Monday 16 February 2009

bicycle love.

chanel bicycle.
I spied this bicycle in the window of Chanel in London... it's not quite as nice as the one I had in Denmark though. Well, I like the quilted chain cover, the logoed saddle bag, the shiny handlebars and the crisp paint job, but it's not that nice curvy European girls-style and it doesn't have a basket on the front, like the one I had.

Sure, mine was full of rust, had peeling paint, the chain had a tendency to fall off (causing me to subsequently fall off a couple of times. I ruined some brand new white tights doing that) and the back wheel got stuck every second time I took it out. But it was my own little piece of being Danish, and I managed to master riding it in heels and a dress. I would ride it to Uni, to the shops, to my friends houses, to the train station,to parties. Riding it wearing heels, a dress and holding an umbrella was next on my list, but one fateful day the back wheel got stuck for good, and my poor little bike that I paid only around $60 for sadly got relegated to the shed.

I left a key to my trusty bike lock in my room when I left with a little note for the next person saying that if they wanted a bike, they would just have to get the back wheel fixed and they would be good to go. I hope my wonderful little bike gets to ride again someday.

I would love to have a nice bike here, but where I live it is not flat like Denmark, and besides, drivers in Australia don't quite know how to handle bike riders and the roads aren't really set up properly, although there are plans for a 'Copenhagen-style' bike lane in the city. So maybe one day.

3 comments:

kerri said...

i used to have a beautiful little red bicycle and then some nasty boys wee-ed on it and kicked it to bits.

losing a bike is heart-breaking!

but i love that you left it for someone new

Katrine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katrine said...

Haha, this is really fun to read, Steph. In Denmark we just take cycling for granted without realising how Danish it actually really is! You need to check out this blog that I found just a few weeks ago:
http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com
It's really cool!

And it sounds really great with a Copenhagen-style bike lane in Adelaide!
As a real Dane I bought myself a used bike while staying in Adelaide. It was a pink mountain bike and I loved it! :) I think my classmates at uni found me really insane when I came all sweaty to class after doing Magill Rd during the heatwave. Well, maybe I was...