Granny bike...

I recently posted a picture on Facebook of the bicycle that Martin is restoring for me. It's a vintage bike, made in Barton. Probably manufactured in the very building I work in, where I am typing this now. How very locally minded of me, huh?

We found this bike at the Walton Street market in Hull, a twice weekly market and car boot sale. The first time I saw the bike, I fell in love with it. The man wanted £35 for it, and we decided not to get it that day. A few weeks later we went back, and I got the bike for £25. We bought some painting and sanding supplies and a few other bits and pieces, then my very clever husband went to work on it.

This bike was a hideous mixture of pastel purple, violet, and rust. The brakes, gears, and wheels were covered in decades of greasy dirt. The cable covers were cracked and splitting. It looked a mess. But it looks beautiful now, and is (almost) ready to hit the road. The bolts need some serious tightening, and Martin needs to finish painting and fitting the chain guard and both mud guards to the tyres. Oh, and the mechanism that allows me to shift gears (all three of them).

I took the bike for a short ride on Sunday, and it is a joy to ride! Which comes as a massive relief, and I'll tell you why:

A few weeks ago I was running late for work and when I went to grab the car keys I found that Martin had taken them with him on the school run. So I grabbed his bike and started cycling to work. NIGHTMARE! It was so hard for me to ride it. I had to lower the seat so I could get on, and then the seat was so low that I couldn't extend my legs fully to pedal. I was shaky and nervous the whole time I was on that bike. I thought it was just me, that I couldn't properly ride a bike any more. I worried that my fitness wasn't good enough to ride (which is weird, because I ride a stationary bike at the gym all the time). I felt kind of crappy after I got to work, because I was sweaty and winded, and my legs were on fire. So imagine my relief when, after riding my "new" bike for about the same amount of time, I was nothing but jazzed!

So Martin has borrowed a socket set (the one he needed for my bike was missing!) and will be sorting out the bolts tonight. Hooray! The kids and I might go for a bike ride down to Butts Road park tomorrow--with a picnic. If only I had the basket for the bike. But I won't get that until next week!

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the bike has cream leatherette handlebar grips? That I will be getting a matching saddle for it? That it came with a basket hook and I will be buying a locally made willow basket for the front? And I have my eye on some beautiful leather panniers?

Yes, my dream bicycle is a granny bike. I will be riding it in my skirt with pride!