She’s a beaut.

Yesterday I made the trek out to Arlington to check out a road bike at the house of this guy, Joe, who restores old bicycles. He has been fixing them up in a shop in his backyard for awhile and just launched a website in March. His business has already been so popular, he’s going to have to open a real workshop soon. (“Not that I’m complaining,” he said.)

I tried out this vintage 1970s Peugeot Mixte that I’d seen on his website (and about which I’d called him 3 or 4 times) with index shifts, new breaks and handlebar grips and (the clincher) rainbow red-orange-white lettering and ended up bringing her home with me.

Today I road to work for the first time, which was a little scary in the city, but I managed by taking a long route on smaller roads and using the sidewalks when necessary. I don’t think I’m ready for Massachusetts Ave. just yet. (Or ever… We’ll see.)

I am currently deciding on a name. Shana’s bike is named Skippy and Skippy’s precursor was Dolly. Our neighbor Megan has a bike named Paulie. I previously acquired a bike named The Galaxy that I had wanted to fix up before I got this one. But that’s another story. The point is, a bike around here needs a name.

I am sensing a feminine vibe from this Peugeot, if you couldn’t tell. She needs a retro name, obviously. And she’s French.

Here are some ideas. Feel free to weigh in:

Minnie
Francoise
Lola
Libby
Lorraine (Lo, for short)

I thought of a few others since posting:

Bernadette
Geraldine

Just wait ’til I get a dog someday… What a naming process that will be.

Yay for bikes. Back to work.

Tags: bike, bike names, biking, DC, french model, mixte, peugeot, peugeot mixte