Since old Ma Nature has finally seen fit to bless the city of Boston with a day that was not only sunny, but also comfortably warm, I thought today might be a good time to discuss cycling attire.
I love travelling by bicycle. In fact, before my wife became pregnant, I didn't even learn to drive a car. People would always ask me why, but that's a post for another place (maybe Channeling Bunny). Many people would find this a great restriction, but I found it quite freeing, kind of like not having credit cards. I would always tell people that they should ride a bike to work when the weather permits, and the most frequent argument against it always had to do with having to dress for the bike. Obviously, these people had never heard of the trusty English 3 speed.
I took this picture on my way home from work this afternoon. Note the manner in which I am dressed. Note also the lack of spandex, shorts, or even a heavy bag around my back. This is all thanks to the bike. The English 3 speed was mass produced forever in Britain as a means of transportation for the average adult, in a time when the average adult dressed like an adult.These bikes are great. They still make similar ones today. However, so many of them were produced at one time that a little digging will easily find a proper old one for a fraction of the cost of a piece-of-junk new bike. And of course the coolness factor increases exponentially. Features to look for include: a basket to carry all of the junk that modern people see fit to cart back and forth to the office these days, an upright stance making it possible to ride in a sports jacket, fenders to keep splashes off of your clothes, and a chain guard to keep your right pants leg out of the chain without having to roll it up. It's a dressy bike, and a comfortable ride.
You can ride it dressed like this:
Algebra teacher chicDon't forget to wear your helmet! ( if only someone would design one that doesn't make you look like a mope).
