Free 'Superba' to a Woman in Need
Criteria
The recipient will be a woman, who is actively interested in owning this particular bike, and is in a situation of financial hardship. The recipient must be located in the USA or Canada. To learn more about the bicycle, please see here and here. This bicycle will fit persons 5'5"- 5'10" and note that it has a coasterbrake.
Entry Instructions
If you would like to be considered, please email me privately to "filigreevelo-at-yahoo" with the subject line "Free Superba" and tell me why you are the appropriate recipient. Please also include your height. The emails I receive must be from the women who want this bicycle for themselves and not from their spouses, relatives or friends. Deadline for submitting an entry is May 1, 2011.
Additional Information
I want to make it clear that this give-away is not sponsored by the manufacturer. The donor is an individual with no bike industry connection who is simply a reader of Lovely Bicycle. The donor wishes to remain anonymous and does not wish to take part in the selection process; that has been delegated to me. Entry emails will be read only by me and your information will be kept strictly confidential. The recipient's full name and mailing address will be disclosed to Harris Cyclery (in order to ship the bike), but not to the donor. One thing I ask, is that the recipient emails me a picture of themselves with the bike after receiving it, along with some feedback.
I will be collecting entries from now until May 1st. It will then probably take me a week or so to choose the recipient, and the bicycles will hopefully arrive shortly thereafter. If you have any questions about this give-away, please feel free to ask in the comments. And thank you to the person whose kind gesture makes this possible. It's hard to know what to say and I will do my best to select the recipient fairly.
What an amazing gesture! My highest regards to the mystery donor.
ReplyDeleteThis is such as nice thing for you to do Anon! Who ever you are.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great thing to read this morning! Cheers to the donor and I'm sure whoever receives this will love it!
ReplyDeleteThe donor must understand that a "hand up" is always better than a "hand out".
ReplyDeleteMany kudo's to the donor! :?))
A terrific gesture!
ReplyDeletei just hope and pray a deserving lady wins the bicycle. I wouldn't like the job of choosing.
Walt - I guess that *kind of* applies here, but maybe it's a different thing entirely. The donor's intent was not to "give free bikes to the poor," which could be better accomplished by giving away, say, several KHS Manhattan Greens. Rather, they wanted to give something special to a person who appreciates and wants it, yet cannot afford it. Maybe it's more like a bicycle appreciation scholarship?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful gesture.
ReplyDeleteIt made my day.
"Bicycle appreciation scholarship." I'm going to propose one of those where I teach. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I'll spread the word about this.
Wow, how totally lovely!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I'm sure you have your own criteria and I am just thinking out loud, but it would be great if it goes to someone who needs transportation to get to work or she can't make a living otherwise, or something.
ReplyDeleteMay his/her generosity be rewarded.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were tall enough. I have been lusting about this bike every step of the way as you post progress notes. As a 5'1" person it's already so difficult to find a loop frame small enough to fit me. I hope whomever wins this beauty loves it to death.
ReplyDeleteAsh, some suggestions:
ReplyDeletePashley Princess or Poppy ($1000+ range), in size 17.5"
Abici Granturismo Donna ($850+ range), in the smaller size
KHS Manhattan Green, in the smaller size ($400)
All of these should fit you; the KHS Green for sure.
Wow! What a wonderful gesture! Many cheers to the anonymous donor!
ReplyDeleteAsh - Like Velouria said, check out the Pashleys in the 17.5" frame. I'm 5" even, maybe a tad shorter without shoes and that frame size has worked out perfectly for me. I even have to raise the seat some! Which I've never been able to do on any bicycle.
What a marvelously kind thing to do!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have fun reading all the entries, and I am sure they will be many.
Corey K
That is very nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recs, ladies. I have a 50cm Batavus Old Dutch that I made due on, though it's a hair too large but I much prefer the frame on the Abici and Bella Ciao. They definitely aren't in the budget now, though!
ReplyDeletethis donor is some kinda karma artist. right on!
ReplyDeletePlease add my regards and highest compliments to the kind donor. This is indeed a lovely idea to be reading about. And thanks to you, Velouria for the blog and bicycle project that inspired such generosity! Steve in MD
ReplyDeleteOh how sweet. I can't wait to find out who the lucky lady is.
ReplyDeleteI just posted a link to your blog on my Facebook page. What a wonderful, generous offer!
ReplyDeleteHolly said...
ReplyDelete"I just posted a link to your blog on my Facebook page."
Thanks Holly!
How incredibly generous of the donor!
ReplyDeleteI echo everyone else - this is a truly lovely and generous gesture! Some lucky lady is going to be made very very happy by this wonderful gift!
ReplyDeleteIsn't this fun? I think giving bikes away is terrific, especially when someone else is paying!
ReplyDeleteVelouria's Lovely Touring Bike giveaway is such a neat idea that it's becoming contagious. I have so much bike stuff that I would be willing to donate that I promise to help with any give-away that you guys cook up till I run out.
Spindizzy
Thanks everyone for the twitter and facebook links (I've checked the referral traffic and I see that a few have posted about this)!
ReplyDeleteWow... what a lovely, generous gesture by your reader. That's lifted my spirits; I'm already happy for the lucky recipient of this beautiful bike, whoever she turns out to be.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for awhile now and really love your writing voice. This is such a lovely gesture from the anonymous donor.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful bike, and would love to submit for it. But I feel like I am in the between in terms of need, and would prefer that the bike goes to a 'needier' recipient. I hope that some day, I am in the position to be an anonymous donor.
What a superb :) idea! I don't envy you having to choose, though!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely gesture indeed, but the fact that eligibility is gender specific makes me somewhat uneasy. Could a smaller chap not be equally deserving?
ReplyDeleteIf someone were to donate a diamond frame bike, wouldn't anyone feel uneasy about the donor specifying the recipient be male?
Ash- If you warm up to the idea of a Pashley, email me. I am thinking of selling my Pashley Princess Sovereign 17.5" which I only bought last summer. Sadly, the shop I bought it from gave me poor advice on frame size. (In hindsight I'm inclined to suspect it was the only one they could get their hands on.) I'm 5'4" and it feels a touch too small. kiwigem at att dot net if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely gesture. Best of luck to the deserving recipient.
ReplyDeleteMr Colostomy - The bicycle is a woman's bicycle; the frame geometry is gender specific. See this post for what I mean by that.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once told me they try to show some unexpected kindness to someone every day. I took this to heart. But, wow, this donor is really going out of their way! Aside from how generous they are, they must feel great about being able to do it.
ReplyDelete@Velouria,
ReplyDeleteI understand the opinion that the frame is gender specific and I have read your post on the issue of frames being assigned a gender specificity. I understand that the frame is certainly more likely to suit an average woman than an average man, but there will be non-average men out there whose proportions will be suited to this bicycle, in the same way that there would be non-average women out there whose proportions would be suitable for the largest model, double top-tube Pashley Roadster Soverign.
A note for those reading the comments: Please do read the description of this bicycle via the links provided before sending questions via email, or I am afraid I won't be able to handle the volume of email I am getting.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, please note that this bicycle suits persons 5'5"-5'10" and has a coaster brake. If your height falls outside that range or if you dislike coaster brakes, this is not the right bicycle for you.
When I first read the headline, I thought that it said "Free super bra to woman in need." It did seem like a nice gesture but maybe not super relevant to cycling.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that : )))))
ReplyDeleteI can certainly envision a cycling super-bra: Silk and spandex blend, sportsbra design with front closure and a bit of underwire. Hmmm...
This is awesome. I look forward to seeing this gorgeous bike go to a deserving woman.
ReplyDeleteBeen so far away from blog reading but what a wonderful thing to come back to! LOVE THIS. Will happily post on my Fb account too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic bike and a fantastic gesture! Bummer! I fall just outside the height range. Ah well, back to saving nickels, dimes, quarters and the odd dollar bill to the piggy bank. I hope whoever wins really appreciates their good fortune and the donor's generosity. I guess I'll have to wait till there's a giveaway for ladies 5'4" and under...
ReplyDeleteAngela
Excitedly awaiting the announcements on the recipient of the lovely Superbia! Sent in my email, seems so long ago from earthandspice and just realized this was the week.
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed the give away, but I think before too long I will be able to afford something as beautiful as this...But what a wonderful thing.... A lovely gesture to aspire too. And thank you Velouria for inspiring us with your lovely blog!
ReplyDelete