I am the proud owner of a new Dyno Glide beach cruiser. As of this blog post, I think I'm naming her Nellie, though I can't really say why. After agonizing over the numerous used cruisers on Craigslist and checking out a few new ones, I decided Nellie was my gal. She's in really good shape, particularly after I polished her up with some chrome polish, purchased new grips, a new horn and got a new lock so she'd be safe.
There are some initial learnings about beach cruisers I'd like to share with my three loyal readers. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Any type of hill on a beach cruiser is a disaster. I learned this cruising down to Pacific Beach from La Jolla. There are a couple of mild hills that felt like K2 on Nellie. If you are in an area where you'll need to cruise around a bunch of hills, go with a cruiser with numerous speeds and be prepared for burning quads.
2. Taking your willful puppy for a run while your riding your beach cruiser can be tricky. Reggie has been pretty good about running next to me when I take her leash off on the bike path, but I'm still a little nervous about doing that closer to La Jolla Village. There were several near accidents, particularly when she saw another dog or tried to go the other way around a pole, etc.
3. Riding on a beach cruiser is incredibly relaxing and makes you very nostalgic. Sunday afternoon I took Nellie down to Pacific Beach. Midway through Birdrock I was humming "California Girls" and thinking about 3389 Hoover Heights and riding my bike as a kid. I think I'm going to try to make it a new weekend tradition - the beach cruise down to PB to grab a beer and a burger and then cruise home.
4. Beach cruisers personify "Cali-ness." Beach cruising is turning out to be one of my favorite things about living in Southern California.
5. More to come. I've only cruised a few times and Nellie still needs a little polishng up...
There are some initial learnings about beach cruisers I'd like to share with my three loyal readers. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Any type of hill on a beach cruiser is a disaster. I learned this cruising down to Pacific Beach from La Jolla. There are a couple of mild hills that felt like K2 on Nellie. If you are in an area where you'll need to cruise around a bunch of hills, go with a cruiser with numerous speeds and be prepared for burning quads.
2. Taking your willful puppy for a run while your riding your beach cruiser can be tricky. Reggie has been pretty good about running next to me when I take her leash off on the bike path, but I'm still a little nervous about doing that closer to La Jolla Village. There were several near accidents, particularly when she saw another dog or tried to go the other way around a pole, etc.
3. Riding on a beach cruiser is incredibly relaxing and makes you very nostalgic. Sunday afternoon I took Nellie down to Pacific Beach. Midway through Birdrock I was humming "California Girls" and thinking about 3389 Hoover Heights and riding my bike as a kid. I think I'm going to try to make it a new weekend tradition - the beach cruise down to PB to grab a beer and a burger and then cruise home.
4. Beach cruisers personify "Cali-ness." Beach cruising is turning out to be one of my favorite things about living in Southern California.
5. More to come. I've only cruised a few times and Nellie still needs a little polishng up...
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