RivSister Rendezvous

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I got my first Rivendell (a Betty Foy), in late ‘12. I knew nothing about anything and came to this group in search of knowledge and camaraderie. There were few women then, and when one would appear, I’d call her my RivSister. Over the years we have grown in number. We have found each other on social media, sent gifts through the mail, video messaged, and even met in person. 

Pam Murray had an idea. The Cycling Queen of the Queen City would invite us to her hometown, Charlotte, NC for a few days of riding. I arrived a day late, as Ice Storm Cora made the WV mountain passes impassable. I arrived at our cute Airbnb, The Rosebud Retreat, and was joined shortly after by Roberta of Philadelphia, PA, Kate of Trenton, NJ, Dorothy of Simi Valley, CA and Pam of Charlotte, NC. 

I have never seen so many mixtes. Pam has a bike library full of Rivendell mixtes, and Roberta and I brought 2 more. Dorothy had the lone diamond frame, an orange Roadini. Pam rode her famous Betty Foy and borrowed Kate her 55 cm RBW blue Cheviot. Roberta chose her mermaid Platy and I brought my purple Gravel & Travel Platypus.

We started our days at the local coffee shops. From there, we met Pam and took rides to see historic buildings, greenways, a mansion, neighborhoods, and eateries. We did a night ride that included riding through uptown. (They don’t say downtown in Charlotte; uptown sounds more elevated!) 

There was a constant stream of chatter; we covered all the topics. We drank obscene amounts of coffee. Braided hair. Baked sourdough bread (I drove 700 miles with my starter in my truck). We lost the keys a lot. We rode with the sun soaking into our bones, thankful for wool and steel. Grateful for sisterhood and the bikes that bind us.

Below is the IG link. It shows up better on FB so if you are on RBW Owners Bunch on FB, look there. I’ll send a 2nd post with some photos and commentary. I’m switching my profile back to private in a week or so, and then the link won’t work.

Leah

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE_feSDOxr-/?igsh=MWY5cXpzZGpibm51Mg==

[Leah Peterson]

The joke was, “Let’s post this and tell the guys to guess all the sizes.” 

The other joke was, “Let’s text this to my husband and ask him to guess which 3 of these I’ll be bringing home.”

Left to right: Leah, Kate, Pam, Dorothy and Roberta. 

Shortly after, my bike tipped over in dramatic fashion, smashing the ergonomic bar end plug, knocking the bars askew and snapping every zip tie on that basket. Dorothy, in her lilting Wales accent said, “I’m sorry that happened, Love.”

The sole thing I miss about the van is that it allowed my bike to be upright. It worked fine this way, though.

We found a dragon. With our Fellowship of Rivendells.

The one and only. And in the right color, too!

If you’re hungry for more, visit my IG link or view it on the Riv Facebook group. There are a lot more photos and videos there.

Leah

On Jan 18, 2025, at 11:17 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/qz8vjmegKN4/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/27a9b5f3-028e-4ea1-8725-3034acc1e3c2n%40googlegroups.com.

[Jason Fuller]

Looks like such a good time, I'm glad this came together so well!  In January, no less!!  I can see this growing into quite the annual event.  That one diamond frame among all the mixtes must have felt a little self conscious. What an awesome fleet. 

[Ryan]

Nice!

[Julian Westerhout]

Leah, 

The video/photo montage you posted on the Rivendell FB group -- page at https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1D2qqYUKkK/   is fantastic.  Looks like a great time. 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, Illinois 

[John Dewey]

That looks like a great git-together. Many laughs no doubt, hootin’ & hollerin’!! 

But did you argue over proper frame angles and spoke crossings? That’s where we’d go with it 🙃

JD

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

[Sally Bidleman]

Vicarious enjoyment from here as I'm eating my pre-ride, Saturday morning cinnamon roll (whole-wheat, ergo No Guilt)!

Thanks so much for the great second-hand fun, Leah, and Happy Trails:)

Sally

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CA%2BkTrE4cy6EZ_UpsVZDi11oQSaSw66di2wKDim6FG2Pc1PonhA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Leah Peterson]

Thanks, everyone! John, oddly, frame angles and spoke crossings did not come up! We didn’t invite anyone who would be tempted to discuss them! Lol. We did speak extensively about bike bags and bike clothes. It was riveting.

But there will be RivBros and RivSisters at Philly and we can talk about allllll the topics in March.

On Jan 19, 2025, at 10:38 AM, John Dewey <john...@gmail.com> wrote:



You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/qz8vjmegKN4/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CA%2BkTrE4cy6EZ_UpsVZDi11oQSaSw66di2wKDim6FG2Pc1PonhA%40mail.gmail.com.

[RichS]

Leah, I love the commitment you and the Riv sisters have to each other. Traveling far and wide to pedal your Rivs together. So sweet!:-)))

Best,

Rich in ATL

[Patrick Moore]

Well described, written, and photographed. Thanks for sharing.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/27a9b5f3-028e-4ea1-8725-3034acc1e3c2n%40googlegroups.com.

--

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning,

But wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish,

I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.