my new bike!

i had been looking at a folding bike for some time now, but could not find a reason to really get one, or at least a really compelling reason.   back home i drive most of the time.  even those times when i thought i would walk, i have either given in and drove, or walked and suffered in the heat and humidity.

now i found a reason.  or two.  it's been tough moving around stanford in this weather without wheels, whether two or four.  i have walked, run, taken a bus.  the first two have their obvious handicaps.  and you are limited by where the bus will go in the last example.  so in the remaining four weeks of the program, it was as good a reason as any to try and get one.  secondly, it is a bit cheaper here, even with the eventual complication of shipping it back home.  by sea of course.

the one bike that i have truly admired for both its elegance and engineering is the brompton.  handmade in the uk, it is a bike with many attempting to replicate its charm and ingenuity, but no equals.  there are lots of cool videos on youtube by proud owners.  i had almost made the jump with a turkish green model back home but somehow held back.  finally i caved in here.

i looked up a shop in palo alto and sent an email but they said it would take 8 weeks!  so i was really disappointed and on the verge of giving up.  i decided to google and see if there were other shops in the area and found one in town and village just outside campus.  the name itself was charming.  a street bike named desire - this was an obvious play on the famous movie "a streetcar named desire".  so after class, i took a walk there and decided to try my luck.

the owner joe wasn't in but his parents dan and cheri were minding the store and they were really nice.  they are both retired and help out at the store and they had only been open for two weeks!  dan had also attended the sloan program at stanford previously and we had a nice chat.  cheri was also lovely and even gave me recommendations for a nice meal - bistro elane in palo alto which i will be sure to check out.  much easier now with my bike!  here's a picture of dan and cheri.

at first dan also said i had to wait at least 7 weeks but when i asked about the stock on display they said yes they were for sale and there was one i liked, a black model with 3 speeds, the P3L and i got it!  there was lots of other nice stuff as well but i had to restrain myself.  especially a shoulder bag that fits on the front of the bike and part of it is made out of old fire hose.  really beautiful.  must get pictures next time.  dan told me to drop in if i had questions or just to have coffee and meet his son joe.  that was such a nice gesture.

finally when i left, they asked if they could take a picture or video of me on my new bike and i said sure, and i also asked them to help me take a picture of me and my beautiful new bike.

 will definitely take more pics of me and my new bike soon!