the machinist

my excellent girlfriend - who shall from herefore be known as The Sweet Little Retard - has found commercial comical mileage in the fact that i've been buying necessary accessories for my bike... when i don't even have my bike yet. i must admit, the mirth is well founded.

but soon they'll have a home, and then who'll be laughing?

my investigations into the world of cycling have very whet my appetite. i've mentioned bike snob nyc before, and applaud his written destruction of the hipster cyclist culture. but i must say, it has lead me to the world of fixie bikes for which i have sustained a certain level of intrigue.

i have two contradictory pools of taste, two opposing schools of design that rarely meet in the middle to make anything of remarkable value. although it can happen (i type this on a macbook). as a techy i like utilitarianism. i like gadgets. i like things that do the job and do them well, without need for 'look at me!' prettiness. within this pond, i hold DIY versions in high regard, and have a fondness for - frankly - ugly things that are built for their purpose. it's probably why, when i recently went through a period of thinking about jumping back on a motorbike, i fell in uncontrollable love with this:


as an art/design fan i like minimalism. well-positioned stark blank shapes and uncomplicated blocks of colour. retro. monochrome. simplicity. sparsity of placement:



so, with it's modern style, internal gears, gun-metal-grey paint with brown detailing; my vienna 4 could fit nicely into the second category. but my plan is that its going to be my main form of transport in and around london, and will (hopefully) propel me through all weathers, in all seasons, at all times of day, day in, day out.

shake it all about.

i need to keep as dry as possible.
i need to carry stuff.
i need to be seen in the dark.
i need to know if i'm late for work.

and this is where all those necessary accessories S.L.R. berated me for are going to come out to play, turning my bare monochrome frame into a device for holding lights and mudguards and panniers.

when i pick the vienna up it'll be a shiny new minimalist toy that'll be a shame to taint... a couple of hours with a spanner, though; and my utilitarian-techy-gadget-love will be somewhat fulfilled. leaving a minimalist hole.

oh.

should i how can i fill it?

shit.