After living in Oslo for many years and relying on the city bike scheme to get me from A to Å (or not, as there would often be a shortage of available bikes), I took the plunge and bought myself a bike.
But that’s old news. The new news is all the new parts I’ve gotten for it recently. A big cat bell, and bike rack and wooden crate for the rear.
The bell that came with the bike was a flimsy black dome with a spring-loaded plastic ‘flicker’. It seems like these are some sort of standard now. The sound it made was an annoying one and after a few flicks, the spring had started to weaken.
During a trip to a local toy store, I spotted this classic style bike bell with a study metal ring mechanism and a friendly lion face on the top of the dome. The sound is more like that of an ice cream van on a whimsical summers day. A polite “Excuse me, I’m letting you know I’m here!” as opposed to an aggressive “Get out of my way!”. I just had to buy it.
Last week, as my bike was in for a service, I got them to install a bike rack on the rear. A small cost for a very useful addition.
There had been a few times this summer where I struggled to carry groceries home from the supermarket. I wished I had a crate like a Dickensian delivery boy, carting a morning bread and milk delivery down a cobble street.
And, boy, let me tell you… when you dream big… great things can happen!
I managed to get myself a wooden crate, secured it to the bike rack, and bought some red bungie cords to strap down whatever is in there. Job’s a good’un!
The question is; do I paint the wooden crate black to match the rest of the bike? Let me know in the comments.
