What started as a rainy and gloomy Saturday suddenly turned into the perfect fall day. The sun came out to warm everything, and we got the bikes out for a ride to the Farmer’s Market. I was riding a bakfiets, not my own bike: I borrowed the bakfiets from Dutch Bike Chicago (thanks!) last night to haul tables and chairs for a fundraiser that I helped organize, and had to return it reluctantly this morning.
Candy Apple!
I will have more to say about the bakfiets in a separate post. For now I’ll say, look at that thing! What an awesome beast.
The Bakfiets and Me
Mr. Dottie rode his new old bike, which I will call Sir Raleigh since he refuses to name his bikes. Sir Raleigh is waiting for his bar tape, chain guard and racks, but rides “like on a cloud” already.
Greg with Sir Raleigh
Pumpkins at the Farmer's Market
Now I’m baking a pumpkin pie. Mmmm, must go eat!
I’ll leave you with a quick and shaky video of my bakfiets ride this morning. (Now that I know how easy it is to upload on YouTube, I’m all about the videos.)
Happy riding!
Let's Go Ride a Bike 
I love the farmer’s markets! Is this the one on Division? It’s too bad they’re ending for the season. Today was my favorite flower farmer’s last day at the market; I’m going to miss my fresh flowers. Did you get a new helmet? Is it a Bern?
Hi. The farmer’s market was the one on Armitage in Lincoln Park. The helmet is a Bern, but it’s not new. I bought it last year, but can wear it only in the winter because it’s too big for me when I remove the cold weather insert.
can’t wait to hear about the bakfiet! will have to look at video later- but it will be my post kids asleep treat!
I have to say, I don’t approve of naming boy bikes. You’ll give him a complex by doing that, as sure as putting a little boy in a hand-me-down dress. ;-)
If, um, Mr. Dottie wouldn’t mind, I’d be very interested in a complete description of the build when he’s done. If not here, maybe on Velospace. I might (or might not) be doing an internal hub build of my own later this winter and would be very interested in the choices he made.
Yes, a complete and detailed description of Sir Raleigh is forthcoming, once everything is set up perfectly.
Two of my “boy” bikes have names. Buddy & Frankenbike. Neither has a complex over it. My road bike, on the other hand, is referred to as “the road bike” or “the Cannondale. Some bikes have names & some don’t.
I like ’em either way.
Sir Raleigh is a very pretty shade of blue. I’m sure he’ll be striking when he’s finished–maybe then Mr. Dottie will give him a name.
Mr. Dottie’s bicycle is looking mighty good! I just tried moustache bars for the first time today at Harris Cyclery (they had a Sam Hillborne built up in my size and I took it out for a spin). The bars were an interesting experience and much more aggressive than I thought they would be. Admirable that he is able to ride them in the city.
Glad that you enjoyed a beautiful Fall day with a bakfiets; the candy apple and pumpkins look enticing!
I had the privilege of riding a bakfiets in Amsterdam. Such joy. Of course, I had the habit of hitting one of my kids on the head with the handle bars. Maybe a helmet would have helped :-P.
Ha, poor kid :) Sounds like something I would do.
Wow, this is the kind of fall I’m looking for. Candy apple — I don’t know that, but hey, I would love to try it. Never rode a bakfiets myself, I’ll have a look at your video now…
No candy apples in Austria? Interesting. I love candy apples – an apple on a stick covered with caramel and (sometimes) peanuts.
That makes it a caramel apple, which I love. Candy apples have that hard red, cinnamon coating, which I can’t stand.
@ dukiebiddle – Sir Raleigh is a perfectly non complex inducing fine name.
@ Dottie – Random question, but what did you call out to the SUV?
“Bike lane!”
That’s just laziness. How hard would it have been to pull into that large parking spot or the even larger one four cars down?
Today should be even better! Lovely candy apple photo! Was that your treat? Can’t wait to meet Sir Raleigh.
Yup, my treat. I was holding it up in the air with my hand for the picture :)
Riding a bakfiets…
/envy
Looking forward to that post.
And what is it with most guys not naming their bikes? Makes me look like a weirdo that I do (well, among a lot of other things that make me look like a weirdo).
We all do different things that make us weirdos. Embrace it. But heck, I even refused to name my cat. It isn’t like she would know it, so what’s the point? Although, officially, the cat is named “Noname” according to her vet records.
But it isn’t like I don’t have a name picked out for the bike, if I were the sort of person that named bikes, which I’m not, as her name would be Hatchet-Face, because she is ugly, beat-up, mean and loved, just her namesake in the movie. Also, the name would match my single tear-drop tattoo. But I don’t name bikes, because that would be totally weird. ;-)
I got to ride a neighbors Bakfiets and was so happy today! Dutch bikes in birmigham…I also have been given permission to borrow it anytime (along with the super secret key location). Happy Days to come.
I name my bikes…sorta. Rather than personalized names they tend to be descriptive (the “Red Bike” is my XO1-styled 88 RockHopper, not any of the other bikes I have which just happen to be painted red, for instance, and not to ber confused with “Big Red”, my Western Flyer that I gor for my 10th birthday), “the commuter”, “the orange Peugeot” (my 1974 UO8 fixie, not my orange folder, or the orange mixte), etc.
I thought that was an 88 Rockhopper. Hatchet-face is used to be an 88 Rockhopper too. I love how you build up your old MTBs, btw. How could you have sold the Stumpy?
The Red Beast, my previous Schwinn cruiser, got its name like that, because it was a red beast.
The Amsterdam has now been named Von Amsterdam, just cause. If it ever reveals its own name to me, we’ll adjust the paperwork. ;-)
[…] footage, check out the short video of me riding around the block back in February. I posted a video from the saddle on […]
[…] footage, check out the short video of me riding around the block back in February. I posted a video from the saddle on […]