A new Townie

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I own an exercise bike… well, it’s called a Spinner. Some of you may know what that is or have seen them in health clubs. They’re super fun and they kick your butt in the work out department. Which Lord knows I need! (you know… some butt kicking) When times are stressful there’s nothing like 45 minutes of good heart-pumping exercise. It definitely helps me physically and mentally. I love my spinner… but sometimes you just need to get outside and be a human being. To take in the scenery, breathe the air, hear the sounds, run from strange dogs that look like they could bite your leg off, and laugh at your neighbor’s horrible landscaping. Getting outside is good and with weather like this I crave it.

I do like to walk/run in the neighborhood when I can, but the other day Richie brought up how he “wanted a bike”. Neither one of us have a bike and honestly I cannot remember the last time I was on one. I know, get the kleenex… such a sad confession. Our city is definitely NOT bike friendly and the last thing I need is to get hit by a car. YIKES! But honestly it sounds fun to get on one and peddle like a mad woman. So when he brought it up… I said “GO GET ONE”!

We decided to share a bike for now and see if we really use it and if we do I’d get my own. So we got a “mans” bike… whatever that means. Well, you know, it means the top bar is raised. Okay, big deal. I think I can manage to get my leg over a bar. Neither one of us wanted some crazy expensive racing bike or anything fancy… just a bike to ride and enjoy. So we got an Electra Townie!

We have always thought the Townie bikes were cool. I call it a hipster bike. They have an easy laid back feel to them and I love the way they look. I also love the large seat for.. um… well… you know. Unlike a traditional bike you sit more straight up and your feet can rest flat on the pavement. Sort of a chilled out way to ride.

I cannot lie. I got on it and thought I was going to fall over. Seriously… I don’t think I’ve ridden a bike since I was in junior high. Or at least I don’t remember. (the spinner doesn’t count! I’m a professional bike rider who could possibly win the Tour de France on that thing!)
I truly felt like an idiot. Richie looked at me with such surprise… like “What’s wrong with you… It’s just like riding a bike”. Ummm, errr, I mean, you know. Well of course it is and I knew what he meant.

It made me think about my father who spent hours, days and weeks running behind my bicycle after the training wheels came off and pushing the back of my bike helping me learn to ride. God bless that man! SUCH PATIENCE. Then to finally let go and see me ride off must have been such a relief for him. Let me just say that I was a total wussy girl. Thank goodness I’m now the total opposite but I screamed and cried over EVERYTHING. Don’t get me started about losing my teeth. That was drama my poor father will never get over. I’m sure he still has nightmares from my screaming.

Stacey and Mitch

This hilarious picture of me and my brother on our tricycles just sums me up as a little kid.  Such a wussy girl that was ever so stylish!

Check out those glass, earrings, and accessories.  Good grief… even my hair was curled.

My brother has something all over his face… like he just ate a PB’n J sandwich open faced!   I guess I was about 4 yrs old there.  Trust me… my dad had to work REALLY hard to get me on a bike with two wheels.  Again, he’s earned a place in heaven, no doubt!

Maybe I should call him and see if he can come over.  I might need his help again.  HA HA!

Anyway, I’m excited to have a new toy and I do feel like a kid again. Funny how such a small thing can bring you back to a time when everything was new and exciting. So I look forward to riding “our” bike… and to getting a girlie version. Hipster style.

Electra has so many cool lines that I may have to choose something from their Amsterdam line. Aren’t they awesome!

Do you bike ride? Or maybe you prefer the Spinner in the gym? I imagine most of you probably live in a city where bike paths are available. That would be a dream come true. I think I’d ride everywhere. I’d definitely need a cool little bell and a basket. DING DING!

SONG IN MY HEAD TODAY!

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19 thoughts on “A new Townie

  1. ScrapAndSalvage

    your post almost made me pee my pants (almost). imagining you as a 44 year old woman with that “no, i’ve got this” look of confidence matched with an expression of moderately controlled panic. and i can only laugh because i was right there with you. i hadn’t ridden since jr. high either when jordan bought me an old schwinn bike 20+ years later. i kept thinking “they say it’s like riding a bike, YOU NEVER FORGET, YOU NEVER FORGET”. i’m not a good actor and had a very hard time showing “YAY” while thinking, “shit, don’t fuck this up. find your balance, woman!”
    anyhow, i love your bike, “man bar” and all. as always, thanks for the humor and highlight to my day. happy cycling, stacey!

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Holy Crap…I’m so busted! HA HA HA! Yes, I was trying so hard to hold it together and be “cool” like I had absolutely no hesitations about jumping on these two wheels and cruising at top speed down the road. APPLY THE BRAKES! Hell no, I truly was like an old lady who just wasn’t sure anymore. How is that even possible, Tamara? (I’m only 18. In my head!) I have to laugh at myself so hard! I kept putting my feet down and honestly I don’t ever remember Richie ever looking so puzzled. It was almost embarrassing to write… but it was the truth. Glad to know I’m not the only one. Thank you for that! If we lived closer we could take a ride and you could laugh at my wobbly unsure self.

      Reply
  2. Alex @ northstory

    That is the best childhood photo ever! The hair! Omg you look like a mini retro housewife on a tricycle. Love that line – like riding a bike. Cue drum cymbals!
    I love my bike and I don’t get to ride it nearly as often as I’d like which is blatantly my own fault b/c we live in an area where I should easily be able to take it out and go for a ride or a conservation area and try the hills. I used to get up at 5 am and go riding when we lived in the City (I am talking downtown core of Toronto) and bike all the way to Lake Ontario and back. It was my little hour of happiness to be able to watch the sunrise and have almost no cars and cabs around me at that time to fight with. So it’s strange that I live in an area with fields and farms and don’t do it here. I think in a strange way the City has a better bike culture than the suburbs do. Go figure.
    I love that bike! It’s a total hipster bike. I have a friend who has a similar one and she’d ride it to work in her skirt and I’d be like you look like a postcard from the 50’s.

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Thanks, Alex! I love that little photo of me and my brother. He was my best bud! Seriously, I couldn’t leave the house without looking hip and totally put together. (even at 4yrs. old) I’m sure my fingernails and toes were probably painted too.

      5:00AM!!!!! Now that’s dedication. I guess if I had a path and a view like that I’d try to do the same. That sounds amazing to me. Just free… ya know. I agree that bikes and cities seem to go together more perfectly. There’s no doubt that if I lived close to where I worked and there was a “friendly” way to ride… I’d totally be a 50’s postcard. (complete with cat-eye glasses, curled hair, and earrings!)

      Reply
  3. the home tome

    Those Townie bikes ARE cool – I’ve never heard of them.

    I’ve also never tried the Spinner but I trust and have had heard that it is an excellent work out.

    I bought a mountain bike in college to get around campus – it was a silver and kelly green Specialized Hard Rock – I loved the name of it and I felt like quite a bada$$ riding that around. I did get hit by a car that ran a red light, once, though: fortunately, we were both going fairly slow! The bike got pretty bent (was fixable) and the main thing that got hurt was my hands – they slammed knuckle-first into the lady’s passenger door. Two crazy memories: my first instinct was to call out “sorry!” as if it were my fault – a passerby running to the rescue was like, “YOU’RE sorry?!” And 2) the car kept going so other witnesses ran after her, and stopped her. While I had little pain birdies flying around my head (actually, hands) she got out of her car and was laughing. Laughing! I guess it was a nervous response. I was too dumb/young to get her info, to help pay for the bike damage…and in case my hands were really injured badly (they weren’t). Let me bring this to a more relevant point: Be careful and DON’T FORGET A HELMET!

    If your vintage pic of Lil’ Stacey and bro (awesome!) is any indication, I trust that your helmet will be stylin’ indeed :)

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Oh Jocelyn… I LOVE my Spinner! Richie argued with me when I bought it about 5 years ago babbling about how I’d never ride it and I peddle that sucker at least 3 times a week. It’s works you out like nothing else… even running. I’ll never give it up and I’ve never been hit by a car or fallen while riding it. HA HA!

      YOU WERE BAD ASS on your HARD ROCK bike. Just saying it makes me feel tough. OMG! I can’t believe you got hit. My worst nightmare. I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt SERIOUSLY. I bet that scared the shit out of you. Forgive me for laughing but the “birdies around your head” cracked me up… I was even hearing tweeting in my head. (laughing) As usual, I’ll be a wussy and stay close to the curb and close to home.. but a helmet is always a good idea. Humm…. now to find a stylish one. If all else fails I can always go back to the tricycle… I can definitely ride one of those in style and without incident!
      Thanks for the fun!

      Reply
  4. Jessica@CapeofDreams

    My husband bought me a bike for my birthday in July. The one I had was 20 years old and HEAVY. He bought me a carbon fiber bike that is light as air. At first, I was scared to ride on the roads and stuck to the bike path, but I wanted to ride to work. I can ride most of the way on the bike path, but there are two sections where I have to be on the road. There are certain things that you have to be aware of when you ride on the road and you must wear a helmet, but it is not as bad as I feared it would be. I have even become confident to make a left turn, something that took a great deal of nerve to be honest. Good luck with your bike. It is great exercise and a much greener way to get around town.

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Hey Jessica! That’s so cool that he bought you such an awesome bike!!! I’ve seen those carbon fiber bikes and they are light as a feather. Amazing technology! Thanks for sharing that story with me… now I feel a little more brave. I can do it… I won’t fall… I won’t get hit by a car… and I’ll have fun! YAY!
      I see 80 year old ladies riding around in our neighborhood. Even to get groceries with their little baskets. If they can do it… I damn sure better be able to. You’re lucky you can ride to work. That sounds fun and healthy!

      Reply
  5. Danielle

    We had talked about moving to Amsterdam a few years ago and now I’m really thinking we should’ve done it, cause I love that bike! How stylish is that thing?! I’m the most inept bike rider, but I kinda think I NEED that in my life.

    Congrats on the new toy!! It’s a beauty!

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      HA HA! That’s hilarious! Lets all move to Amsterdam and ride around in style. Sounds good to me, Danielle! Except who will keep us both from falling off our bikes. :-) We’ll have to ride really close together to keep each other from falling. (laughing at the thought!) It is pretty fun isn’t it. Something that cool makes you really want to at least try to ride or at least park it on the front porch so people think you ride that cool of a bike. We’ll see how many skinned knees I get.

      Reply
  6. Michelle

    Those are some really cute bikes! After mountain biking for years, I much prefer the solitude of mountain trails – but we’ve definitely moved to a road biking area here in Napa! So far I’ve been tooling around on backroads on my mountain bike but I’m getting a little tired of those roadies zooming past me! Unfortunately wine tasting tourists in cars + bikes don’t mix well. I think I am going to be getting a road bike soon but I am sticking to the less travelled roads. And equipping myself with rearview mirrors…

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Hey Michelle! Oh my goodness I just got this vision of you in my head riding your bike while tanked up tourists weave by you. Scary! (and funny… great comment!) A mountain bike, huh… okay well you sound pretty hard core to me. So of course I’m jealous! I wish we lived somewhere where those types of adventures were possible. I think I could totally get into it!
      Yes, definitely get you some big mirrors to keep an eye out for crazies when you get back on the road! (more funny visions of your cool new bike with big truck mirrors. HA HA! Oh boy you’ve made me giggle!)
      Stay safe and take pictures of your new bike if you get one!

      Reply
      1. Michelle

        Heh, I became hardcore when I moved to California. Just Google Marin county. Mtb was actually born there! I wasn’t kidding about the rearview mirrors! People have them on their bikes AND helmets here. (I figure it will give me about 2 seconds lead time to jump in a ditch before the car hits me.)
        I forgot to compliment you on your hair in that old picture… I guess it’s true what they say about Texas hair lol (you should have seen my hair in the 80’s). Oh and a belated happy b-day, fellow libra! Oddly enough, I turned 45 on Oct 18th!

        Reply
        1. Stacey Post author

          YES YES YES! I Googled and then I got caught up watching youtube videos by mountain bikers. Now THAT totally appeals to me! No cars, lovely views, a kick-ass work out, trails… I would LOVE THAT! Seriously you are so lucky to have grown up with that. So lets see… We’ve got big hair in Texas… and you’ve got BIG FUN!! HA HA! I’m sure there’s some great places to ride near Austin, as I do have friends who are serious riders (triathlons, etc.) but where I am (90 miles from Houston) it’s a strange sight to see someone on the street riding a bike. Insane and sad. :-(
          I would definitely have mirrors all over the place! Anything to escape death or injury!!! I’d be jumpin’ off that bike so fast.

          NO WAY, Happy belated Birthday libra girl! So close in date and age. That’s so cool. I don’t know about you and your renovation but being a LIBRA sometimes makes it hard to decide on anything. Ha! Oh my poor husband. We both just love your house!

          Reply
  7. Michelle

    I WISH I had grown up with that. Nope, I’m a transplanted Canadian who conned a California native into marrying me 11 years ago ;) I had never mountain biked and had an intense fear of heights back then. Just sayin’ – anything is possible!
    Oh decisions – ugh. It just took us 6 months to decide on a backsplash!
    Come on out to wine country sometime and I’ll give you a tour of the house and take you mountain biking!

    Reply
  8. Rebecca Woodland

    Stacy, congrats on your new road bike. I too have a spinner, plus a great speedy road bike by Specialized. It even has toe clips on the pedals. I usually only ride it when little traffic on weekends. However, recently I invested in an about town bike with baskets so i could run errands nearby. Check out PUBLIC bikes out of California. I’ve been very pleased. Seem very similar to your townie. See u on the soon on our bicycles :-)

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Hi Rebecca! I had NO idea you were such a “biker”! Sounds like you have some SUPER nice bikes. I checked out the PUBLIC bikes and they’re awesome. Some of them remind me of the Townies in terms of style. It’s so fun to find out about another culture I had no idea about. People seriously love their bikes and I totally get that. I always see these two elderly ladies in our neighborhood who ride their bikes to and from the store with their baskets full of goodies, wearing their helmets, just hauling butt on their bikes. ( if I had to guess I’d say they were in their very late 70’s) I just see them and get so HAPPY for some reason. I guess because they’re up and out of the house using their bodies and seeming to enjoy every minute of life and living it. I want to be that person… not the person who sees them and wishes they could too! You know? So I will carefully and with great joy “get back on a bike”! Thanks for the encouragement and the visit!

      Reply
  9. Victoria Elizabeth

    OH MY GOSH. That photo of you in your sunglasses!! You had some hair!

    We’ll take our bikes to the shore for a day trip, or just ride around the neighborhood. And when Paul and I first met, I pretended to enjoy off-road biking… which was a total lie that I dispensed with nearly immediately.

    I finally got a new bike last year. I’d been riding one I got at Target when I was in high school. And I CANNOT believe the difference. Although, probably the Target bike gave me a lot more exercise since it was about twelve times harder to ride.

    I got a man’s bike. The frame size is way better for me. Lord only knows who the Target bike was made for… definitely people smaller than me! I did girly it up by buying the biggest, widest, cushiest seat they had. I don’t know how guys ride on those normal sized seats. They’re agony.

    I’m sure once you take it out around the block a few times you’ll be back on your game. I hear it’s the one thing you can’t forget!

    p.s.- I submitted a comment this morning, maybe around 10? And it didn’t show up… but I figured maybe you were switching something around, so I didn’t think too much of it. I meant to come back and see if it showed up after an hour or so incase it got eaten by your spam filter? But then the day got away from me.

    Reply
    1. Stacey Post author

      Hey Victoria! Glad I got you out of spam jail! What a weird thing to happen. I’m so sorry.

      Ha Ha! I did have some hair!… and when my mom would roll her hair I always got mine rolled too. We’re talking full-on beauty shop curlers under a dryer. Good grief I was a priss!
      Now I don’t even brush my hair. I think I own a brush but usually can’t find it! But the sunglasses and the earrings are still part of my everyday glam routine.

      I’m so glad you brought that up… you know, about the guy bike. It feels right to me and I guess I hadn’t thought about the fact that maybe it’s because I’m so damn big … hum hum (“tall”, I mean)
      Growing up I always wore guys pants (to get the length) so maybe a guys bike is just what I need. You’re such a wise one!

      That’s great that you guys use and enjoy your bikes. I am really going to make an effort to use it and not be worried about the other stuff. Being a worry wart in life is NOT GOOD! I must hop on that sucker and enjoy it… because I so desperately want to. I’ll definitely have to “girly” up the next one… maybe some rainbow handlebar streamers like my tricycle days. Too much? HA HA HA!

      Reply

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