you may remember a six spoonfuls post a few weeks ago in which i introduced you to my new baby, penny. living in east london, owning a bicycle is practically a residents’ requirement, and the man and i have been intending to do our duty and get on wheels for ages. about a month ago we wandered past a bike shop and spontaneously purchased our new family members.

i’m not exactly a daredevil on wheels, in fact this little scaredy cat avoids getting on the main roads at all costs. my cycling agenda mainly involves relaxing rides around the park, cycling to the tube station, and popping up to my local village to pick up dinner. so i’m not in need of any whiz-bang fancy bells and whistles in the technical department – but i did want the new toy to be a pretty one. i think i managed it.

we picked up our bikes from hackney cycles, who custom-make your wheels in the colour combo you like, for around £200. i love her pastel pink body and crisp white wheels and handles, and have added a few little additions of my own…

after accidentally ordering a basket far too large online, i visited my local bike shop to have a basket and bell fitted professionally. the boys at the shop were highly amused by my girly wheels, which they said gave them a tooth-ache, but nevertheless did a fine job fixing on my cute-as-can-be wicker basket and vintage bell.

i have to return to have a bracket fixed to hold up the basket a little more sturdily – i opted out because it only came in black, (cue more laughing from the bike boys), but concede that my little basket does droop a little and could do with some propping up.

i’ve been scooting around the neighbourhood picking up meat and veggies for dinner from the village, making the fresh bread run on a sunday morning and getting some exercise in while i’m at it. sarah and i finally found some free time together a couple of weeks ago (when we were still holding on to the last whiff of summer – we’ve all given up on that now right?) to snap a few pictures of penny so i could share her with you. hope you like her as much as i do!

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