Bringing it home London, ON June 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
It replaced a banana yellow Bianchi, so clearly I have a thing for brightly colored machines.
Specialized built its Stumpjumper Comp mountain bikes out of some pretty durable stuff, because she has ably carried me for countless thousands of kilometres, and consistently fuelled my passion for a sport that somehow convinces us to roll out of bed before dawn and not stop pedalling until we run out of road.
But everything has its time, and as much as I've loved and bastardized this machine with racks, paniers, and slicks to fit my urban commuting lifestyle, it was time for me to find something else. Something a little faster on long road pulls. Something a little more modern. Something safer, with way better brakes. Something a little more aligned with the kinds of exploring I've been dreaming about for a while.
So the pink machine has now been supplanted by an orange one.
The story of how we came to bring her home is worthy of future Instagram posts, but suffice to say finding any bike amid exploding pandemic-driven interest in cycling has been a monumental challenge. (Huge shoutout to Dan and his @dreamcyclery family for making #newbikeday a day we will never forget, and to my wife for always being game to go on new adventures.)
Adventures take many forms, and as much as we think they require the right machine or equipment, the reality is they require the right people around us. Because even when you're on a solitary ride mashing the pedals past a quietly grazing family of horses, no journey happens without family back home.
And whatever color my bike may be, I wouldn't be able to ride it without them.
I'd write more, but it'll have to wait. Time to take this thing out and see what it'll do.
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Related:
Hitting the road, again and again, April 2021
Pink bike. Red protector. April 2021
#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On Cycling, February 2021
Green lane of death, November 2020
Seven years on, August 2020
Standing in the middle of an endless road, April 2020
This is why I ride, May 2019
Kindly make room for cyclists, November 2014
Rolling out, rolling on, April 2014
Do bikes belong here? October 2011
Where the rubber hits the road, July 2007
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