklyn Bikes and Boards is, like many other shops in this town, cluttered.  And they seem as if they know what they're doing:  They seem to be catering to a clintele that's younger and more self-consciously, or at least more aspirationally, hip than I am.  


Anyway, the owner--whose name I didn't get--was happy to let me take the photo.  And, I have to give "props" to someone who can do anything at all with those "pie plates." In one of the shops in which I worked, we used them as Frisbees.  But I think that BBb display is a better--and safer--use for them!