life is too short to ride an ugly bike

A few years back I was in Copenhagen, a city that (I am not the first to notice) raises bicycling to a new kind of sexy. Now let it be said that tall, blonde Danes can make anything sexy.

Scones. Fear and Trembling. Herring.

If you're wondering how tiny fish brined in vinegar can get one's motor running ... what makes pickled fish sexy? you may ask ... well, my friend, you have never been to Copenhagen. Just go there, I would advise all young and/or unattached followers of this blog ... With Haste!

But I digress before I even start.

In Pinellas County, a point we miss with bicycling is style. Visit any of the larger shops in St. Pete and you'll find row after row of VERY expensive road racing bikes. Not a single touring bike in the bunch. Almost all of them very fast ... and kind of dull.

While searching for a bike several years back, I went to three different stores before I went to The Bike Room, where the affable and able Joe McCue pulled out a Schwinn Coffee. It was love at first sight.

The Coffee, now my commuting bike of choice, is not built for speed. The front sprocket is too small. The seat sits straight upright, and when I catch a breeze off the bay, forward progress grinds to a halt. The rabid Action Bikers zoom past me on Third Street. Yes, of course, they move fast. They burn mucho calories.

But here's the catch. They look like dorks. Now please hear me clearly, dear reader. I am thoroughly enlightened on matters of sex, sexuality, and gender normativity. But it is my unwavering belief that men should not wear black spandex. At least in public. Maybe on designated nights when The Boy has been very, very bad to his Honey Pot ... but that's another story. And not one you probably want to hear from me. Unless you're Danish.

But I digress again.

Back to dress codes, style, and bicycles.

Sometimes I see the young 'uns cruising round town in natty fixed wheelers. They always seem to appreciate a vintage Raleigh or Motobecane. And they look cool -- poorly placed tattoos notwithstanding. All very heartening. But still, they are the minority.

All this to say ... fashion matters. When we bike, please remember style.

The future depends on our peddling strong and casting a good shadow.