You asked about how the hooks are attached to my sister’s backpack. Here are some close up photos:

On my way to the first day of third grade. I may not have front teeth, but man was I proud to have my very own bike lock, with a secret combination!

Last year a New York Times article asserted

“Forty years ago, half of all students walked or bicycled to school. Today, fewer than 15 percent travel on their own steam.”

They go on to list myriad environmental, health, and mental acuity-related benefits to getting one’s self to school.

I’d like to add another: Self Confidence.

I am certain that I was (am?) a stronger person as a result of my independence and self-reliance at a young age. My mother tacitly sent the message that she had faith in my good judgment by allowing me to get myself to and from school. This carried over into other aspects of my life outside the scope of this blog, including things like eventual peer pressure to smoke, etc. (yes, I am THAT old!)

Thank you Mom, for your faith in me.

Parents: protect your children, but don’t forget to give them wings.

Hurray for ladies of all ages on bikes!

As a cyclist I don’t usually associate “Pleasant” and “Massachusetts Avenue”. But at that intersection we can see both bicycle cops enforcing the stoplight, and a father bringing his son to school.

There’s two signs of a thriving bike culture, and that’s certainly pleasant for Massachusetts!

I’ll only send one entry, my Cadillac Bike, the ladies 1980 Schwinn Suburban. The bag is a Brooks Glenbrook and I bought it new specifically for this bike because I think the Glenbrook is the only bag currently on the market with enough class to compliment this particular bike. A second point and which I only realized some time well after installing the bag, is that the bag is perfectly sized to distract an observer from noticing the ungainly saddle height position. While my ideal frame size is a 22″, we vintage-bike rescuers have to make do with what we randomly find and the Cadillac Bike’s frame is a 19″.

Other fashion accessory bags which I have are a Brooks Millbrook on my green Raleigh; a Brooks Challenge Bag on a Ferrari-Red ’67 American-built wannabee-Raleigh; a Carradice Barley Bag on a fantasy backdated Schwinn Continental made to favor a 1940s British Clubman; a grotesque yellow nylon deep handlebar bag on a bright blue Austrian Steyr of about 1970 or so; and a currently-surplus Schwinn Approved leatherette touring style large saddle bag. Nice bag in the manner of the Glenbrook but quite frankly … just not a Brooks. BTW, I currently have it listed for sale on the QUAD CITIES IA/ILL Craigslist.

And of course you already know about the converted ladies handbag I mounted on Eliza Doolittle.

This’ll be fun to see how other people use bags on their bikes, hope the turnout is good.

I have never seen a Raleigh 3-speed shinier than this one.