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June 7, 2007
swans, omas, and the old Dutch 
So, I did it. I bought a dutch city bike.
I got myself over to Clever Cycles to meet up with Martina as soon as I could. She had three city bikes ready and waiting for me to try: an 8-speed Swan, an 8-speed Oma (both made by Azor) and a Batavus 3-speed Old Dutch.
Oh, and I was wearing a dress.
The Swan is gorgeous. The lines on it are so elegant. After some initial butterflies, I climbed on and took it for a ride. The shifting is super smooth, and it's a newer Shimano shifter that is totally forgiving if you downshift while you're standing still. How cool is that?
Anyways, it rode beautifully, and I felt great riding it.
The Oma is also very elegant in an understated way. It also has the Shimano shifter, and it also rode like a dream.
The Batavus is flashy and gorgeous in a pin-up girl way. It rode fine. But it's a three speed with coaster brakes, and I already have a three speed with coaster brakes.
So, I really liked the Oma and the Swan. The Swan had the edge, because it was so pretty... but the Swan couldn't get a front rack, and I gotta say, the front rack is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It'll hold 50#! It's dorky and just so wonderful.
So, I bought the Oma. I pick it up on Friday!
~ * ~ *
So I rode my bike into work today. I rode Pinky the three speed, as I'm going to be part of the Pedalpalooza Kickass Kickoff Parade tonight, so I was completely festooned with pink and silver accessories to decorate the bike with.
As I was coming down the bike ramp to the waterfront, I saw the battleships docked. I saw the coast guard boats with automatic weapons. Oh, good.
So, of course, all human traffic is being directed away from the Waterfront Park. There's 12ft tall wire fencing around it, and there are military personnel, carrying automatic weapons, ready to shoot. So nice. I love this.
The city, however, did close off one lane of Naito Parkway so bicyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, and people in golf carts can get from point A to point B. Of course, you're protected from the cars by orange cones, so it's hard to get excited about this.
Posted at June 7, 2007
Comments
So pretty! Be sure to let us know how it rides. I'm still trying to get used to my commuter. I've been riding TT bikes for so long that it just seems so slow and heavy. I know, I know - it's a different mindset.
Now, um, did I miss something? Why is the armada converging on portland?
Posted by: Misty at June 7, 2007 2:10 PM
Greta and I are going to ride in the parade this year. Well, I've just decided that we will because I forgot about it until today!
I think we'll drive the truck downtown. I don't think it's safe or prudent to have a six year old riding all the way downtown and then back at dusk.
Posted by: vespabelle at June 7, 2007 3:40 PM
Beautiful! Hope it makes for a super fun commute!!
Posted by: Lara at June 7, 2007 4:20 PM