Tourer to Townie, chewing humble pie

I'm officially "back at work" this week, although I doubt that I've covered more than half my requisite hours in productivity. Between late starts and early finishes, with lots of rests in between, I reckon I'm firing in about one-third barrels. Lucky my employer is fairly forgiving.

I am, very thankfully, able to cycle in to work. Not via my usual hilly 12km route on my favourite Touring bike, zipping along at a good clip; rather, tootling gently by on the cruisey Townie via the flat 6km bike path. But hey, who's complaining? I could've been getting chauffeured in and out in my boss's vehicle, since she lives just up the road from me ... now that would've been truly devastating.

I'm getting a whole different view of our society by tootling along the bike path. This is the main cycle thoroughfare into the CBD from the north. Ours is a fairly homogenous town where the biggest employer (thankfully not mine) is the public service, so my fellow cyclists along this route are, for the most part, wearing business attire and riding "comfort" bikes. Many of them are also towing kiddie trailers with one or two tots, on their way to child care and thence the office.

The change in attitude towards me by fellow road and bike path users, depending on my appearance, is quite remarkable. I first noticed this when I started wearing tops of a range of colours - the same sleeveless top in any colour but pink or rose would afford me almost total invisibility on the road; if I donned either the pink or rose top, I'd invariably attract attention to myself either via ogles or call-outs, and even the odd wolf-whistle. Same top exactly, bar the colour. Pink is obviously an advertising banner for "I am woman!!!"

Gemini World Radonneur - my classic old Tourer.

Now I'm discovering quite how far the whole image thing extends. My Tourer is a classic old workhorse and looks for all the world like it means serious cycling business, with its drop handlebars, mudguards, pannier racks and plethora of accessories - lights, cyclo-computer, bidon, bell, etc. It gives its rider a very slung-out posture designed for optimal aerodynamics and hip angles in the optimal power range. I've pedaled this old bike over more than 40,000kms since I bought it about 25 years ago, over a good deal of the Victorian and NSW countryside. It's relegated to day trips and commuting nowadays, as I can no longer push its relatively high gears up mountains and the narrow old frame won't accommodate lower gears. But I love it, and riding it daily to and from work gives me indescribable joy!

At the moment, however, that slung-out position is a big no-no. So a-cruising I will go, all lady-like and such...

Electra Townie 3i - the cruiser.

The Townie was a freebie. CB and I went for an evening walk up the road and spotted it propped against a power pole alongside the road - the customary location in this country for items that are "free to good home". We wheeled it home and gave it a once-over and some TLC with some spanners, allen keys and a dust cloth. The front rim brake needed straightening, the wheels needed truing, the tyres required some pumping up, and the rusty old chain was in desperate need of some lube. We decided it could also do with a lower gear range so we swapped the chain ring for a slightly smaller one, and then Townie bike was good to go.

Townie bike is pink. Candy pink. It has a rear rack and a handlebar basket, and a 3-speed internal hub. Its patented "Flat Foot" long-wheel-base design provides an upright, relaxed riding position that lets you reach the pedals with correct leg extension while riding whilst also letting you plant your feet flat on the ground whenever you want without leaving the saddle.

The humble Townie is perfect for cycling with minimal back strain, which is doctor's orders to me for now. It's slow, it's very "girlie", it's difficult to track in a straight line when taking off from a standstill, and it's my main form of transport for the time being. I'm finding that other road users (be it drivers or cyclists) give me an enormously wide berth when I'm travelling by Townie, and the more I wobble and appear to be an unskilled and slightly out-of-control rider, the more breathing space they give me.

It's wonderful!!