I’ve just bought a bike. The colour, watermelon pink isn’t exactly a colour I’d have chosen myself but since Trade Me wasn’t flush with bicycles I wanted to own, watermelon pink it was. I had strict criteria for this purchase – not expensive being the first one. I also wanted one like Fran’s. I rode Fran’s bike around Bribie last time I was in Australia, and everytime I got on it I smiled. Okay, I was on holiday, but I was also sitting upright and could actually raise my leg high enough to step through and get on. My next bike was not going to be electric. My next bike was going to be one like Fran’s. That makes it sound like I was obsessed but actually it’s been winter and biking the last thing on my mind. Only recently have I started my search. I did a quick goog one day and just about died at the price of new bikes. That was it until Thursday when out of the blue I started looking on ‘Trade Me’. And there she was. “Used only once or twice because I don’t like biking” was enough for me to push ‘Buy Now’. That she also came with a helmet and her own lock were bonus’ I didn’t even consider.
On Friday we went out to Rangiora and picked her up and it was love at first ride. Pinky is now my favourite thing in the garage. I stroke the capricious, soft and well-sprung seat when I pass and I’ve even had the Jiff out cleaning the tar off the pedals. I love the basket within a basket, I love having a bike stand and a proper carrier, I love handlebars that are bendy and not straight, I love the fact that the tyres haven’t gone down in two days and I love the silence of the wheels. I’m just not looking foward to having my shoelace getting caught in the chain and the resulting tumble onto the road. But no, wait a minute. I’ve got a chain guard on this bike. And just to be clear I am never going to wear the baby blue helmet festooned with little pink flowers. It was big enough to wear on my bum and there’s only so much frilly a woman like me can tolerate. So if you happen to see a woman riding a watermelon pink bicycle with a silver helmet and a flappy old orange HiVis, that’ll be me.
Robyn Anderson 