A tribute to ordinary bicycles

It's Tour de France season, which in my opinion is one of the more exciting sporting events of the year.  Some of the most talented cyclists in the world all come to France to engage in a competition not just on physical fitness, stamina, and ability, but on mental focus, resilience, endurance, and power.  The course winds through countryside and mountains, small towns and cities.  And nothing like being a world champion to keep all the riders motivated.  It's really a beautiful, crazy, and kind of ridiculous event.  But glory and fame and month-long bike races just aren't for everyone.  So here's a tribute to all the everyday bicycles that may never get to compete in the Tour de France, but nonetheless fulfill their duty to their riders on two wheels with grace, style, and good looks to boot. 

Vieille-Ville, Geneva, Switzerland


Open air market, Lausanne, Switzerland

The Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland
Nyon, Switzerland

Nyon, Switzerland
Schauplatzgasse, Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland
Kramgasse, Bern, Switzerland

Soho Square, London, England

Old Compton St, London, England

London,  England
Borough Market, London, England
 
Royal Geographical Society, London, England

The Jordaan, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Nine Streets, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Singel 7, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The pipa kar, Waterland, The Netherlands

Nice, France

Nice, France

Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

housekeeping items

Image
As usual, life is moving way too fast for me to experience, process, document, and record on this handy web log in a timely fashion.  So let me take a few minutes to catch up on some things that I haven't had a chance to write about yet (before I jump into my time in Morocco, which is really what is mostly on my mind).  I went to a yoga class.  Casual, right?  Except it was in a family friend's home studio, and ALL IN FRENCH.  Not so casual anymore.  I'm not exactly a yoga guru, but I love it, and I figured I could keep up by following the instructors so I was thrilled to go.  When I arrived, they greeted me with a smile, told me to take off my shoes, and handed me a mat.  The class began, and the very first thing the instructors (a husband and wife couple, by the way) said was close your eyes.  Well, there goes my last resort.  Either I learn French really quickly, or I look like a fool.  Not that that leaves me much of a choice.  But as we moved through the poses, I w
Read more

Hello Love

I am catching a flight to London tonight, and from there I'm going straight to Bangalore, India.  Even after reading it in print and seeing my bags stacked next to me, I can hardly believe that in two days, I will be in a foreign country. And not just any country at that, but INDIA!  I have wanted to go there for as long as I can remember, collecting wooden elephants and buying sari material to drape over my windows in my bedroom.  Now, it's finally happening.  It seems to me that everything is more extreme there: the heat, the traffic, the wealth, the poverty, even the colors seem more vibrant.  I can't wait to find out if that's true.  Goodbye USA, hello love. :)  
Read more

The first few days

Image
Five days in and I'm beginning (barely) to feel like I have an idea of what it will be like to live here for the next three months. We spent our first three nights staying in Geneva, and here are a few things worth mentioning: -->It's true what they say.  Wine is in fact much cheaper than water in this fine city. -->The food is superb.  Fresh, local, whole.   -->Everyone (and I really do mean everyone) is multi-lingual, and being surrounded by it is the coolest thing. -->It is possible that, if you go to Mr. Pickwick pub on a Thursday night, you can witness the extraordinary.  Two grown women singing Shania Twain karaoke to an almost empty room.  But really, that don't impress me much.  -->Germans are splendid tour guides, but they don't like to wait around for taking pictures!  However, I did get the chance to capture these snapshots from the city:        Martin Luther goes green    The Reformation Wall   St. Peter's
Read more