How I Roll

I have been waiting, you see. Waiting to lay down a hot pic of my cool new ride: a 1964 English-built Rollfast, with Sturmey Archer internal three-speed hub and many original parts--chainguard, saddle, etc. However, I've been both lazy and busy, a near-fatal combination, what with school ending and Texans here (voracious teenage cousins of fiancee) and summer school beginning and a class I've been taking and wedding planning...So, anyway, no pic yet. Hopefully I'll post it soon.

But in the meantime, I have been riding it more than I've been photographing it. And it's awesome. As friend Kathleen C. said, it's like a cartoon of a bike--it clanks and squeaks and bumps and bumbles along. It's kind of like the bike Mr. Bean might ride--which is interesting, cause I've always compared myself to Mr. Bean. And aside from losing my shoe in traffic the other day and almost dying, it's a really dynamite ride. The only slight problem is that the saddle is killing my butt, since it's original, and the two-tone 1964 leather, while very cool, is more or less worn away, leaving just the metal and busted springs underneath to support my tucchus (or my took-us?). One other "feature": as mentioned a second ago, it's a three-speed, which is a new phenomenon for me--having to really blow out an O-ring to make it up a hill, as opposed to cruising up on my 21-speed road bike. But I'm joining the Slow Bicycle movement based in Copenhagen, that takes as its motto the slogan "Style over speed." So, for once, that's me: style over speed. Just try not to get stuck behind me on a steep incline.

And that's more or less all for now, pending a picture of my new whip. Everything else is peachy-keen: finished up the school year more or less intact, and anticipating a successful move to third grade in the fall. This summer I'll be repeating last year's sweet gig at the Bancroft School of Rochester (but teaching kids from the city) and hopefully doing some swimming and playing some corntoss and riding some Rollfast on the off-hours. Also, I'm planning some vacation action for July or August--NH or ME beach, anyway? Holla at me.

Cruise into summer on a bike built before I was born, with me,

TR