Sylvain l'Américain

So, first off, a GOLD STAR to everyone who commented on my blog. And that includes my Aunt Glad, who is a loyal commenter by email. It's good to have readers :-) Now I just need regular shout-outs to make sure I'm not in a void, because rambling in a void is no fun. I'll assume no one is interested anymore (and wouldn't blame anyone if that's the case!) and get bored.

Anyway, this week has been Sylvain's introduction to American living. And Sylvain's owner's reacclimatization to American-style biking. I think Sylvain is adapting better than I, hahahaha.

First off, Sylvain had his first car ride, to Valley Forge:


That's when my father and I realized that he has some heft to him...not as light as some bikes, but what can you say? It takes material to be that awesome.

So we got to the bike path near Valley Forge, and I realized that Sylvain is indeed a city slicker. Note the basket:


I was all set to put my water bottle in the basket, which turned out to be a rather ill-conceived idea, as I had no way to secure it. My usual bungee cord was too big to fit through the loop of the bottle. So I just took the risk and rode with the bottle rolling around, as I was passed by all sorts of hard-core mountain bikers in their fancy attire with backpack water canteens and under armor gear and the like. Felt like a total tool with all that outdoorsy snaziness going on around me, although it was a very nice ride. The basket is genius for my Sunday trip to the market since I can strap everything in...not so practical for one little water bottle, however.

All in all I was sitting there like, "I should be biking down the Boulevard Saint Michel in my miniskirt, on my way to happy hour, thank you very much." It was already a concession just to put gym clothes on, and of course I picked my shorts to match the bike. And if you look closely, you'll see my sports watch is even pink. What can I say? An awesome bike needs an awesome accessory, and it takes effort to rock that.

That's also when I realized just how uncomfortable Sylvain's seat is, since I don't usually spend extended periods of time on it at once. The longest I ever traveled routinely in Paris was about 25-30 minutes. Granted, I did feel it when I made those trips a few times in one day, but that wasn't all that often.

Moral of the story: I'm not a mountain biker (or a national park biker, for that matter). I'm a city biker. I need cars, motorcycles, and stoplights. Otherwise I get bored and my butt starts to hurt.

That was this weekend. Then yesterday I was stuck at home without a car, so I decided it was time for Sylvain's coming out in Collegeville. haha. The biggest problem, not surprisingly, is the lack of parking. I went to our local café and had to tie him up to a pole off to the side, right off the road:


Then at the post office, there's a whole special lane for drive-in mail drop-off, but no facilities for the lowly biker. So I left him attached to the handicapped parking pole:


As you can guess this picture was taken on the fly, since I figured I already looked toolish enough arriving on a bike, I didn't need to augment the toolish factor by then ostentatiously standing in the parking lot taking pictures of the bike. ha. So I did it quickly and clearly got my finger in the way. And didn't notice until I uploaded the pic.

Anyway, no biking for me today, as I'm in town sans Sylvain. But perhaps he needs to be introduced to Philadelphia. He would feel much more at home. But he might also lose his seat or basket or something, if I don't have the proper locks for everything (haha).