While Basil and I are grounded, commenter and fellow cyclist Saul has become an excellent Brompton sleuth — his quick eye spotted this cyclist at Head House Square:
She looks like a serious cyclist, and serious about errands: I think that’s the voluminous T bag on that beautiful yellow M Brompton. Love those greens and yellows (including the crates in the background). (Hi vis — it’s not just for safety any more!)
Photos like these just make me beam, too!
It’s too bad that this isn’t a better screenshot, but that beautiful little wicker cart is attached to the seat stem of a bicycle. (You can just see the white fender and the red rear reflector on the bike between the pant leg on the adult and the cart.)
The cart has a toy bear in it, but it’s actually for hauling a child (or children) — and, it seems, a tea party, in the little suitcase behind the seat. (The lavender-clad child on the left had previously ridden in it, but I couldn’t get a good image of the two together.)
I spied this during my convalescence after the small surgery on my leg, when I was spending many dull hours with my leg immobilized on a bolster. This shot is from the BBC series Monarch of the Glen, season five, episode six. The series is notable for fantastic views of Scotland’s highlands, and for truly juvenile and inexplicable human romantic interactions.
It’s the scenery that got me. Also the great bikes used in the village for everyday transportation.
Note: A month ago, when I published my previous post, I thought I’d be back here at Basil’s blog, posting less frequently, but posting regularly, nonetheless. Another medical setback interfered with that scheme, but now we think that’s done, and posts should be more regular, even if they won’t occur on a daily basis. Here’s to more blog, less BBC!
It wasn’t much of an outing, but Basil went to physical therapy with me the other day. The idea was to make sure that the geometry of cycling on my Brompton coincided appropriately with the geometry my body needs to function well.
Basil checked in with me at the front desk, and then fit neatly under a table in the office until it was time for his turn.
His seat angle needs a bit of tweaking to optimize the configuration, and there may be an H handlebar in our future, but, for now — or, more accurately, for when I can ride again in six months or so — this small change should prove effective.
It made me unreasonably happy just to see Basil out of his closet and into the wide world once again — even though we weren’t going to be taking off together. The resumption of our former, wonderful, life can’t happen soon enough . . .
Basil’s good friend and champion (and frequent commenter) Saul has been keeping a sharp eye out for Basil’s kind whilst Basil himself languishes in his closet. Saul encountered this beautiful pair of Brompton bicycles (and their happy cyclists) on Kelly Drive Martin Luther King Junior Drive in Philadelphia recently:
They kindly agreed to pose , and I have to say that this is a marvelous picture — inspirational, even! (Is it possible to have a bad time when riding a Brompton???) Today’s guests are riding M6L Bromptons with rack sacks on the back, and the capacious Brompton basket on the right.
Thanks, Saul — and thanks, too, to these Brompton cyclists. One day Basil and I may meet them ourselves — in the meantime, we’re thrilled to know that Basil’s cousins are out and about where Basil once rode, and will again.
(This post marks the advent of a new category: the rather boringly-named “Brompton-Spotting”. It’s been survival mode around the Diarist household for months now, and creativity is running low — though I reserve the right to rename the category should something more enticing occur to me . . . )
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In other news, Basil and I have had The Talk. We don’t like it, but we’re OK. As feasible, Basil will have the occasional outing, even if it’s not possible for the Diarist to actually ride him. We must do what we must do. We’re best buddies; a little bit of temporary bad luck thrown our way won’t change that!
Back on July 14 — exactly a month ago — I noted that I’d had a small surgery, and that there had been complications. Incredibly, there have been yet further complications, with far-reaching effects. It will be mid-February or early March 2014 before Basil and I will be cycling together again. (And it’s already been over six weeks since we’ve had any sort of ride to speak of!)
This is a pretty devastating state of affairs, and I’m not sure that I’ve even yet fully realized the impact this ban will have on me and my quality of life, particularly since, you know, “quality of life” = Brompton! I depend on Basil not only for all the healthful physical benefits of cycling, but also the vast positive psychological benefits that come from traveling through the world on small wheels.
[Basil, in happier times, running wild and free on NYC’s West Side Greenway]
This will mean a few changes for the blog, too. For over nine months I’ve written a blog post here every single day. Sometimes it’s been a bit of a stretch to make the quota, but as long as Basil and I were riding regularly, there was plenty to write about and discuss. There will still be much Brompton- and Basil-related to write about, but I expect that post frequency will probably drop down to two or three a week until we’re back on the road, trail, or street again.
There are posts in the works — that new bag of Basil’s that I haven’t been able to finish yet; some interesting ideas about how to carry a B; Basil’s Park Tool stand that I bought just before this debacle began — and now that I am [mostly] through treatment, I’ll be able to get back to those topics and explore others.
In the meantime, I’ve got to break the news to Basil. He still thinks this hiatus is temporary, and I’ve been too cowardly to explain otherwise. Also, this is just so wrong: Bromptons are meant to be active!
I’m hoping that Basil will accept that this will give me some time to get to know his workings more thoroughly, and to develop a deeper appreciation of all of the technical things that make him a Brompton. When we were riding all the time, there simply weren’t enough hours to do that, too — this is our chance. I’m hoping he sees this as a silver lining. It’s all we’ve got, so I’m going with that as the modus operandi for surviving the next half-year or so.
They’re not high-tech, but I’ve copied the “Lubrication” and “Routine Checks” guides from David Henshaw’s Brompton Bicycle book, and laminated them for quick and easy reference.
They’re tucked into Basil’s gear caddy, right next to everything I need to keep him fit and running well. Experienced cyclists won’t need this kind of aid, but these cue sheets are perfect for a neophyte like me.
What I’d really like is to have these two pages blown up into two posters. Wouldn’t they look smashing hung in the maintenance room? (Or in any room?) Form and function!
Maybe Mr. Henshaw has missed a trick here, and should consider a little sideline in Brompton art . . .
A mentor and colleague of Mr. Diarist recently sent Mr. D home with a marvelous book neither of us had ever seen. It’s Biciclette, by Richard Balantine and Richard Grant.
No wonder we hadn’t seen it; it’s in Italian. But one doesn’t have to read Italian to enjoy every page. This fantastic volume has it all — and what you don’t get from the text won’t prevent you from a wealth of interest in the photos (“fotografie originali de Philip Gatward”).
Exploded views of bikes? Check!
Correct form? Check! (“Il motore umano” in Italian, translating to “the human engine”.)
This excellent tome was published in 1992, so things may have changed a bit since. Do road racers still wear the tiniest of briefs in Europe these days? (Did they ever?) Three miles into a ride while wearing a Speedo would kill me, but perhaps these Euro-types are made of heartier stuff.
Bicycles of the future? Check! Although the future is here, so one can look up the models now, in 2013, and see which survived. (Not this one, it seems.)
In biciletta con la famiglia? Check! (This is probably my favorite two-page spread in a book full of wonderful ones.) That’s a three-seat tricycle in the lead (labelled “Ken Rogers”), linked to two inline trailers. Impressive, no?
City cycling, mountain bikes, touring, road racing, maintenance, frames, wheels, accessories . . . you name it, it’s covered here, all exquisitely illustrated.
Don’t be put off by the 1992 publication date; I’m not. I love these treasures from earlier times — a book like this provides a wealth of information about the state of the art in its own era, and is a terrific reminder of how things have changed, and, yes, sometimes, how they have remained the same. This is time travel at its finest!
Those very English-sounding author and photographer names? That’s because this lavish work was originally published by Dorling Kindersley, purveyor of beautifully illustrated, informative books. You can buy it as Bicycle, new or used, in English, and I heartily recommend the purchase in whatever language you find it.
See that device way in the back of Basil’s closet? I think it’s called a “vacuum cleaner”.
On a group ride last winter, one of the cyclists said that she was going to have to turn back after we’d gone an hour and a half or so.
She said that she had to clean house. I murmured something, and then she mentioned that she could never figure out how people had time to take hours-long rides on weekends.
So she asked some other cyclists how they managed. They said “We don’t clean house”.
That sounded about right to me. Cycling? Cleaning? It’s no contest. Besides, this is Basil’s closet, after all. I can never remember what else is in there, so obviously it’s irrelevant!
Basil is currently sharing his closet with a trolley that holds his basic maintenance gear and whatever gear I need to make a quick escape out the door with him.
The cart is called RÅSKOG, and it’s sold by Ikea. It’s solid and strong, and just $50 (USD). That’s a bit high for an IKEA cart, in my opinion, but it’s also far better made than a lot of IKEA stuff. The trays are strong, there’s no wobble at all, and the casters are excellent. I’m not using them, but two of the casters have brakes, which would be very convenient in other circumstances.
Basil’s closet is narrow, but deep, and this trolley fits perfectly beside him, giving me quick access to the tools I need to do a quick post-ride cleaning, and also a convenient place to drop the helmet, gloves, and vest I’m currently wearing while riding. I’m quite happy with it, and think a second one might be a good choice for the basement, next to a Park Tool bike stand.
My physical therapist is changing my life. Not to diminish the magnitude of the work he is doing (which is excellent), but the best moment of the sessions so far was discovering that he owns a Brompton. This was especially thrilling as Brompton bicycles are not at all common in this part of the world.
Actually, he owns more than one: He owns a little herd, having outfitted his family with the best folding bicycle he could find. Well done, good sir!
(The Brompton color wheel is from NYCeWheels, who are, yes, very NYCe, and also very good at what they do.)