All Dressed Up

I sweated it out in my garage, used wrenches and screw drivers and got greasy to accessorize my cruiser. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be only because I had no idea what I was doing. I have also spent more time accessorizing the cruiser than actually riding it.


This is how I roll...

I have added a rear view mirror which so far hasn't proven useful. 

I replaced the original black seat with a brown one and added chrome fenders.

The cruiser now has this wonderful extra large wicker basket. This basket makes me want to go riding in the French country side to buy baguettes and pick flowers. No, I did not pick those flowers. They are fake from Ikea. I just thought it would look cute in the photo.

The best part about this basket mount is that I can interchange both wicker and metal baskets!

Bike riding does have it's perils. The busted lip and scraped knee was inevitable. (I know it kind of looks like an STD or domestic violence. I assure you, it's the result of my face scrubbing the asphalt.)

What can I say, I'm a ride or die kinda girl.

Look Ma! No training wheels!

Hair tossing in the wind... there's nothing but me and the open road... my heart beats faster with each pedal... my hands grip tighter as I push through the wind... I am moving faster and faster catching my breath until I reach my final destination.

I would like to say that is what riding a bike is like for me, but in reality, when I ride, I am saying to myself, slow, steady... don't fall... oh no, why are those teenage boys staring... can they see up my skirt... oh sh*t I have to brake!

I have not ridden a bike since grade school. Shockingly, I still remember. I thought it was something I had to relearn so I added re-learning how to ride a bike to my bucket list. In order to do so, I had to purchase a bike. I bought a Schwinn Typhoon Cruiser. I am not in love with it, but I do like it. What I am in love with is the idea of customizing this bike. 

The bike is currently blue and white with black seats, black grips and white wall tires.

 

(1-speed, back pedal to brake)

One of my favorite things to do is accessorize. So, I have ordered a couple of things for my new cruiser. I ordered, brown seats, brown handle grips and chrome fenders. I also would really like to change the color of my bike. I'm not sure what color yet but I am really leaning toward white and a sort of tan color. I must admit changing my bike's color depends on how hard I work or how quickly I get sick of this new obsession.

I still need to install this cool mirror I got and I still need a basket, a back rack, a headlight and a bell. 

Stay tuned for Sarah's Schwinn transformation.

*Unfortunately, summer is coming to an end. I literally have not ridden the Schwinn much, just around my neighborhood. However, I am still ecstatic about customizing the bike and taking it for a spin on a midtown pub crawl. I probably have to practice riding for that.

So... what have you been up to the past decade?

I have been getting emails on Facebook about my 10 year high school reunion (which is next year) and it doesn't seem like much has changed from my life, aside from the extra pounds and being just a little wiser -- but even that is up for debate. I remember graduating high school thinking that by my 10 year high school reunion, I probably would be married or have obtained some sort of graduate or professional degree. Here I am 10 years later, single and currently attending grad school. I am even living in the same city. I am not at all sorry nor do I regret where I am in life. In fact, I don't think I would have it any other way at this moment.

I don't plan on attending my high school reunion. Gathering in a room with a bunch of people talking about when they were kings and queens who ruled the football field and halls of my high school does not sound at all appealing. I imagine there will be the awkward small talk, avoiding people you never wanted to see again and desperately trying to remember the person talking to you. No, thank you. I think I would rather put cigarette butts in my eyes.

I think high school reunions were invented so that people can compare themselves to each other, like who is making a lot of money, who turned into trailer trash (at the HS I went to, this is highly likely), who got lap band and plastic surgery to look hot, who ended up in prison, etc. However, thanks to Facebook I can see all of that with very limited interaction. There doesn't seem to be a need for a reunion.

I did have some great memories in high school. My overall high school experience was pretty good. I had and still have some great friends. I still see them and talk to them and that is enough for me.

But... maybe when my 25th year reunion comes around (when I'm in my mid 40s) I'll feel different. That's because I will have miraculously turned into a smokin' hot 25 year old who discovered the cure for stupidity.

Here are some old photos of me and my friends when we were in high school. We ate lunch in the hall way, while we gossiped and laughed at everyone we thought deserved to be made fun of. We are all still friends and when wee see each other occasionally, not much has changed, except we eat at restaurants now and not the hall way.