Sylvia the Linus Dutchi and her changes; part 2

The wheel set my dear husband got me for Christmas made all the difference in my riding. The roller brakes let me stop with out having to put my feet down and my pedals no longer take a bite out of my calves every time I stop. The 8 gears instead of 3 means I'm now able to go as fast as I want without spinning like a lunatic and I can easily get up all the hills in my area without needing to get off and walk. With the exception of the stupid overpass, but I will conquer that one eventually! I'm saving up for a dynamo light set to go with the generator, then I'll have light anytime I want it. The rims are way beefier than her originals and the spokes are a bit thicker so I don't worry when I hit a pothole or take her off a curb. Supposedly these rims are lauded by mountain bikers and BMXers for their strength and durability.

As she is now. Ready for anything.

Her grips are now natural cork because the bike shop that spread her for the new gears cut my nice foam ones and I wanted to try something different. As soon as I get a job I'm going back to the foam though. I don't like how hard the cork is. I'm a squeezer and these just don't have the give I like.

Her new basket helps balance her out and can hold a lot of stuff. It's the perfect size for my bag and has made her even more stable feeling than she was before. I definitely like the added weight in the front. It's not the first basket she's had, but I think this one is the winner!

Cyclops bike.

There are still a few small changes I want to make. I want dynamo lights,  better tires and maybe a beefier kickstand. I really want another water bottle holder and I've been playing around with where to place it. I think the basket may be where it goes. 

She goes well both on pavement or dirt in the alleys. She is cheerfully oblivious to most bumps and can carry a very nice load. We can toodle along at a stately 8.5 mph or if necessary fly along at a zippy 15 mph. (Fastest we've gone was 22 mph, but I couldn't sustain it for more than 2 blocks.) She's comfortable for long rides/distances and makes our usual short jaunts fun too.

I'm so glad we found her! She's practically perfect in every way! At least for me!;)

Princess approved.

All done! In more ways than one!

I went to school today to finish up the last of the paperwork that needed to be sent in to State Board. As long as everything is in order I'll have my number in 2-4 weeks. Then I can get a job! I can't wait, but I'll use this time to finish some of the things I've been neglecting while at school.

It's so pretty!

Sylvia's basket is finished and on her. I think it looks great and it doesn't seem to affect the handling at all. If anything it makes it a bit easier to turn her when going slow.  The wood came out really nice, I'm glad we went with a clear coat to bring out the grain without changing the color. My husband has really good taste in wood! There's about 7 coats on it so it should hold up for a while.

I aced the test and earned my basket!

I got the results last night and I did great!!!! My obsessive checking every few hours even though the tester said Wednesday paid off. I'm really proud of myself and now I just have to apply for my certificate. Then I can get a job! I can't wait!

I didn't miss a single step!

I have earned the basket and as soon as the varnish on the wood is dry I'm going to put it on Sylvia. It's a great looking basket and really feels sturdy. We went to the shop planning to get a Wald 159, but it was love at first sight with this on. They had a used one mixed in by accident that had a reflector. The shop threw in the reflector for free because they couldn't sell me the used basket. It belonged to another bike.

It's the perfect size!

The basket is 16"x 13"x 9". It's a much more sensible size for the front of Sylvia and will hold what I need it to. I can't wait to get it on there.

Perfect!

I plan to used hose clamps to attach it to the front rack. That will keep it out of the way and keep the weight down low. It's going to look great! Even better, it's going to work great!

Have fun!