Back in the mid 2000's there was a blog called "Let's Go Ride a Bike". The main poster was a woman named Dorothy and she rode a Betty Foy all over Chicago in all sorts of weather. Sadly, her last post was back in 2015, but the site is worth a visit for inspiration.
https://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com/ On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 12:46:26 PM UTC-8 sof...@gmail.com wrote: > Hello Heather, I just wanted to pop in here quickly to say hello and > welcome! I adore your pumpkin platypus and the accessories you chose -- > such wonderful taste! I'm a newbie here as well, having just purchased a > lime 50 cm platypus when it popped up this fall on Riv's garage sale. I had > been an admirer for about a decade and finally decided to take a chance on > a Riv without ever riding one -- and it is just an unbelievably wonderful > bike. This folks on this forum, especially the #rivsisters like Leah and > Roberta, have been so warm, welcoming, and wonderfully supportive. So much > so that I also have a new Clem Smith Jr. getting a dyno hub at my local > bike shop. Hope to see you 'round here, and please share all the pics! > > On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 3:25:19 PM UTC-5 Joe Bernard wrote: > >> Leah and Heather, >> >> The similarities in your "how I got to Rivendell" stories are fascinating >> to me. I think it's a testament to the Riv vibe in general that your paths >> ended there, and specifically on mixtes. >> >> When the Glorius and Wilbury appeared in the mid-'00s, shortly followed >> by the lower-cost and easier to manufacture Betty Foy, I don't think any of >> us (or Riv) saw mixtes/step-throughs (droptube!) becoming a mainstream >> style in the market that everyone would ride. Now we have Cheviot and >> Platypus and Clem L and the Bike Snob guy rides a Platy. And there's my >> custom (I shout myself out here)! It's a whole new world! >> >> Heather your bikes are so rad! I dig the Albastache on your Platy, a bar >> I can't ride to save my life but they're SO cool. It's been great fun to >> read your story, welcome to the fray! >> >> Joe Bernard >> >> On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 11:41:36 AM UTC-8 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> Oh Heather, we really are sisters. I have SUCH a similar story - never >>> having a “nice” bike until I found Rivendell. Never fitting in with any >>> group or class of rider and having to find my own way. I still have anxiety >>> going into new bike shops thinking that they’ll laugh me out of the >>> building or label me in some way or not believe I’m a “real” rider. I so, >>> so empathize and thank you for telling us how you found your way. This is >>> why the RivSisterhood is so important to me; we have so much to share with >>> each other; it can be rough out there in the biking world, and it’s nice to >>> have a supportive, warm group of women in your corner. I am here cheering >>> for you from the woods of Michigan, loving your stories and adoring your >>> bikes! Same for the rest of my lovely sisters out there! (Guys, I love you, >>> too, but it’s just different with the Sisters.) >>> >>> Now, speaking of the sisterhood, do you know about Pam Murray? She’s the >>> famous Betty Foy rider (that bike predates your Cheviot and our Platypuses) >>> with 60k+ miles and counting. She teaches Cycle Savvy in Charlotte, which >>> is 130 miles from Asheville. I’d give my left rose-anodized brake lever to >>> meet her in person, and here you are in her backyard! You should meet. >>> Which makes me think: we need a Riv Sister Meet Up. I’d love to meet you >>> girl in real life and hug your necks and kiss your bikes. >>> >>> Thanks for taking the time to tell your story and share your bikes. I >>> have relished every bit of it. Keep posting! >>> Leah >>> >>> On Jan 4, 2022, at 1:29 PM, Heather Hayes <hhayes...@gmail.com> 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 a topic in the >>> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/w3NuvepUACY/unsubscribe >>> . >>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >>> rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> >>> >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0295f992-994f-435b-9940-c45acd46d1aan%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0295f992-994f-435b-9940-c45acd46d1aan%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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