Tank top: Old Navy * Cardigan: thrifted * Jeans: Gap * Loafers: c/o Common Crow Vintage * Necklace: Noble Town Vintage * Earrings: museum gift shop
Everyone, please meet Elvira. Elvira, meet everyone. She's a little shy, and needs a bit of a cleaning, but I thought it was high time for her to be properly introduced. Elvira is a Schwinn World Tourist, from the late 1970s-early 1980s (my best guess is 1982, based on the style of the handlebars and materials used for the wheels and frame, but it's not really a super precise guess). She's lived in Chicago until this weekend, when I brought her with me to my weekend home (haha, that sounds so much fancier than it is!). I can already tell that she'll be very comfortable there.
I actually bought this bike two years ago, but have barely ridden it at all. The thing is, though I admire and adore the plethora of folks who bike their way through the Chicago streets, I have little need for a bike in my life in the windy city. From where I live, I have a 20 minute walk to work, a 5 minute walk to the grocery store, and a 5 minute walk to the lake. It's silly, perhaps, but it's just never been practical for me to commute by bike. So Elvira has sat, unloved, in the basement bike room of my apartment (and, this past winter, negligently, she sat outside for some of our rough storms and got just a tad rusted, but after a quick visit to the local bike shop, she seems much happier and nearly rust-free).
I like Elvira because she's an easy bike to ride. The cruiser-style handlebars and the simple 10-speed gears make her flexible and versatile, ready for city streets, bike paths, and lakeshore cruises. I need an easy bike, one that won't stress me out, because, to be honest, I'm a little bit scared of bikes. Silly, I know. But two years ago, just after I bought Elvira, I had a bit of a bike mishap and badly broke my right arm (those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time probably remember the cast I sported for much of the summer of 2009). It was a very silly accident, doing something totally mundane (riding my bike through a parking lot), and I felt like it could have been easily avoided, but wasn't, so the whole ordeal instilled in me a sense of apprehension about bikes. I'm working my way through the fear, and I'm glad I have Elvira to help me with the transition.
In any case, she's a lovely little bike, and she's becoming happily acquainted with the streets and paths of my weekend home. I'm hoping to spend a bit of time next weekend polishing her up and installing a basket so that we can ride the town in style. (Oh, and speaking of style, I just adored the colorful ease of this outfit. It was one of those outfits that garnered real-life compliments - from a stylishly cute little hipster boy, no less! - so I considered it a wild success.)
Happy Monday, all!!
Title song: The Oakridge Boys, "Elvira"
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