Bonnie Parker.

I have this bike I really love.  Her name is Bonnie Parker and she is an early 50's Claud Butler frame who's been converted to a fixed gear bicycle.
She hasn't always been Bonnie Parker.  She was once my big brother Jason's race bike.  Dad was a commercial traveller for a bicycle parts company and had found the bike somewhere on his travels and it came painted gold and with Huffy stickers.  I don't remember it.  I remember that when it was handed down to me when I started racing Dad let me choose a new colour for it - shiny aquamarine and I was a little embarrassed by it and it's fat tyres.
I rode it in quite a few races, mostly handicap and never at scratch.  I was an OK cyclist. There were not many girls racing back then though so didn't find it overly inspiring.  Anyway.... time went by and I rode the Claude Butler until I got my first full time job and put a Mizuno red and white bike on layby at Davies Cycles.  Richard even let me take the bike while I paid it off. I guess the Claud Butler got stashed in the shed.  I didn't hear much about it and I think that Mandy may have owned it after me.  Somehow along the way Jason got hold of it and built it up for his wife.  They separated and the frame came home to Mum's - burgundy and gold and with Colnago and Shimano decals.  It was pretty ugly.  And so I rescued it.
I had some discussion with Mel about how to build it up and we rifled through the gear Jason had stashed in the shed.  We managed to get a decent crankset, stem and bar from that lot.  I took the frame and fork to the powdercoater in Cambridge and got them to strip the manky paint job and cover it in a colour that complemented the saddle I had ordered from Velo Expresso.  Torpedo 7 happened to have a mint set of wheels at a bargain basement price so they were duly purchased and stripped of a thousand stickers.  Next up was a white chain, a bottom bracket and a Soma cog from Velo Espresso and we were in business.  Lucky for me Melanie knows lots more stuff about bikes and bike building than I do and put some impressive effort into getting the bike built up.  I may have asked a thousand questions.
I'd rolled her out for quite a few commutes and loved riding her.  She was awesome around town but the bar I had on her was not really cut out for comfort so I ordered a Soma Condorina because it looked like a rad bar.  I did it without thinking and the bar required a new stem and adaptor which I didn't have.  Matt at Velo had a stem adaptor on hand and Mel has loaned me a stem while I wait for my new white Soma stem to arrive.
Some Claud Butler frame transfers were ordered from the UK and I made a complete cock up of trying to apply them.  Another set was winging it's way to me in no time but I was too shit scared to put them on.  Bonnie looked quite naked without them and so I somehow convinced Mel to have a crack at it.  She is much more patient than I and did a wonderful job.  It was not without it's woes but the end result is cracking good.
So all up... I am stoked with her.  She's got personality and style and is extremely awesome to ride.
Pics  are here for a start to finish look.
This is what she looks like today:

Smokin' hot.

She's such a pleasure to ride.  A new stem and some white bar tape will finish her off.  Can't wait.

Brooklyn Chewing Gum

So.. Mandy rolled me over to our brother Tim's place last night on account of it being nephew Cooper's 4th birthday.
Presents were duly opened and thanks given.  Tim made some mint pizzas for us all and I drank a beer on top of my voltaren (cheap date) and told everyone I needed a new watch.
We scrolled through a storage box of Dad's old cycling photos, scrapbooks and newspaper articles - nostalgia central.  Of course that got us talking about the good old days and Tim disappeared to his bedroom and rolled out the stash of vintage and retro cycle clothing and some other awesome stuff.  Mandy and I were like "Dude! Where did you get all this shit?" and he's like "I just stashed it away." and then...
He pulls out the Brooklyn Chewing Gum Jersey.  Me and this jersey have a history.  I tell Tim so.  He doesn't really care.  Dad goes "I'll give you the matching tights Megan."  I say "That would be great Dad."  and when I leave that night I take that jersey with me because there's no point in having half a matching set.  Is there?

Check this out:
That's THAT jersey hanging on MY wardrobe door folks.

I've said I'm borrowing it to get it drycleaned.

I fear I have writers block.

I have lots of things to tell you about.

1. Vegas
2. Bonnie Parker
3. BMX with Mel
4. Christchurch
5. BMX bandits with Miriam
6. Brooklyn Chewing Gum and a brother with a secret stash of awesome stuff he's extremely unwilling to share! 
7. My baby is going to be an employee soon.  ZOMG!

Keep your eyes peeled.  

Man...

it would be nice if this rain would stop.  Though I hear Vegas is going to be primo on Saturday.

I'ma ride some trails.  At last!!!

I have a cricket chirping in my ear...

it is driving me mad and keeping me awake at night.  Must find ways to deal with it.

I've been having dreams about Granny & Poppy ...

The first one was a couple of weeks ago and I got to hang out with Granny and give her hugs and have some conversation.   She told me that Mum had an affair with one of her friends husbands and I was like "oh yuhp".  Talked to Mum about this after and she laughed.  It didn't happen.   I cried my eyes out during the dream but when I woke up I felt happy.

Last night Poppy was there too but I can't remember much about what happened with him.  It was so nice to see him though.  I want more.  Granny was trying to get to her apartment and I wanted to walk with her to it.  It was an apartment building like you see in American sitcoms but with a big window down one side of it.  She was in apartment 199 and I couldn't get up the stairs to the floor it was on so it was heartbreaking to say goodbye to her when she went up them.  Later I saw Mandy and she said that she had been with her there and had managed to save the photo. I don't understand this now.  Today I just feel really sad.  I miss them so much.  I don't want these dreams to stop.


I saw this yesterday and thought it was beautiful and wanted to share:

I was recently told of an African tribe that does the most beautiful thing.

When someone does something hurtful and wrong, they take the person to the center of town, and the entire tribe comes and surrounds him. For two days they’ll tell the man every good thing he has ever done.

The tribe believes that every human being comes into the world as Good, each of us desiring safety, love, peace, happiness.

But sometimes in the pursuit of those things people make mistakes. The community sees misdeeds as a cry for help.

They band together for the sake of their fellow man to hold him up, to reconnect him with his true Nature, to remind him who he really is, until he fully remembers the truth from which he'd temporarily been disconnected: "I AM GOOD".

A little excitement in my life this week...

My Mum had her 60th Birthday on Tuesday and Jo (the boss) organised a wicked morning tea at work with all her favourite reps.  It was so sweet.  She even booked her out on a measure at Burt and Thea Day's (Birthday - get it?) 60c Ake Terrace (60 cake!) Phone 871 1951 (1951 - the year Mum was born.) Mum had no idea.  We decked the shop out with balloons and streamers and wrote birthday messages on the coloured blackboard.  Mum smiled all day.
That night we went out for a family and close friends dinner at Keystone in Hamilton.  Here's a pic of Mum with all her kids:

A fine looking bunch if I may say so myself.
Mum had the best Birthday ever and she deserved it.  I think she is still smiling.  I love it.

And then...
Anthony gathered us all together at work yesterday to tell us that he has been selected for the NZ Marist U23 rugby team.  So proud of him.  He is a very awesome person.

And then...
This morning I got a parcel.

I'ma pitch my tent this weekend if the weather isn't too inclement and sleep inside it in my sleeping bag on my inflatable mat.  Because I love camping!!

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to leave comments.  I don't have any yet.  It's a heartbreaker.