Cross-Cultural Relationships

Cross-cultural relationships are complicated to navigate. Once the novelty wears off, the differences can create a rift between partners. But the differences can also bring the couple closer by compelling them to communicate about things that are taken for granted by same-culture couples. In the process, the couple may discover that despite their different backgrounds, they actually have more in common with each other than with their own kind. Three months into their life together, I think that my Gazelle and the Co-Habitant's Pashley are accepting each other's differences and discovering their similarities in the nicest way possible.

The Pashley Roadster has the lower-set North Road handlebars characteristic of English bicycles, but in other ways it seems to have more in common with the Gazelle. They share not only the 28" wheel size, but also frame proportions, angles, relative weight, and handling. The Pashley Princess seemed to be a much smaller bicycle when it stood next to the Pashley Roadster than the Gazelle does. And I have already written about the mysterious differences in ride quality between the men's and lady's Pashleys. The Gazelle seems like a better-matched companion in terms of acceleration and hill-climbing. I would also say that the Pashley Roadster is more similar to the Dutch Gazelle than to the English Raleigh DL-1 Roadster. There is a certain heavy stateliness the Pashley and Gazelle share that the Raleigh DL-1 does not. Despite the rod brakes and the vintage vibe, the DL-1 is actually a lighter and sportier bike than either of these two.

What exactly in the design of the Pashley Roadster makes it more similar to my Dutch bike than to my previous English one, I do not know. But these similarities have certainly been a positive factor in the Gazelle and Pahsley's relations.

The English gentleman and the Dutch lady... a case in point that cross-cultural relationships can work.