Pimp my ride

Most of you that have been following along are aware of my renewed friendship with my old (but reliable) bicycle.   As well as things have been going well with my BFF, I realized that she needed a couple of "enhancements".   First of all, now that the weather has suddenly turned to fall (which I guess in Sweden means 60s with some rain), I notice that my awesome backpack, and sometimes my pants, get splattered from the puddles when I'm riding in the rain (I know you're probably thinking, "Then just don't ride your bike in the RAIN!").   Fortunately or unfortunately, in my quest to adapt to the more active Swedish lifestyle, some riding in the rain is mandatory.   So I took my bike to the shop to get some mudguards installed over the tires.  I would go to great lengths to protect my precious backpack!  In all seriousness, for as much as I ride with a backpack, I'm thinking of upgrading from the IKEA special to something a bit more stylish!

Not fancy....but hopefully functional!

As a quick tangent to the mudguard upgrade, I finally broke down and purchased some rain pants today.  Yes, I'm serious.  I bought waterproof pants to wear over my regular pants to protect them....when I'm riding my bike IN THE RAIN.  As I write this I'm guessing most of you think that Michelle has been kidnapped and replaced with a Swedish alien!   Suffice it to say that I am now well prepared to accompany the kids back and forth to school in inclement weather without getting soaked.  It is duly noted that DRIVING would also accomplish that!

Ok...back to the bike.  I realized that in addition to the mudguards, the old Rockhopper also needed a kickstand.  Since it's a mountain bike, I guess they are not standard issue (and are considered both lame, and possibly dangerous, to the serious trail riders).  And up until now....I never really missed it.  The main reason being, of course, that I really didn't ride my bike that much.  And when I did ride it, I could just lean it up against a tree.  Now, however, I take my bike all over the place and sometimes the bike racks are full.  Can you imagine such a thing?  And you can't just lean your bike anywhere that seems convenient.

Breakin' the law!

As pathetic as it might sound, I was quite happy to pick up my new "ride" from my friends at Ekman's Cykel, with it's shiny new kickstand and mudguards  (for now, I'm holding off on the new paint job and fancy rims).

Maybe the TV will be my next upgrade!

Not surprisingly, it was windy and threatening rain when I went to pick up the girls from school with my (new and improved) BFF, so I even threw on the new rain pants as a precautionary measure.   I was quite a sight (but I wouldn't  hold your breath waiting for the photo!).  Hopefully now I'm prepared for at least the next month or so of crazy Swedish weather....I have no idea what the winter will bring!

Will this be me in December??