Ahhh it's nice here. Chillin" out on the wall at this crazy bike cafe. Surrounded by my friends. Orson's Lotus to the left and Joell's Motobecane to the right. Not a bad life at all. I'm really glad to be here. It's way better than that old guys garage. Seems like ages ago I was back there in California, rusting away. Sitting there with two flat tires and a chain practically rusted solid. Now I live in a third story condo. It's a walk up which makes it pretty hard to get home when your a bike. My owners a sport about it though. She just slings me over her shoulder and carries me all the way up when we're done with our ride. Lucky for her, I'm a pretty light bike, I guess.
Most days I'm hanging on the wall of the cafe. That's where my owner works. Making delicious coffee concoctions and delightfully tangy lemonades. It's nice just hanging out watching all the customers come in. Catching snippets of conversations. What really gets my wheels turning though is when someone sees me and comes over for a closer look. That's when I try and sparkle. I brighten up my red, shine up my white and dust off my chrome. I'm a red, white, and chrome Raleigh Super Course.
I was pretty beat up when she found me. But it was love at first sight. Like I'd been made all those years ago (1968 to be exact) just for her. She was the only one to see past all that dirt, grease and grime. Even past a few dents, scrapes and pits to see the real me. She saw the potential I had, what I could really be. A speed demon! She snatched me up cleaned me off even bought me some new parts. She fixed me up with the help of a friend or two. Got me a fancy new chain to match my paint job. Re-wrapped my bars and stripped off those silly gears they put on me in that factory back in England. Best of all though she got rid of those rusted, heavy, archaic wheels and replaced them with a fancy new set. MMMMMMmmmmmmm makes my paint shimmer just thinking about them. No more shifting for me!! I'm running a 50-16 ratio on a flip-flop hub. I've got that single speed option but its all fixie for me baby!
The best days are my owners days off. That's when we have the most fun. Cruisin' down the canals, zipping through traffic, hittin' up the light rail. Gliding through downtown on a First Friday nights. That's what I love. Stopping here and there for a beer or a chai tea. Running into old friends, making new ones. Always on the look out for a cool new fixie I've never seen before. Ahhh there's nothing like it. Yea all in all its a pretty sweet life. Just chillin out here on this cafe wall. There's something so comforting about hanging here next to the couch. My lil' lady sipping on a soy chai latte countin' down the minutes till she can hop back on my seat and cruise through the city. Oops work days over, now its my time.
