This Is My Bike, #1 in a Series
My bike doesn’t have a name. In fact, none of my bikes ever have. Despite liking the idea, there’s never been the right feel—I’ve loved all my rides, but somehow naming them has never quite happened. If I were picking names though, I’d do what B.B. King does and have one name that passes to all my bikes, the way all his guitars are named Lucille, new or old. I do, though, come up with nicknames now and then. I call this one “the sled,” since its stealth-bomber style and abundance of carbon fiber make it look a little like a carbon bullet. It’s sexy, but in that production roadster way: It’s the Z3 of road bikes, if the Z3 were made in America.
It’s far from unique—at least my cross bike is a mishmash of components and is geared for Forest Park. Despite its generic nature, though, I’m quite fond of it, as it came to me by way of good fortune and hard riding. And it fits me like a glove. No other bike I’ve owned has been so dialed-in for overall fit and feel. So, when I finally go ask Sacha or Ira to hold a slot in the queue for me, I’ll be ready for something truly my own, but I’ll be bringing all the sled’s measurements with me.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 17th, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Outdoor Sport, Personal Reflection, Who We Are. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I’m feeling a sense of irony in landing here. Meandering through our design magazines collection, in our quest to stay current, I came across www.nau.com. I was instantly struck by the well designed clotes. I put the website in my favorites and rushed to lunch.
When I returned; waiting for me is the picture of the bicycle. After 12 years of racing as professional and not riding for the last year, this simple picture was enough to crack me……..I’m going riding this afternoon!
John brady
May 17th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Sweet! Glad I got you out the door! While I never reached the pro level, I spent many years dedicated to the racing scene, locally and regionally. You never lose the bug, that’s for sure. Holler if you’re ever in PDX, and we’ll go for spin.
Also, I love your designs. Do you have a Portland dealer? Don’t think I could afford them, but they’re gorgeous.
Otis
May 18th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
The Vanilla site you link to is pure bike porn. Looking at the track bikes, I felt a thrill a haven\’t experienced since perusing the pages of www.mandalacustomshapes.com before ordering my surfboard…
May 18th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
That is one sweet ride. It should be noted that the Z3 was produced in South Carolina, but who needs a roadster when you have that carbon fiber beauty. I really need to get out for a ride.