Your hours have been cut. You are out are out of work. Four-hundred people are competing for one really boring, poorly paying job. My cats, don't despair. It's time to go bike touring! Go fill yourselves up with happy cycling chemicals for a few weeks. We just got Velo Orange as a vendor, so take a look at their site or their blog. If you fancy yourself as a randonneur or cyclo-tourist, this is the fun place to browse for gear. (Or if you do have a job and are chewing up your work trousers in your single-speed chain ring teeth, check out the single-speed chain guards.) If we can help you choose and order components and accessories, let us know. We've got quite a bit of collective bike touring experience at Wheelgirl as well as many great stories of how we and our customers have irreparably damaged expensive work clothing and shoes via our bikes.(Snapped derailleur hanger caused by the sleeve of a lady's cardigan sweater? O yes we've seen it.)
The Velo Orange site is filled with shiny, pretty, classic bicycle bits and bobs. But you can also bike tour on a chipped-paint commuter with a pocket knife, a tarp, and a garbage bag filled with cans of baked beans bungeed to your rear rack. Remember: It's all about attitude and the stories you live to tell.
Cyclist and employee Daniel just built up his custom all-around bike for commuting and touring. We carry the Soma Stanyan frame, a nice steel platform designed for his hand-picked reliable components and comfortable bike touring. (I'm a sucker for chromed lugs.)
Photo by Daniel of his custom Soma Stanyan all-around commuter/touring bike.
VO Alloy Polished Chain Guard lifted from the Velo Orange website.
