Retrovelo Paula in the Countryside (with Her Vintage Friend)

I have written about Anna's Retrovelo Paula before, but I was not able to evaluate the ride after what was only a couple of minutes on a cold November day. This time around it was summer, and Anna and I went on a nice long trip along the Danube - she on her Retrovelo Paula and me on the Steyr Waffenrad (the bike I ride while in Vienna). Our ride was 30-miles round trip, and for a stretch of it we swapped bikes.

Here is Anna on her beautiful bike.

I must pause and mention here that she was wearing a stunning outfit taylor-made for her in India: slate blue kaftan, white trousers and white cape. It looked elegant and kept her cool on what turned out to be a very hot day.

But back to the bikes: neither the Retrovelo nor the vintage bike I was riding had a problem with the magnitude of the ride, which did include occasional (but mild) hills.

We rolled out of Vienna and passed through the beautiful countryside of Klosterneuburg, Krietzendorf, eventually stopping at a scenic spot in Greifenstein.

Here is me with the Retrovelo Paula during our trip. This dog decided to join us for a bit - no doubt because he liked the bike!

Anna's feet and sandals. My main impression of the Retrovelo Paula is that it is a comfortable ride with a feel of gliding to it. The bicycle is clearly well-made and of high quality. It rode very differently from the vintage Austrian bike I was on, but similarly to my Pashley back home (after the latest round of modifications I made to the Pashley). Prior to its latest modifications, I would say my Pashley was more sluggish than the Retrovelo Paula, but post-modifications they are about the same. One interesting point, is that I did not feel a huge difference in "cushiness" between the Delta Cruiser tires that I had been riding on my vintage bike, and the Fat Frank tires on the Retrovelo; to my surprise the ride quality was similar.

Overall I liked the Retrovelo Paula, and found its ride quality to be in the same general category as that of Pashley and Velorbis.  I think that between the three of these, preferences really depend on individual tastes more than anything else. I know of one former Pashley owner who tried the Retrovelo, liked it better, and has now gotten one (and is selling her Pashley). However, I do not feel the same, and wonder how much of the difference she felt is component and setup-related. The Retrovelo is a very pared-down bike in comparison to the Pashley, and I think the choices of tires and gearing further contribute to the sportier feel of the ride if we compare their "out of the box" set-ups - but all of that can be changed, and I feel that the basic ride quality is similar.

In terms of manufacturing quality, I would rate Retrovelo as being on par with Pashley and better than Velorbis. Aesthetically, I think the Retrovelo has hands-down the best fork-crown design and lugwork of the three, but it has a few practical drawbacks - such as a lack of chaincase and dressguard. As for weight, the Retrovelo Anna was riding felt to me as if it weighed exactly the same as my Pashley at home; it is not a light bicycle by any means. 

Other random notes... The Retrovelo has handlebars that to me feel unusually wide, a bit like cruiser bars. Some may like this, others may not. The braking system is hand-activated hub brakes. If you are a coaster brake fan keep that in mind, but I know that some dislike coaster brakes and will see this as great news. The bicycle is equipped with dynamo lighting, front and rear.

The bottom line is: the Retrovelo is an excellent modern bicycle built in the classic tradition. It is fairly fast and maneuverable, comfortable, gorgeous, and its owners love it. If it is within your budget, I doubt that you will regret choosing this bike.

But... I have yet to find a modern bike with a ride quality I like better than my vintage Raleigh DL-1 or the vintage Steyr Waffenrad I ride in Austria. I honestly wish that wasn't so, as I'd feel more comfortable riding a reliable modern bicycle than a vintage one. But it is as if the modern designs did something to the geometry of the bikes that has made them less efficient than their vintage equivalents. Maybe someday I will figure it out.

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Cycling in a Heatwave... Making Friends with Florals

There are many websites out there with excellent advice on cycling in hot weather. Suggestions include cycling slowly, wearing breathable fabrics, drinking plenty of water, applying sunscreen, and using baby wipes - all of which I do. And there tends to be a consensus that once the heat and humidity get past a certain point (yesterday's 100F weather would probably qualify!), there is just nothing that can be done other than bringing a change of clothes to work, particularly if one works in an environment with a dress code.

While this is good advice for some, changing upon arrival is not an option in my line of work. I have meetings in different parts of the city in the course of the workday, and there is no reasonable opportunity to change upon arrival prior to joining the meetings. Plus, I am on a tight schedule and changing a half a dozen times a day would be ludicrous.

So, what to do? Well, the Boston Globe and Bike Snob have already quoted me on this, but I've never actually written it in a Lovely Bicycle post: I wear fabrics with prints, which helps to disguise the one part of commuting in the heat we cannot control - sweat! "Eww gross!" - I know. But a reality none the less!

The best sort of prints for this purpose are small and detailed with some tonal variation - such as florals. This tricks the eye into not noticing additional tonal variations that happen from sweat stains. Stripes, polka dots, and other busy prints can work as well - but micro-florals and paisleys are particularly effective, because the patterns they form are organic. It may seem too simple of a solution, but this really is an amazing technique at making a sweat-soaked blouse, skirt, or dress look no different from a dry one.

I wore this dress to a meeting after cycling in it for 30 minutes in intense heat and humidity. Can you tell it's wet and disgusting? My colleagues could not, and complimented me on staying so cool in the heat. Yeah, right! Well, at least I can fake it with florals.

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Take Me to the River!

Just about the only thing saving my sanity during the awful heatwave we are having in Vienna, is the splendid and beautiful Danube. The Danube River and the Danube Canal run through the length of the city, and the bicycle paths along them are extremely useful for travel from one neighborhood to another. The streets of Vienna may be choking with exhaust fumes and the asphalt may be melting from the heat, but the cycle paths by the river are leafy and breezy. And they can take you from the center of town to the serene countryside in as little as 30 minutes!

A couple of days ago, Anna (from Cycling is Good for You) and I escaped Vienna for a trip to the country, swapping bicycles while we were at it. But I will have to postpone writing about that, because I am off to a conference in Romania (which, incidentally, is accessible via the very Danube bicycle path that runs through Vienna). I enjoy knowing that I can get on the river path around the corner from my house, and just keep going for days until I reach either the Black Forest in Germany, or the Black Sea in Romania. And this is the same bike path on which I commute to work! Magical.

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All Happy Bicycles Are Alike?...

According to the Anna Karenina principle, it might be said that all happy bicycles are alike and every unhappy bicycle is unhappy in its own way.

Jacqueline - a vintage Steyr Waffenrad that has become my "Austrian bike" - is happy. She has a relationship with a human who loves her. She has an idyllic work commute along the Danube Canal.

She has beautiful heirloom jewelry in silver and gold.

She feels useful and fulfilled, responsible for the safety and well-being of the people in her life.

Back in Boston, Eustacia (my Pashley Princess) has recently reached a similar state of happiness - interestingly, after the addition of some of the same components, such as the rear folding baskets and the speedy cream tires. It seems that bicycle happiness is indeed, at least to some extent, formulaic. When all the factors come together just right, it works. When something is off, it doesn't.

This brings the question of whether happy bicycles inspire being written about. When everything feels just right, there is nothing to say really. The sun is shining, my bicycle is running smoothly, my folding basket fits my briefcase snugly, my shoes don't slip on the pedals, the route to work is safe and beautiful, and it took me less time to arrive at my office than had I taken the subway. That pretty much describes my commute this morning, and it sounds rather uninteresting.

As I said to Anna from Cycling is Good for You the other evening - If I lived in Vienna and had Jacqueline to begin with, I doubt that I would have ever started a cycling blog despite loving bicycles. Maybe an image gallery, but not a blog. There would have been nothing to discuss.

After all, most posts are written about challenges, questions, restorations, the search for new components or better routes, and so on. But is bicycle happiness newsworthy?

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Immediate Bike Immersion

For the first time since I've been staying in Vienna, there was a bicycle all my own waiting for me when I arrived. Here is Jacqueline again, courtesy of my friend Wolfgang - famous here not only for his fantastic vintage collection, but also for his bicycle touring and bicycle moving endeavors.

Since our last time together, Jacqueline has been given a leather saddle and is now more beautiful and comfortable than ever. The saddle is a sprung Brooks that appears to be a vintage version of the B66 (the model number is faded and I cannot tell exactly).

It felt so, so wonderful to be greeted by Jackie's "familiar face" and to cycle around the city on my very first day back instead of using public transport and moping. With the memory of my own bikes back home still fresh, I can say this Steyr Waffenrad is a distinctly different ride from my vintage Raleigh Tourist. Riding the Austrian bike feels as if I am sailing on a ship. Not quite sure what this means exactly, but that is what the sensation makes me think of. It is not better or worse than my bicycle at home, just different. Amazing that even among similar bikes, there are such differences in ride quality.

Still trying to adjust to the transition from Bostonian to Viennese cycling, I nearly missed this girl in front of me with a spectacular crocheted dressguard on her bike.

Here is the best close-up I could get. I love these vintage crocheted dressguards, and in Vienna you can actually see them occasionally "in the wild".

Wolfgang also has some nice ones on one of his collector bikes, but that bicycle is too old and valuable to cycle round the city. Crocheted dressguards are a passion that I try to suppress due to how difficult to find they are, but I am always looking. The only place I know of where you can get new ones nowadays is Simeli in the Netherlands, and I hope to review one of those soon. A couple of people have also emailed me about some handmade projects, but I have not had any follow-ups (let me know if you've seen or heard anything on that front).

Being in Vienna again, I have weeks of stressful workdays ahead of me - but having Jacqueline by my side will be a great help. I will see my friend Anna from Cycling is Good for You soon with her gorgeous Retrovelo Paula. And I may try to ride a vintage Austrian track bike, though I am still unsure whether I am brave enough to attempt it! Stay tuned.

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A Day in the Life of Jacqueline

When I initially borrowed Jacqueline, I was not sure whether I would actually use the bicycle for transportation, or just ride a bit in my spare time. But after half a day, I decided not to renew my weekly public transport card for the duration of my stay in Vienna. It is very easy to get around the city by bicycle - not just through the central touristy parts, but through Vienna proper. To demonstrate, Jacqueline will show you one of her daily routines.

At 7:00 am, we are off to the office via the Danube Canal Path - which functions like a cross-town bicycle highway through Vienna. It just so happens that both my flat and my office are close to the canal, so our route to work is pretty straightforward. Pictured above is the nearest entrance onto the path.

The Danube Canal is an offshoot of the Danube River. Both the canal and the river proper have bicycle paths running alongside, but the advantage of he canal path is that it cuts through the center.

One thing I like about it, is how green the water looks - especially in the morning. No idea whether this is due to reflection from trees or chemical pollution, but it looks nice and so I choose to believe the former.

There are some cobblestone stretches along the path, and the 28" Schwalbe Delta Cruisers on Jacqueline are just fine with them. But I have seen other cyclists get off their bikes and walk here.

Some parts of the canal path are woodsy and surreal-looking.

Jacqueline enjoys this sort of scenery the most.

Other stretches are more urban and take you closer to the main road.

That's okay too, but cycling here during rush hour will give you a nice helping of auto exhaust fumes. Have others noticed this problem in large cities? I have been told that automobile emissions in Europe (not counting former Eastern-bloc countries) are supposed to be less toxic than in the US, but my lungs seem to disagree. If anybody has more info about this, please share.

Heading toward the Southern edge of town, the scenery on the Danube Canal Path grows distinctly less picturesque. We are now cycling alongside the highway. And yes, that is a highway sign for Budapest and Bratislava. Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) is only a 45 minute drive away from this point. But instead of going there, Jacqueline heads to the office.

The landscape around my place of work is somewhat post-apocalyptic, but over time I have grown fond of it. Lots of interesting research facilities there, and I work with nice people. The total time it takes Jacqueline to cycle to the office from our flat is 20 minutes - the exact time it takes to commute using public transport.

I rarely stay at the office all day, but typically have meetings all over the city. On this day I had an afternoon meeting in a Cafe at the end of the Prater - the largest park in Vienna.

Lusthaus Cafe. Before you misunderstand what I do for a living - it's not what is sounds like in English. The name means "funhouse". This was about a 10 minute ride from the office for Jacqueline. After the meeting, we briefly returned to work, leaving in the late afternoon to run some errands.

First stop: the bank, in the city center, a 25 minute ride away. To get here, Jacqueline rode back via the Danube Canal path, and then along the Ring Road - which is another "bicycle highway" that loops around the city center.

Jacqueline then proceeded to the photo store in an adjacent district - a 15 minute ride away - to buy some film. She rode there mostly on the road, via a combination of bicycle lanes, "sharrow"-marked side streets, and unmarked side streets. The thing about "sharrows" in Vienna, is that they are mostly painted on 1-way streets against the flow of traffic. Yes, against. The speed limit on these streets is usually 30 km/h. This design goes against everything I have come to believe over the past year as a cyclist in Boston. What do you think of it? And could anybody comment whether Copenhagen and Amsterdam are the same in this respect?

After the photo store, Jacqueline was locked up on a main shopping street and waited a bit while I met a friend for coffee. Then we went to the grocery store Billa.

Jacqueline was proud that she could fit 1/2 week's worth of groceries and my laptop bag into a single pannier. (She is lazy and did not want to open the second one.)

As dusk approached, we cycled home - once again via a combination of roads, then the Ring Path via the route described here. All in all, I would estimate that Jacqueline did a couple of hours of back and forth cycling, and this was typical of how much I travel through the city on an average day in Vienna. Normally all of these trips would have been done using public transport. The travel time by bike is about the same.

I rode Jacqueline for transportation for the last week of my stay in Vienna. It was wonderful and made up for my bad luck earlier this month. I now feel like an idiot that I didn't just buy a bicycle when I lived here for longer stretches in previous years. Cycling in the countryside on my days off was nice, but I have to say that commuting by bike in Vienna is even nicer. And regardless of what the local shops might tell you, a 3-speed is sufficient to tackle "hilly Vienna". I am by no means in the best shape and had no trouble. Of course, the vintage magic of Jacqueline might play a role in that as well. But in any case - if you are in Vienna, get a bicycle and enjoy the city, whether you are a leisurely visitor or work at a fast-paced job!

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Velodrome!

I have just returned to the US, but my last week in Austria was so eventful, that there will be a few days of post-processing. My final day in Vienna was especially action-packed. In addition to a full work schedule, many last-minute errands and a farewell dinner, I had a mini-cycling adventure with Jacqueline's owner, Wolfgang.

As the title of this post suggests, we went to the Velodrome! In case this is a new concept to some, a velodrome is an arena for fast-paced track cycling - i.e. cycling on a (fixed gear) trackbike, either for practice or to race. I know that some of you may be wondering what place this possibly has in my world of vintage loop-frame bicyces that weigh 50lbs. Well, I have always admitted my trackbike fantasies, however hopeless and laughable they may be. And trackbikes need not mean carbon fiber monstrosities! - The original pathracers were beautiful.

Wolfgang is living proof that love of the track and love of vintage bikes need not be at odds with one another: He collects 100-year-old bicycles, rides around town on a Dutch bike, and goes to the velodrome. In fact, he transports his trackbike to the velodrome on this unbelievable cargo bike, which he also uses for one of his projects, Heavy Pedals. The trackbike is a 1988 Chesini (Italian), of which Wolfgang has two(!) in his collection.

Before I describe our trip to the velodrome, I will backtrack and say that Wolfgang did me an enormous favour that day. I had been looking for a Large Format camera for some time, and finally found a good deal - on my last day in Vienna. I then realised that not only did I have less than an hour to make arrangements to pick up the camera before the store closed, but I had no plan of how I would actually get the camera home. To explain, a large format camera is so large, that it requires you to load an individual sheet of film into it for every shot. Okay, in the digital age that might mean nothing to my readers, so I will just say that it's huge, would not fit on Jacqueline, and could not be easily carried on public transport during rush hour.

Wolfgang to the rescue with his cargo bike! As you can see, the box with the camera is quite large... but the cargo bike's enormous platform swallows it right up. I am pretty sure there is enough room there to transport a modestly sized mobile home! Of course a few passer-bys stopped to watch as we loaded the camera onto the bike, and the camera shop owner took photos.

[image by Wolfgang Höfler]

We rode across town to drop the camera off at my flat (thanks so much again, Wolfgang!), and then on to the velodrome. Wolfgang cycles "vehicularly" and aggressively, so following him was quite a change from the kind of cycling I've been doing in Vienna. On the way to the velodrome, we raced a bit on the main alley through the Prater park, which was great fun. Jacqueline can go pretty fast, and so can Wolfgang's cargo bike. I arrived to the velodrome exhausted, though for Wolfgang this was apparently just a mild warm-up.

So... the Vienna Velodrome! Behold the awesome beauty of the Ferry Dusika Hallenstadion, Wien - the only velodrome in Austria. This is a view from the top rows of the spectators' seats. The green area in the middle is for track-and-field training, and has a rest area for cyclists on the middle-left (if you click to enlarge the picture, you can see the chairs and the bike racks). In front you can see the two staircase entrances from which the athletes and coaches emerge. The red inner track is for runners. And the outer wooden track is for cyclists.

This is difficult to capture in photos, but the cycling track is sloped sideways at a 45 degree angle. This is probably common knowledge to cyclists, but I had no idea, so seeing it was quite a shock. It was explained to me that the slope allows cyclists go at a faster speed.

Another novelty was this Derny motorized bicycle for motor-paced track cycling events. So exciting to see all of these things.

Wolfgang prepares for the track. I am extremely envious, but delighted to be in the green area taking pictures. I even brought a film camera with 1600 ISO film.

Here you can kind of see how steep the slope of the track is - see that cyclist in the background?

Wolfgang adding air to his tires.

And he is off!

There he goes around the track.

Oh how I wish I could do this too! But first things first: I can't even ride a fixed gear... or a diamond frame for that matter!

The track was not very crowded, because it was a warm evening. There a local team practicing, and a few stray individuals.

I took a couple of shots of the team members (with permission) after they got off the track, and was surprised to see how young some of them were.

And how female! This beautiful girl didn't even seem especially tired. Maybe there is hope for me after all? Though I would need to seriously get in shape first!

For now it was good just to see the Velodrome and to understand what track cycling involves. Would they permit an early 1900's pathracer on the track, I wonder?

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