Quote Originally Posted by Michelemarrano
This thread is so funny! I owned and rode a Five-Gaited American Saddlebred mare from 1977--1996 (I lost her to Alzheimers at age 28) and I took up cycling in 1998. I never thought about it but I mount and handle my bike entirely on the left side!! In fact, I refer to my bikes as "girls" and my Bianchi cross-terrain is my "Morgan" and my new Guru road bike is my "Five-Gaited" mare.
I have a "Morgan Bike" too. It's a Novara Randonee touring frame that we built with flat bars. It's mostly my commuter bike. It's so small that it takes 26" wheels. It's a versatile bike, like the Morgan breed. It could easily be built to be a road touring bike with drop bars and slick tires, or a mtn touring bike with knobbies. It's a ride-and-drive bike. I can pull a Bob trailer with it.

My black road bike is called Ruffian, after my favorite race horse. This bike is more of a sport touring bike, it's not very fast. It handles any road conditions with aplomb. I kinda think of it more as a Connemara Pony type, sporty but not quite a Thoroughbred.

My touring bike, a Long Haul Trucker, is named Camion. I used to know a TB/Hanoverian gelding by that name. It also means truck in French.

I lived and breathed horses for 20 years. I had an old Appy gelding, Felix. Lost him to colic Then I had a retired Standardbred, Shaw, for a short time. Then I had a little Morgan (?) gelding, Sam. I also got a BLM Mustang mare, Sijin. I had her for 8 years and lost her to colic too. After that I rode other peoples horses and eventually got away from it as i went to college (at 33) and got into bicycling more. A few years ago I sold off the last of my tack and bought my road bike. I haven't ridden horses much at all in 5 yrs or so.

I still love horses and I kinda stay involved in them thorugh the model horse hobby. Is anyone else aware of that hobby? I've been in it since '81.