Leah: Ordinarily, I really enjoy your posts. But I LOVE this one! What a fantastic story. Grant looks like he's having as much fun as your kids. Getting your parents on new bikes is wonderful. I love that your Mom just took off for a test ride & came back with "wild eyes" & HAD TO HAVE THAT BIKE! Reminds me of when my wife first rode her Atlantis. She agreed to try it out to humor me & within a few minutes ride couldn't live without it.
This event deserves a follow-on report when the new bikes arrive & there's a family ride. dougP On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 7:46:08 PM UTC-7, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > I decided to do a great American road trip with my sons and (retired) > parents for spring break. “North!” I said, “We are pointing the van north! > Giant sequoias, coastal redwoods, rugged beaches, here we come.” Knowing > I’d be passing through, I emailed RBW to ask about store hours this > Wednesday. They told me to come on by and say hello. This was like > bucket-list-important to me. I bought my Betz at RBW HQ in 2012 but knew > little about RBW then. I had no idea what a treasure the visit should have > been. After I got my Betz, I fell in love with Rivendell and have read > every word they’ve written. I have made friends from this list and on > Instagram and have met one or two in real life - my life has so much > Rivendell in it and it has brought me so much joy. So coming back this time > was extra special. > > My parents and boys were good sports and indulged me. The plan was for > them to look around, maybe shop a bit and then leave me there for a while. > > But they stayed. For 3 hours. > > So it went like this. I was visiting with Grant. I did ask if they would > measure Dad’s PBH as he is extremely tall and has an ill-fitting bike he > nearly tips over trying to get a leg over the top tube. I saw a look of > covetousness flash across Mom’s face, but I paid her no attention because I > was deep in conversation about books. Out of the corner of my eye, I see > Mom take off - all smiles - on a light sage 50 cm Cheviot. Ok, whatever. > I’m glad you’re having fun. Back to my fabulous experience meeting the > staff and enjoying the show room and shopping for Sackvilles. > > The next thing I know, I’m being interrupted by Mom, who now has a *wild* > look in her eye. “I need your opinion about colors,” she says. She has > fallen in love with that Cheviot. And bad news: that Cheviot is SOLD. There > is a blem Clem L for sale in hunter green that Vince wants to show her. But > her heart is not with that Clem; it is with her purloined light sage > Cheviot. > > Now, Vince knows Mom rarely rides a bike. He knows a Clem L is a great > choice for her. He dutifully steers her that way, but it is all for naught. > The next thing I know she is begging him to take her money and save her a > light sage Cheviot that she has now named “Birdie.” Dad is looking on with > an amused expression. He knows he is powerless to deny her that bike, so > what is the point of talking it over? Then, Grant is adjusting his saddle > height on his Clem L for Dad to test ride) because Dad always wants to be > with Mom, and if it costs him a Clem L to ride with and be with her, what > does he care? Dad gets on the bike and gets his measurements written down > and is on a list to get called for a Clem L when it is available in his > size. > > I left Mom with Vince to make all the decisions, and it was so good for me > to stay out of it. I’d have never chosen the 50 cm for Mom; I’d have put > her on a 55 since she is a hair taller than me and I have a 55. She LOVES > the 50; the top tube is lower and she feels like it’s a “mid-size” instead > of “a Cadillac like your bike, Leah.” She will have a Mark’s rack on the > back to support her new Sackville Happisack (or whatever it is) and cork > grips and grippy pedals. I like the heaviest-duty racks Nitto makes. She > refused the Bosco bars and chose the Albatross! I adore Bosco bars! So, > mind your own business, Leah. > > She has to wait 4 weeks and my mother is not a patient woman. But here she > is, a surprise Rivendell owner, and I don’t know who is happier - me or > her. > > Happy New Bike Day, Mom! > > PS My kids had a ball. They got tandem rides and talked art and books and > movies with Grant and played games with magnets with the staff. I got the > Clembasack and a few other odds and ends. But mostly the photos and the > memories are the keepsakes of our day. > > PPS I got the first Rivendell in my family and since then, my husband, > son, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and Mom each got their own. My sister > is waiting for the anniversary bike and then that will make 7 Rivendell > bicycles in our family! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
