Enjoyable story. It looks like RIvendell has a whole new market in your
extended family.
On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 7:46 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <
jonasandle...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I decided to do a great American road trip with my sons and (retired)
> parents for spring break. “North!” I said, “We are pointing the van north!
> Giant sequoias, coastal redwoods, rugged beaches, here we come.” Knowing
> I’d be passing through, I emailed RBW to ask about store hours this
> Wednesday. They told me to come on by and say hello. This was like
> bucket-list-important to me. I bought my Betz at RBW HQ in 2012 but knew
> little about RBW then. I had no idea what a treasure the visit should have
> been. After I got my Betz, I fell in love with Rivendell and have read
> every word they’ve written. I have made friends from this list and on
> Instagram and have met one or two in real life - my life has so much
> Rivendell in it and it has brought me so much joy. So coming back this time
> was extra special.
>
> My parents and boys were good sports and indulged me. The plan was for
> them to look around, maybe shop a bit and then leave me there for a while.
>
> But they stayed. For 3 hours.
>
> So it went like this. I was visiting with Grant. I did ask if they would
> measure Dad’s PBH as he is extremely tall and has an ill-fitting bike he
> nearly tips over trying to get a leg over the top tube. I saw a look of
> covetousness flash across Mom’s face, but I paid her no attention because I
> was deep in conversation about books. Out of the corner of my eye, I see
> Mom take off - all smiles - on a light sage 50 cm Cheviot. Ok, whatever.
> I’m glad you’re having fun. Back to my fabulous experience meeting the
> staff and enjoying the show room and shopping for Sackvilles.
>
> The next thing I know, I’m being interrupted by Mom, who now has a *wild*
> look in her eye. “I need your opinion about colors,” she says. She has
> fallen in love with that Cheviot. And bad news: that Cheviot is SOLD. There
> is a blem Clem L for sale in hunter green that Vince wants to show her. But
> her heart is not with that Clem; it is with her purloined light sage
> Cheviot.
>
> Now, Vince knows Mom rarely rides a bike. He knows a Clem L is a great
> choice for her. He dutifully steers her that way, but it is all for naught.
> The next thing I know she is begging him to take her money and save her a
> light sage Cheviot that she has now named “Birdie.” Dad is looking on with
> an amused expression. He knows he is powerless to deny her that bike, so
> what is the point of talking it over? Then, Grant is adjusting his saddle
> height on his Clem L for Dad to test ride) because Dad always wants to be
> with Mom, and if it costs him a Clem L to ride with and be with her, what
> does he care? Dad gets on the bike and gets his measurements written down
> and is on a list to get called for a Clem L when it is available in his
> size.
>
> I left Mom with Vince to make all the decisions, and it was so good for me
> to stay out of it. I’d have never chosen the 50 cm for Mom; I’d have put
> her on a 55 since she is a hair taller than me and I have a 55. She LOVES
> the 50; the top tube is lower and she feels like it’s a “mid-size” instead
> of “a Cadillac like your bike, Leah.” She will have a Mark’s rack on the
> back to support her new Sackville Happisack (or whatever it is) and cork
> grips and grippy pedals. I like the heaviest-duty racks Nitto makes. She
> refused the Bosco bars and chose the Albatross! I adore Bosco bars! So,
> mind your own business, Leah.
>
> She has to wait 4 weeks and my mother is not a patient woman. But here she
> is, a surprise Rivendell owner, and I don’t know who is happier - me or her.
>
> Happy New Bike Day, Mom!
>
> PS My kids had a ball. They got tandem rides and talked art and books and
> movies with Grant and played games with magnets with the staff. I got the
> Clembasack and a few other odds and ends. But mostly the photos and the
> memories are the keepsakes of our day.
>
> PPS I got the first Rivendell in my family and since then, my husband,
> son, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and Mom each got their own. My sister
> is waiting for the anniversary bike and then that will make 7 Rivendell
> bicycles in our family!
>
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--
**
*Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And
though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the
hidden
