Leah, I had to do an honest soul-searching about what kind of riding I like to do and where the custom is supposed to fit in it. As you know I'm not very good at riding to "just ride"..I like to have a place to go, a thing to do somewhere on the loop. If I have a designated beater bike for those kinds of rides I'll always be on my beater and the Riv will sit gleaming in a room. So I said to heck with that! I'm still careful and wouldn't leave it locked up outside all day, but I ride my Rivendell. It's comfortable and useful and gorgeous and I love it!
On Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 4:24:35 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > Joe, I *know* how worried you were about your paint and now your custom > hauls laundry?! This is huge, huge progress. So impressed. And locking up > at Walmart can be really scary. Good for you. I’m so glad your custom is > doing all the things you meant for it to do. I’m sure you would never be > happy riding a beater bike to do these things. > L > > On Nov 5, 2022, at 7:14 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I love this topic! I had my custom designed to answer the question, "What > if I had all the qualities I love about Rivendells in a frame made exactly > for my size, weight and riding preferences?", and at first I was super > precious about it. Later I realized the whole point was to have a perfect > bike I could ride every day for everything and that's what I'm doing. > > > Of course I'm still absurdly touchy about scratching all that beautiful > Joe Bell paint but I don't let it stop me, I lock it up at Walmart, I fill > the bags with laundry and go to the laundromat. Because I want my bike to > do all the things bikes do! > > Joe Bernard > > On Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 3:15:18 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> Did you read Grant’s Blahg? He covers a lot of ground, but most notable >> to me was the Please Don’t Be Precious About Your Rivendell section. In >> sum, Grant is saying it saddens him to think of people riding beater bikes >> instead of their Rivendells to do daily, monotonous tasks - because those >> tasks make up a lot of real life. If one “saves” their Rivendell, it will >> not realize its potential, sit mostly unused and then pass to one’s heirs >> who will sell it in “near mint” condition on EBay, and how sad. What was >> the bike for? >> >> I have found myself both guilty and innocent on the matter. My #1 >> favorite bike is my raspberry Platypus. I ride it all the time, because I >> bought it to ride it, but I also dread any harm coming to it, and I do >> guard it from that. I got a second Platypus that I dedicated to shopping >> and traveling with and promised not to be precious about it. But now and >> then I still am tempted to backslide. When traveling to the Philly Bike >> Expo I dithered about which bike to bring. I didn’t want my raspberry Platy >> damaged while locked up at racks and I feared it being stolen. Roberta >> said, “I don’t think you have a choice, Leah. That’s the bike people will >> expect you to bring.” And she was right, and I did. >> >> Then, there is Pam. Pam is at the other far end of the spectrum. Her bike >> is a model of beausage. Innumerable paint chips and little spots of rust >> cover her tiny Betty frame. Her Backabike bags are full of holes and the >> elastic closures are worn out. She locks it up and never worries about it. >> She did not obsessively stare out the restaurant window to see if it was >> still locked to the rack while we were at dinner (like yours truly). But >> she loves her bike, has real affection for it. She looked at me, eyes >> shining, and said exactly that. Ana, PurpleRiv, is another good example to >> us. She adores her bike, but has not spared it from hard work. Her bike has >> hauled obscene loads and taken her everywhere. I remember there was that >> one fateful camping trip for she 1. Posed it for a photo, only to have it >> topple and slide down the face of a boulder next to it. I believe she said >> she sat there and wept for 2 hours over her Joe Bell paint. And who among >> us would not do the same? 2. Same trip, another photo op, and the bike fell >> off a cliff. >> >> So, who truly loves their Rivendell? The one who lavishes it with care >> and protection? Or the one who pulls it out of the garage and into all of >> life - the mundane and the adventurous? >> >> On one end of the spectrum we have those who will only take a Rivendell >> out for special occasions so as not to spoil it, and on the other…well, we >> have Pam and Ana, who will give it a good thrashing. (Oh, don’t take it >> personally, friends, I’m being funny about both types of owners.) >> >> I find myself wanting to be precious but fighting it and succeeding >> *most* of the time. I’m lucky that the raspberry paint hides beausage and >> dirt, so it looks pretty new. But a dent in the top tube or a large chip in >> the paint would really hurt my feelings. Heaven help me. >> >> Where are you on the spectrum? What words of wisdom might you have? What >> strategies do you employ? Do you want to change? Or are you >> unapologetically staying put on the matter? It might be fun to hear >> perspectives. >> Leah >> >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/fBVXpMqGxr8/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ccf7fb5c-47d3-4f87-965e-af4b0f41473dn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ccf7fb5c-47d3-4f87-965e-af4b0f41473dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > <Screenshot_20221105_155727.jpg> > <Screenshot_20221105_155815.jpg> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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