Why not?  If it's got a chain guard you can ride it in normal clothes and it keeps the maintenance down. 

From what I remember of Vienna, it's pretty flat and the centre is traffic free, good for cycling I imagine.

I bought a second hand Dutch bicycle about a year ago and now I use it more than any of my five bicycles. It's big, heavy and slow but you seem to get up a momentum and just waft along. You are sitting upright so you see more and drivers see you better, it's a totally different experience to riding a racing bike.  Because I can just jump on it on it in whatever I'm wearing I use it for a lot of short journeys. I would go so far as to say that it's allowed me to rediscover the pleasure of cycling.

'Nothing beats the simple pleasure of a bike ride' - John F Kennedy.

Looks great - I'd like one - its a bike for pootling around. Not having to change clothes, or even check tyres. Riding sitting up is more relaxed and "normal". Just get some old school bicycle trouser clips.  I have to sort of have a ritual of preparation to get on my"good bike" a Surly Long Haul Trucker and I have the bend down handle bars. Feels like a bike rider rather than a person riding a bike and stops me doing spontaneous jumping on bike. Well, that and bloody hills everywhere and no decent bike infrastructure. Coupled with the longer distances here.

The whole scene is different here. F'instance, being Melbourne, I can walk just up the block around the corner* and there is 7 - yes seven coffee shops that make decent coffee. And the normal cakes and $8 focaccia lunches etc. With bloody inflation some coffees are $4!!. However my nearest supermarket and shopping , library, bookshops, etc centre is 3ks away up and down big hills and busy busy roads. No milk or normal bread shops closer. We are 15Ks from CBD. 20 minutes by train. Train station 2 mins walk away. Like most people here we have 1 car for every adult in household.

*edit:: its a strange strip - old but now revived - a dry cleaner that lectures me on how he knows how to keep a good roll on jacket lapels - and he does (theres a sound recording of him on the net somewhere -^^swearing - long story) - an "organic" fruit and veggie shop that costs about 10 times normal food - I've only been in it about 7 times in 10 years, a florist run by two gay guys - which has a coffee shop - known as The Boys , a physiotherapist, dentist, a fancy bakery of soda bread, a bike repair shop, recording studio, a bank, grog shop, a school uniform shop, a neighbourhood house and centre, a boxing gym, a paint shop, a sewing/embroidery shop, a tile shop, a travel agency, and offices. And railway station.

^^
Matt Tilley - Cereal Pest - "Gotcha Calls"

2. Foul Mouthed Dry Cleaner
Tony Chiodo of Saville Rd Dry Cleaners has no problems with your clothes but struggles a little when it comes to cleaning his own mouth out with soap. The challenge was set by Vince Lamanna and the boys to get him to swear within one minute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVVMQjiWfeE

Last edited by fxh (2012-05-01 18:37:57)

1966 wrote:

Careful with old bikes. Before you know it you will end up like me:

cycledefrance.com

Ok, I can see the fascination. But I think I have enough OCD with guitars and clothes... There are some extremely nice bikes shown in your blog!!!

^ Yeah be careful. I'd take the Waffenrad though, why not?

woofboxer wrote:

'Nothing beats the simple pleasure of a bike ride' - John F Kennedy.

Thanks for that, very true.

I find the English made Brompton ideal for my purposes: cycle to the train station in the morning, fold-up and commute to the station near work, unfold and cycle leisurely to the office: no sweat or ungainly changing of clothes.

At 5:15 its hell for leather all the way home, shirt damp with sweat and a quick shower and that's more than the daily requirement of exercise catered for. A winner.

You'd look alot worse with your brains over the tarmac.

Oo Bop Sh'bam wrote:

You'd look alot worse with your brains over the tarmac.

- broken head with widely splattered brain on the street doesn't look cool... at least not too "Ivy", too

fxh wrote:

Helmets compulsary here

Here in Austria for kids under 12 years of age. But most adults use them, too. Only a VERY few without...

If you plan to ride an old military bicycle in Austria, I can't help thinking of a specific model helmet.

Last edited by 1966 (2012-05-02 06:18:55)

^ Thanks. I know Tim, the writer.

1966 wrote:

If you plan to ride an old military bicycle in Austria, I can't help thinking of a specific model helmet.

Ah, you mean that kind of beauty?



In fact, those helmets were invented by Austrian military during WWI:



So that would be the right choice

BUT - and that's the thing...:

"Waffenräder" aren't military bikes. They were produced by Austrian manufacturer "Steyr" who produced military stuff of all kinds, and therefore used the name "Waffenrad", even for their civil bicycles. They always were civil bikes of high quality. Rumors say they bought an english license - so the "Waffenräder" go back to an english design...

^ Haha you got me there. The missus forced me to bring it and I succumbed. I only wore it the first 5 minutes of the 2 week trip, and during some descents.