Even bad bikes are the best.
We sheltered under a 1850s windmill. We got lost amongst reeds. We rode through a beech forest. And through a paddock with curious cows.
I started writing a post about my favorite bike. But while doing that, I realised that every bike is great if you're riding it and it's taking you places.
I think that my current Omnium Minimax is arguably a brilliant bike in general. Practical, comfortable, fast enough. It takes me to work. It lets me lug the shopping home from the supermarket. Normal bike-stuff. But it also lets me dinky a kid (my own, usually) if they want a lift home from school. It lets me move the Cycling Gorilla Cinema stuff. I've had some incredible experiences on it, like finding a (hopefully pet) camel in the Adelaide Hills.
But even technically dreadful bikes can take you on the same adventures. And sometimes the "we had an adventure on a terrible bike" leaves stronger impressions.
Case Study #1
Flying Pigeon folding bikes in southern Sweden.
Look at this monstrosity.
But this relatively short bike ride comes up regularly in dinner table chats. It had a lot. It rained, so we sheltered under a 1850s windmill. We got lost amongst reeds - I'm sure we didn't take a wrong turn, but the GPS doesn't lie. We rode through a beech forest. And through a paddock with curious cows.It was a magnificent time. All on disastrously bad Flying Pigeon folding bikes.
Case Study #2, #3, #4
Unknown brand bikes around Vietnam
I think I'm not the right size for a Vietnamese bike. The alarming wobbles at anything over about 20 km/h made for an interesting ride. The brakes either worked too well, or not at all. But it didn't matter. We were experiencing amazing things, in amazing places, under our own power, and I couldn't have been happier.
We rode near the Mekong River, around Ha Noi, and around Cat Ba and it was magnificent. I think about it a lot, and it's high on my priority list to return.
Some photos:
