the love. 4/29/06]
Portland’s bike-loving Breakfast on the Bridges crew has birthed a new holiday that is sure to become an annual tradition; St. Velo-tine’s Day.
Tomorrow morning (2/13) from 7-9am on the Hawthorne and Broadway Bridges, they’ll be holding the special event where they encourage you to, “Celebrate the day of bike love by showing your bike some love.”
Timo Forsberg — who married his bike back in June 2005 (see photo below) — describes it like this:
“St Velotine’s is a traditional holiday of the People’s Republic of Velorution, marking the day when the venerable St. Velotine first noticed an unnatural passion for a bicycle. Customary elements of the holiday include giving your bike a sexy cleaning, writing your bike a love note, buying your bike a new bauble, and taking your bike to the coast for an intimate getaway.
Breakfast on the Bridges will promote safe cycles by providing free rubbers (patch kits or Pro-Choice, Pro-Child Prophylactics) to any bicycle lovers stopping to breakfast with them.”
So, even if you’re not ready to make the commitment like Timo, Stephanie, and Elicia have, you should still show your bike some love this Velotine’s Day.
Join us out on the bridges for special Velotines greetings, free coffee, pastries, prophylactics, and oh so much more!
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This sounds great, but I cannot commit to a monogamous relationship with my Jamis, as the Peugeot may find out and become jealous. And then the Steyr could catch wind of it all and I’d be done for. It just wouldn’t be fair to any of them. Will there be any accommodation for bike floozies who will happily ride on any non-motorized two wheeler that comes along?
Martha, your predicament is exactly why we are going to be handing out rubbers of the bike variety (some might call them patch kits).
“Safety first!” is our watchword here at Shift.
Whee! What fun. I have missed every single Breakfast on the Bridges, because I am either at work or recovering from working. Humorously, since I work on the bridges, I have seen a number of the events. Once I was hungry at work, and considered running down to the pastry table to grab a nosh. I would, of course, have brought along my helmet to prove I rode to work in the first place!
This is a long, round-a-bout way of saying I intend to set my clock and finally find my way down there tomorrow. What a lovely idea.
I just found out I don’t have to leave town tomorrow after all, so I can bring my bike to share the love – now I just have to decide which one to bring. They say that they are not jealous of each other, and that they are happy to have another sister-bike, or two, or three, in to home to share the task of being ridden, but I know that they are lying and that each one wishes she were the only one . . .
At the insistence of my [real-life] partner, I married my bike at last year’s Bike Fair. Never mind that the other two bikes might get jealous, never mind that my partner steered me into bigamy, all I can say is that since me and Rivvy got hitched she has been giving far fewer problems on the road. So clearly, my partner knew something I didn’t.
If I can possibly get up early enough tomorrow morning (7am?!!? You guys make me nuts) I’ll make my way to the Broadway bridge with Rivvy. Great idea.
marrying the bike is a big step, but i have not regretted it for a moment. Sparky is a most gracious, dependable and patient spouse, and i never doubt that we are on the same lifepath. Sparky even forgave me for my infidelity with a Schwinn Continental in NYC, understanding that it was all in the name of bike love (and legal observation for Critical Mass). i love you, Sparky, now and forever.
My dearest Nishiki,
I love you with all my heart, but I am simply not ready to take our relationship to the exclusive level.
You know, sometimes I just have to wrap my fingers around a new pair of handlebars! Is there anything ever more exciting? What’s so wrong with that? Hey I’m being honest about what I need!
I know, when the weather improves you DO take off your fenders and put on some new tires. But the fact is that on some of those sunny summer days, I just need gears.
I’m sorry, I’m just not a one bike guy.
Really, you’re a great bike, it’s not you, it’s me.