Bike Stories

As you can see in the photo, Grace has a wicker basket for her bike. She can hit a button on the handlebars and it detaches so she can carry it around the market and load it up with baguettes for when she bike home. It sounds wonderful, but there's a fear that comes with it. It can be stolen easily, if she doesn't take it with her.

Theft isn't just paranoia. Within a week of buying her bike Grace had her front light and her rear mudguard stolen. We can understand the light, but the mudguard? They didn't even take the part that lets it attach to a bike frame - they just took the guard. So someone out there has a large piece of black plastic.

But the wicker basket has been OK. We've also thought of a way to lock it to the bike, if we need to.

Grace and I both have brake issues. Grace's brake problem is a lot more annoying. They squeak, really loudly. You could hear her braking a block away. It's gotten better in the past few days, because now only one of the two brakes, the front, squeals. So Grace avoids using it. My brakes on the other hand, are whisper quiet, but largely ineffective when it rains. You have to make an advance plan for when you're going to stop, because the brakes need a few seconds to get the water off them, before they actually kick in.

And it does rain a lot. Yesterday, when I finished class, it was overcast and I called Grace up to meet me at Fitzwilliam College for lunch. About five minutes into biking it started to rain. Fortunately, I got to college just before it really started to pour. Not so for Grace. She was miserably soaked. Then, on the way back, also through thick rain, her bike chain came off twice. Grace doesn't like the rain.

Because Grace's front light was stolen, and because legally, you have to have a front light to bike at night, Grace bought a replacement light. From the package, she said it looked pretty good. It had measurements of distance and lumens - not that either of us would have known what was a good rating - so she bought it. I borrowed it one night to bike over to college in the dark. The thing was completely worthless as a device to illuminate. It probably helped other people see us, but it did nothing to help me see where I was going. I had to get off and walk my bike through a footpath that had no lighting.

But, enough ragging on bikes. They do make getting around town much, much easier. Most things are only ten minutes away now, at an easy pace. The movie theatre is only a 15-20 minute ride, whereas it took us 50+ minutes to walk there. So, when all is said in done, we like the bikes. It's very practical for an area with minimal snow and ice.