Leah, I couldn't agree more! It is so nice to finally be among fellow RivSisters here without judgement! Not long after getting my Cheviot, I went into a bike shop to look for a new helmet. As I glanced over at the plastic bikes hanging from the ceiling, the shop owner said in a patronizing voice, "Well, well, well, looks like sumbuddy's in the market for a brand new bicycle, huh miss?" I've never had a prouder moment in my life to respond, "Well, ACTUUUALLY, I just got a new bike. A Rivendell." The look on his face was priceless. After he collected his jaw from the floor, he replied, "YOU have a Rivendell?" "Yes, just outside. Would you like to see it?" "VERY MUCH SO!" Turns out, he was a super nice guy and a huge Riv fan. With newfound respect, he started talking about bikes with me like I was a real person and even showed me a Rivendell relic in the shop that he owned, a Heron. (Gorgeous headbadge!)
When I first started searching for used Riv frames, I was desperately looking for a Betty Foy or a Wilbury. (I still remember the fabulous video you made to honor your Betty after selling her!) I did stumble across Pam's bike, but didn't make the connection that she was just down the mountain in Charlotte! That settles it... all the RivSisters need to convene and I'll be the first to offer up western NC as one possibility! (Road trip to meet Pam included!) Thanks again for being so welcoming! :) Thank you, Jason! And nice to meet you too, Joyce! The tires are Continental X-Kings and they have exhibited great grippy goodness so far! Ben, as you can see from my "Tommy Voelker if he was 'shredding' a mountain trail" face, I'm very much embracing the fun of being a kid, and no longer taking biking too seriously. ;) After living in both places, if you ever visit Asheville you'll throw rocks at the restaurants in Raleigh, just saying! SO much delicious food here! On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 3:03:32 PM UTC-5 bjmi...@gmail.com wrote: > Like a lot of us here, I see a bunch of parallels in your journey to > riding with my own. The thing that you mentioned from Just Ride that REALLY > resonates with me is the idea of riding like you're a kid again. > > Ride on, Heather! > -Ben in Omaha (but who wishes he was in NC because he REALLY digs a few > breweries and restaurants in Raleigh). > On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 12:28:51 PM UTC-6 Heather Hayes wrote: > >> *Long story short, here’s photos of my Cheviot!* >> >> >> If you don't like lengthy, boring coming-of-age stories about bike >> riding, you've been warned to turn back now or skip ahead to the pictures >> below. :) But if you do, I'll share mine. The journey to discovering >> Rivendell and this beautiful Cheviot was a *completely* unexpected one… >> >> >> Riding my bike as a kid was one of my favorite pastimes, from the hot >> pink Huffy with glittery tinsel streamers and a rose-patterned banana seat, >> to a lemon yellow beach cruiser with a saddle the size of a movie theatre >> recliner and playing cards clipped to the spokes with wooden clothespins. >> In college I “upgraded” the cruiser to a super cheap, maliciously-magenta >> Magna from Wal-mart. I biked to all my classes until someone cut the chain >> on the front porch of my dodgy neighborhood and stole my sweet ride. Its >> replacement was another Big Box cheapie, which got me where I needed to go >> until moving from fairly-flat Raleigh to the mountains of Asheville, where >> I couldn’t even make it up the first hill outside my front door on my >> single speed sarcophagus of a bike. It was relegated to the basement and >> started its sad new hobby of collecting dust. >> >> >> Fast-forward 15 years. I hear about this magical place (beyond Middle >> Earth) called Rivendell from cycling-enthusiast friends. But I couldn't be >> a REAL cyclist, I'd be laughed off the road! Then I read JUST RIDE. Just >> @&!%ing ride!!! What an amazing book, outlook, philosophy. Ride like you’re >> a kid again. Have fun. Wear jeans. Be an UNracer. Who TF cares?! Beausage >> for life. >> >> >> My Chev is the first bike I’ve ever owned that cost over $75, and the >> *priceless* result is rediscovering that I LOVE being on a bike again. >> (Plus, I went to the School of Design, so I appreciate all those gorgeous >> lugs as works of art!) Now, I can make it up those steep-ass hills, and I >> even seek them out for fun. A good gravel grind in the woods became my >> meditation. I was also thrilled to ride half a mile up to my neighborhood >> market for fresh bread and cheese to put in my Nantucket wicker basket. >> #NoRideIsTooShort >> >> >> The Cheviot has already evolved many times as I discovered what I wanted >> out of a bike. Cruising around only on beach vacations became more >> adventures in the forest. Boscos were traded in for Chocos. Rene Herse >> Switchback Hill smooth-treads were replaced with Juniper Ridge >> mini-knobbies. My beloved basket became less practical for most rides and >> made way for a front rack instead. I guess evolving, adapting, and dialing >> in those components is all part of the fun, right!? >> >> >> I knew next to nothing about bikes two years ago. But after COUNTLESS >> hours spent perusing the Riv site, reading their catalog cover to cover, >> pouring over the Blahg, and following this forum to *learn so much from >> all of you*, a whole new world has opened up. Rivendell made bike riding >> accessible again, and literally changed the way I was living my life. I >> rediscovered that carefree kid on a bike, I'm beyond excited for all the >> adventures still to come! >> >> [image: Cheviot2.jpg] >> [image: Cheviot3.jpg][image: Cheviot5.jpg][image: Cheviot7.jpg] >> >> >>>>>>>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/88420b8e-44f2-413e-a84f-4d6013595140n%40googlegroups.com.
