Head over heels in love.... Again...

Wow am I a spoilt girl or what? Tarn of Primate Frames is making me a new Brad and we're about to send him, the riser bars and wheels to the painters....

In the meantime, Tarn's been incredibly generous and loaned me The Zen to skoot around on 'til I go to South America in August.

And let me tell you.... I'm in Love. 

The head over heels kinda love.

The I can't think straight, kinda love.

I never thought I'd feel so excited by another bike after my beloved Brad. Like, he was my first real love - we'd been riding around the streets of London and Sydney for six years together. That kinda loyalty and long time love is too great to dismiss in a single breath. 

After Brad and I were hit by a car in February, and he went to bicycle heaven, it took a huge leap of faith to believe it was time to move on, and that eventually, I'd find another bike that would possibly bring the same kinda joy to my life.  Even seeing his broken pieces at CBD on Friday night, I was distraught. Life would never be the same. I thought: had I made the right choice getting a hand made frame to replace him?

As Tarn took me upstairs, and showed me The Zen in real life, this fear left me in an instant, and instead, I was spilling with excitement - I couldn't wait to take her for a spin - but also felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Borrowing a bike like this - one of Tarn's' babies... One of his masterpieces... Is a big deal. I could see how proud he was of her. Her lines. Her geometry. Her gleaming forks and disk brakes. She was  even highly polished... My first time with a single speed. I was excited and also knew I no longer had to worry about how I was going to get fit enough to go up the Andes - this baby was gonna sort out my heart rate!!!

Murphy's law also says that when Jewlz gets on a bike (of any description) that has been cleaned and gleamed up, it will rain. And rain it did. I was gutted and waited until the worst of it went away. Still, what better opportunity to find out what I was dealing with? Let me tell you, disk brakes are the way to go. Fast. Smooth. Effective. I'm very happy we're putting them on the New Brad. 

And yeah, Walker street gave me a heart attack, but we got there. Eventually. :-D

There's something extremely personal about riding a hand made frame. You feel the mastership. The creativity and personality of the bike so much more. You feel at one with it. And yes, to the general reader this is perhaps is a little overzealous. Even, unheard of. 

However, we all know that love is a concept quite passionate. Joyful. Fluid.

So why not love an inanimate object? 

It isn't a bad thing to love something else when your true love of some years leaves your life for whatever reason. It's worse never to love.