Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sweet Pea!


A while ago, a friend introduced me to the loveliness that is the Sweet Pea bicycle. I should back up to say Portland, OR is one of my favorite places on earth, hands down. I go there as often as I can, which is to say sometimes several times a year. There's something about Portland that is so me- maybe it's all the hippie tree huggers, maybe it's all the bikes, I don't know. Maybe it's that the first 10 of 10 times I went there, it never rained.
Well, anyway, I started thinking about getting a new bike a while ago. At first I thought it would be this darling, the Ibis Silk.

Then it turned out my connection to a discount fell through and a completely built-up model was impossible to find (so no test ride) and the frame wasn't available in my size, though I searched several states as I was traveling.
Then came my diagnosis and so much sadness. Not to mention learning that diet plus exercise is as effective as some medications in treating cancer. So, the day after my diagnosis, I put a deposit down on a Sweet Pea. These are steel-frame bikes, hand built in Portland, OR by Natalie Ramsland . And they're amazing.

On Friday I'll be flying to Portland for my fitting which will be completely custom, it should take about 2 hours to make sure every aspect of my geometry matches my new bike's geometry. To make it more exciting, when I spoke to the guy doing it, he said if I could get there the 22nd, he'd have two of the nation's top sports medicine doctors there as well- I was so IN!
I've promised to take a ton of pictures, so look for them next week, or I'll try to blog from Portland.

I cannot wait for this weekend, I cannot wait for Portland, I cannot wait for this bike.

I have a ton of decisions to make about her too- I think I've decided on the color scheme, I think I've decided on a bunch of small details, but more major stuff, eh, who knows. Good thing I have some very handsome, knowledgeable, patient friends who 1) don't notice that they're being publically manipulated with blatant flattery and 2) are as excited about this as I am.

Here's just some more eye candy:


This one above is one of the nicest builds I've ever seen. Notice it's got generator hubs- so that means as you pedal, the hub makes the power for the lights. It's also got S&S couplers- that the silver joint on the tubes (you can see it right below the nose of the seat)- not only are these beautiful, but it makes it easier to take the bike apart for traveling. Unfortunately, it doesn't make it easy enough to me to justify the additional $600.)


This one's called Two Bite Curry. I do love curry.


Though I'm anxious for her arrival, I'm also still very much in love with Baby, though she hasn't been getting much attention lately. Unfortunately, recovery has been a little bit more uncomfortable than I thought, so I'm putting my energy into healing. Hey look, shiny bike parts...

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