I'm the aunt of a new bike!

[Trek420]

I'm happy to perhaps have played a small part in the selection of this bike.

My neice, that's Bikeless in Wi's oldest kid was shopping for a new bike (her old one got lost in transit). She's expressed an interest in doing the AIDS ride in '07 and has a current need is for bike commute that includes rough roads and trails as well as pavement.

After exploring options in her price range and available in England I suggested a cross bike; skinnier tires for future road rides, sturdy enough for bad or unpaved roads.

Guess she liked what she tried and she got this:


http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkM...sid=06TriCross

[cindysue]

very cool! congrats to the new owner and her auntie.

Couple questions:

1) how does a bike get lost in transit, and more importantly who pays?

2) what brings your niece to England? and then back for ALC '07?

3) when does auntie (and auntie's friends - hint hint) get to vist said bike in England?

[Trek420]

cindysue

1) not sure. will check with Bikeless

2) '07 ALC is her idea of celebrating completion of her Phd. 8-)

3) Hmmmm. You think I could figure out the whole wrong side of the road thing?

[Duck on Wheels]

very cool! congrats to the new owner and her auntie.

Couple questions:

1) how does a bike get lost in transit, and more importantly who pays?

2) what brings your niece to England? and then back for ALC '07?

3) when does auntie (and auntie's friends - hint hint) get to vist said bike in England?

1) My theory? It got stolen. Of about 30 boxes that got shipped all together, 3 never arrived. Those 3 were the bike boxes (of which 1 contained a bike and 2 contained paintings). My theory is that someone in the shipping business is stealing bikes. As for who pays ... well, some was covered by insurance, but not anywhere near enough. Worst was the anguish about the paintings, which were mostly done by friends of said niece/daughter specifically as gifts for her. Irreplaceable! Very sad.

2) Move to England was motivated by handsome charming loveable BF, who is from Scotland by way of Liverpool area. He got a PhD grant there that was better than what he was working on in Illinois, and since said niece/daughter had finished all but her dissertation writing, she too could make the move. Also it's closer to home (Norway). They're in Essex now, but want to move further north (Wales, NW England, Scotland, or Norway) when their degrees are done.

As for the ALC -- that would be Trek420 who's the motivation. Niece/daughter wants to get in shape after a health setback and saw from auntie Trek how that can be done. Go see her weblog from last year's ALC, if you haven't already. Even I might be tempted, but not until I see how I manage on the Cinderella.

3) Well, her dad is there on a visit now. He and I are both going in April. They have a spare bed (couch?) in a drafty steep-staired flat in a 16th century house, sqeezed between a Chinese restaurant and a pub on a busy downtown street. They're hoping to find something quieter with a garden come summer so Susie Q the cat can go out. Wanna go visit, Trek? Just let'em know when and I'm sure you're welcome. And their nearest airport has cheap direct flights to Hell, so you could visit us too while you're at it.

[DeniseGoldberg]

3) Hmmmm. You think I could figure out the whole wrong side of the road thing?

You absolutely can figure out the other side of the road thing! It's a bit disconcerting, but it's more than possible to do. I found it helped to watch the cars, but of course when I was on totally empty roads that didn't work too well. I can't remember ending up on the wrong side of the road at any time on my Ireland trip.

--- Denise

[DirtDiva]

Heck, in London they paint "LOOK RIGHT" and "LOOK LEFT" at the pedestrian crossings to reduce the incidence of tourist squashings.

[Melody]

2) '07 ALC is her idea of celebrating completion of her Phd. 8-)

Outstanding! What did she get her PhD in? And hooray on the new bike!

Mel of the too many smileys

[Duck on Wheels]

[QUOTE=Melody]Outstanding! What did she get her PhD in? And hooray on the new bike! QUOTE]

She isn't done yet. Hopes to be done by next summer, in time to celebrate with ALC. It's in ecology: Interactions of rodents, ruminants, and the plants they graze on. Hiking her mouse trap routes (catch and release) every day all summer in the mountains kept her in shape, but the flatlands of Essex ain't doin' it for her -- until now when she can commute on her bike.

[Trek420]

tlikiwi, "tourist squashings" I love it! 8-)

Mel of too many smilies. Her specialty is lemmings I think, and they don't jump off cliffs.

Bikeless, registration for '07 will open up right after Bikerz, liksani & Shadon finish.

[cindysue]

Heck, in London they paint "LOOK RIGHT" and "LOOK LEFT" at the pedestrian crossings to reduce the incidence of tourist squashings.

funny, I used the picture below in a focus group of crosswalk users to see how they liked this as a safety measure. Their main comments regarded the fact that the words are not in a universal language. They felt symbols would be better for non-english speaking/reading folks. anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there since I was familiar with it....

[Trek420]

cindysue hopes "I will get to meet you on the Cinderella. Are you coming for the pre-ride dinner?"

that's the plan. Bikeless will be in Nor Cal in early February. We are thinking of an easy test ride to get her used to a ride with a (small) group and clipless outside of the climate controlled envionment of a spin class.

Options include a ride in Sonoma county or...Lunachix easy Sunday series.

Stay tuned.

[uk elephant]

Just thought I'd provide a little update on this bike that was so proudly announced by my aunt (Trek420) about a month ago...

The bike is great! A joy to ride! And super fast (if only I could keep up). Unfortunately, it doesn't look quite as slick any more....I had to compromise the look of the bike for the look of my bum and put mudguards on. At least now I don't show up at work with a bit brown streak up my back.

[Melody]

Just thought I'd provide a little update on this bike that was so proudly announced by my aunt (Trek420) about a month ago...

The bike is great! A joy to ride! And super fast (if only I could keep up). Unfortunately, it doesn't look quite as slick any more....I had to compromise the look of the bike for the look of my bum and put mudguards on. At least now I don't show up at work with a bit brown streak up my back.

Hi UK! Glad to see Trek's niece on. Welcome!

Mel

[Trek420]

Glad you're enjoying the ride and...hey, it's a cross bike, it's supposed to get dirty so fenders are fine. Lots of TE gals use fenders.

Just make sure you keep that baby clean, lubed, frequent cleanings. A clean bike is a happy bike.

Has your shop showed you how to clean the bike? There must be a thread here somewhere......