Thursday, October 30, 2008

my astraea

i’ve met the bike of my dreams. she’s a schwinn starlet, made somewhere between 1954-1957, single speed, coaster brake, women’s frame with a tank, all original parts and well maintained. even the horn works! i’ve seriously been checking craigslist religiously for the last three years hoping to find a bike of these exact specifications.

all my bikes get names from greek mythology (calliope, athena, persephone)…and now astraea, named after the greek goddess of justice, derived from the word “aster” meaning “star.” i’m not totally sure how it’s supposed to be pronounced, but i’ve been saying “uh-stry-uh,” because i like how “my-uh-stry-uh” sounds.

i hope i never stop getting so much enjoyment out of riding bikes. cruisers in particular. i don’t want to ever give them up for more practical bikes, ones that weigh less than fifty pounds and can travel faster than 15 mph and whatnot. my dad likes to joke that one of my bikes weighs about the same as four or five of his. and it’s true, but i don’t see that as a drawback. my legs are really fucking strong.

so for the past week i’ve basically been riding wherever i can whenever i can. which isn’t much of a departure from my usual habits, except that everywhere i go i can’t quit grinning and stopping to take photos of my bike against various beautiful backgrounds.

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