Monday 29 March 2010

Rollin' to the market


I had a great little bike ride this morning, I stopped off at the chiropractor and then headed on over to the local market to pick up some fresh produce & milk for the next couple of days. I took my backpack & had my trusty basket, it was all I needed to get my groceries home. I took the long way home just to enjoy my ride a little bit longer; I'm glad I did because I came across this cute little house with a cute little cat sitting in the window getting some sun. I think it's really eye opening to see all the things I do when I ride my bike instead of drive. I can't stop smiling about the cat in the windowsill and yet, if I'd driven I wouldn't have taken that way home and I certainly wouldn't have taken the time to notice that little moment in life.
Sunday 28 March 2010

Small Town Rollin'



I live in a small town, we have a population of just over 6000, 2 grocery stores and 1 street light. I never used to be a country living kind of girl but after living here for 2 years I can officially say I like small town life.

I like that I can ride my bike down the middle of the highway and people drive on the other side of the street to accommodate me. I like how people still say hello and hold doors open for you even if they don't know you; and mostly I like that I can ride my bike anywhere.



Today Rosie and I went rollin' to the lake and the cemetery. I would have spent more time in the cemetery but I had Lola with me and didn't think that dogs are necessarily cemetery friendly. I probably would have spent more time rollin' around the lake but as Lola LOVES water it's hard for her to behave when there is a big lake to jump in. I'm thinking once in a while Rosie and I will roll alone.
Saturday 27 March 2010

Rollin' with Rosie...and Lola



My husband convinced me to take our black lab out on a bike ride with me, I was hesitant because she's scared of everything (I think someone forgot to tell her that's she's a 90 lb dog), and I worried that I'm not a good enough bicyclist to handle her and the bike if something spooks her.

I strapped my helmet on, grabbed Lola and took her out to the garage to meet Rosie. I let her sniff all around and fed her a couple of her favorite training treats to show her this was a training exercise. I hopped on my bike and we were off...

It's like Rosie, Lola and I were the three musketeers, Lola galloped along side me with her tongue hanging out and I was riding with a grin from ear to ear, Rosie would have tooted her horn if she had one. It was a great time and a wonderful experience. I can't wait until tomorrow to go out again.

We passed a lady with a dog, a bunch of people and even had to ride out on the highway a bit and Lola handled it all like a pro. All together our ride was maybe half an hour and when we came in she had a BIG drink and fell on the floor...she hasn't moved since...

Operation "tire out Lola" SUCCESS!!
Wednesday 24 March 2010

Rosie's maiden voyage


Even though it was -5 degrees outside and windy as hell I couldn't help but take Rosie out for a spin, we might not have gone far and I might have had a slurpee headache from the wind but damn it I loved every second of it.
Tuesday 23 March 2010

Introductions

I'm Jordanna and I ♥ Electra bicycles.

I've wanted a Cruiser forever and I've been drooling over the Electra website for a few years; unfortunately I couldn't afford to purchase an Electra so I was forced to dream about one instead....until that all changed.

Cindy (who I'm sure will be part of my adventures as she's a fellow cruiser) mentioned she'd seen an Electra Cruiser on Kijiji so I grabbed my netbook and looked that shit up! I fell in love with my bike instantly, and while I'll admit she's not what I would have picked if I were buying new, she was perfect anyway. I hit the "email owner" button and offered $350 for the bike...that sounded like a reasonable starting offer no? It's been a few hours why hasn't she answered me about my sweet sweet new bike? I decide to call and leave a message...it's been a couple more hours, why hasn't anyone called me back? Maybe they sold the bike, maybe they are insulted by my offer...? Denial, anger, sadness....bedtime.

The phone rings at 9:45pm (don't judge, I got up really early with my little guy so I was tired). I convince the husband to run upstairs to get the phone just in case it was the old owners of my sweet sweet new bike. He doesn't run at all, in fact he went slower than normal, or so it seemed, to get the phone. There was a message...about my bike...it was still for sale! I call the lady back and offer her $350, she practically laughs out loud and says she won't go below $500 and that they priced it that low to sell it quickly. I eventually talk her down to $450 and we have a deal (though to be honest I would have paid full price for love). I'm to pick my new sweet sweet bike the next day.

I barely slept all night, the excitement about going to get my sweet new bike was overwhelming and exciting and that made sleep difficult. It's finally "bike day" as I dubbed it at 6:00am with glee to my not so excited about it husband. I had two appointments to get through before I could go pick up my bike.

Appointments over I head out to pick up my bike, as I'm driving through a snowstorm that seems to be getting progressively worse the closer I get to my destination. It has snowed so much I can't even see the street signs rendering the directions I was given completely useless. I roll down streets randomly looking for a street sign I can read, just hoping it might be the one I'm looking for. After asking some cute snow clearing guys for directions I was on my way!

The door opened to my sweet sweet new bike and it's love. I didn't hear angels or a choir singing but I did hear some Sublime in the background which for me is angels and a choir singing in itself. I handed over the money and rolled out.

And so begins my adventures with Rosie, or as I like to call it "Rolling with Rosie".