Godspeed, Lucy 3-Speed!
Today I said Good-Bye to one of my bicycles, Lucy 3-Speed. I loved having her, but I simply could not keep so many bicycles in my apartment - or sustain the financial expenditure of restoring them. Given that I now have the DL-1 - my dream vintage Raleigh - the Lady's Sports was redundant and I had to set her free. But it makes me happy that she has found a new loving home!
I rode Lucy to Open Bicycle, where I met up with the lovely lady who will be her new guardian. I need to check whether it is all right to post a photo of her and Lucy here; they look great together. Amazingly, the new owner lives in the same city and state as my parents - so Lucy is in fact going back to her home town!
I attached this Basil wicker basket to the rear rack and transported it to the shop as well. It is a handlebar basket that I bought new but decided not to install on my Pashley. Hopefully it will also find a new owner who will love it. This was a big "De-clutter the Art Studio from Bicycle-Related Items" day. But what is in the basket, you ask?
Oh just a few vintage Brooks B72 saddles! I have accumulated these over the past year and they had to go as well - don't need 3 extra saddles! They do look beautiful piled up in the wicker basket.I am happy that I've been able to let go of these things, because I really never wanted to become a hoarder/collector. I love bicycles and bicycle accessories, but I am looking for a few that are perfect for me, rather than for a "stable". Maybe some day, when I have a house with a barn and more money. But for now, Godspeed!
Aw, farewell Lucy 3-Speed.
ReplyDeleteIt feels good to sluff off stuff from time to time, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThank God for big houses!
ReplyDeleteBut . . . we've only just been introduced! They'll never be another one like Lucy. You've RUINED my whole life. I hate you, I hate you, I HATE . . . oh, look at that little Panasonic Mixte. She's kinda cute.
ReplyDeleteLater.
She was introduced almost 5 months ago : )
ReplyDeletePanasonic mixte? Well, if that's the sort you like, then fine, I hope you are happy together. I like my mixtes French and my Roadsters English. But then what can one expect from a man who shuns Brooks saddles...
Sad day indeed - for you, Lucyk, and your readers - but I'm delighted that you're enjoying your DL-1 so much.
ReplyDeleteDo you like the black color of the DL-1? I'm not (of course) suggesting that you repaint it, but I was such a fan of Lucy's green...
And I say that as a Men's Sports owner, in blue no less. Either way, a fitting tribute to a beautiful and quite photogenic Lady's Sports.
Farewell, Lucy.
aw I feel sad. Good bye lucy. and the basket is wonderful too.
ReplyDelete"She was introduced almost 5 months ago : )"
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't count. Why, she wasn't even wearing pinstriping way back then.
"I like my mixtes French and my Roadsters English."
Ahhhhh, but a Panasonic mixte is like an Asian conceived in France, educated in England, but who vacations in Italy - and only picked up the finer cultural aspects of each. And low maintenance to boot.
Although the bride price is kinda steep (but I note that it's dropping nearly daily, so there's yet hope) - and such a tiny little thing. I'm not sure we could make a proper physical pairing without one of us getting hurt.
The little secret of my elfin partner is that although she looks the very English Rose, she was conceived in California and birthed in Japan - by a Matsushita. We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees,Thy starlight on the Western Seas.
Well, it's west from HERE, whatever they choose to call it THERE.
If Matsushita were an Italian name it would invoke the same awe as De Rosa and Colnago; in practice it is often their superior - but don't tell anyone, I want to keep the bride prices down.
". . .and my Roadsters English . . ."
And I thought I was over my thing for Italians, a boyish but reckless fancy that I had grown out of. The living was too fast, too tempestuous, and just plain expensive - and then I saw Donna. Wearing Red. OH my!
Never fear, however, that I shall ever forget the Nottingham lass (Maria - BLACK Maria, of the infamous All Black squad) who showed me what it meant to be an adult, free to do as I wished.
" . . . a man who shuns Brooks saddles..."
It is not that I shun them. Indeed I am quite attracted and have tried to form a relationship many's the time, but the relationship always turns out to be dysfunctional - in the end.
Oh it's really not such a sad thing, didn't mean to come off that way! I've simply found my ideal-est vintage 3-speed and it did not make sense for me to keep this one as well. It was time to spread the bike love : )
ReplyDeletedavid m. - Someone recently told me that in fact the DL-1 also came in green. They were pretty rare though and I have never seen one. I think that my DL-1 looks good in black, and I have my green Pashley for variety. But if I had a barn... well, frankly I would want one of each!
kfg - What a tangled web of international intrigue you weave! Personally, I have had enough multi-culturalism and "born in one place, raised in another, educated in the third" in my life. Just want to stay put in one general area and limit the nationalities of my bicycles. Oh and did I mention I want a house with a barn? We did have one at some point, but noooo we had to move to the big city.
ReplyDeleteLucky lady who gets Lady Lucy.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right - better to have a few best, than a whole lot of also-good.
"What a tangled web of international intrigue you weave!"
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't even bring up the Spaniards who stole me away from the Nottingham lass. Or the Silcon Valley techno-geek (bright girl, but not quite bright enough and she was holding me back. I often think about her though and hope she found the right match eventually).
I'm courting an Austrian as well, but having to go through a matchmaker (traditional relationships can be a pain) and I don't think it's going to go well. I also recently missed a connection with a vrouw. Timing is everything and sometimes the race simply goes to the swift.
"Just want to stay put in one general area"
I've been doing a good job of that lately.
". . . and limit the nationalities of my bicycles."
I was actually beginning to do a good job of that as well, and then the mademoiselle showed up right at my door, desperately in need of someone who really cares for her for what she is.
And I do. I really do, but she IS a bit fussy about her "threads" and simply won't share what the others are wearing.
". . .did I mention I want a house with a barn? We did have one at some point . . ."
So did I, but that story involves a fraulein; of the less metallic persuasion. It will keep.
". . .but noooo we had to move to the big city."
I smell a loft, big enough to keep bikes at one end - and to ride them around at the other.
Filigree, I am thoroughly confident that you never would have left Lucy to any but a good home. I'll miss her, but, as you show, she needed to move on with her life. Be happy for her.
ReplyDeleteOh, sadness! I loved Lucy 3 speed! I really do admire your plan to have a little flock of carefully picked bicycles, each with a purpose, nothing more than you need, and so forth.... makes total sense! But sad to say I think the 'stable' is moreso what I am going for, though, haha. And I also kind of dream of a Bern, Sawako Furuno or Yakkay helmet to match each and every one. Lucy looks like she will do great in her new home though, it's always fun to pass a much-loved bicycle on to someone who will love it too! :)
ReplyDeleteOh I am sure the new lady owner will like her very much! Same way as I am since the previous lady owner of Pash gave her to me, she wasn't enjoying her...I am!! :D long live great bicycles! ♥
ReplyDeleteSo how is Rodney taking Lucy's departure?
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found Lucy a good home where she'll be appreciated, ridden, maintained and kept in the manner to which she has become accustomed. A hard decision to make...but then you can only ride one bike at once ;-).
ReplyDeleteRodney was one reason for it. He cheated on her with the loop-framed DL-1.
ReplyDeleteYes, that drama was a major cause of the departure. Rodney preferred the woman with the curvier frame.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity -- you got rid of your extra Brooks saddles by taking them to Open Bicycle... Do they sell used ones there?
ReplyDeleteAnon - Yes, they sell vintage bicycles and components, including a few saddles - both used and NOS. Some nice vintage Campagnolo there, among other things.
ReplyDelete