New Bompton

My Brompton arrived for a late Christmas and fortunately today was a nice day to go for a spin in London.

Fully Loaded, surprisingly this setup was not bad.  I had about 6 books in my bookbag in the front

Ready to go

Chain setup, 3 speed

Park position with the little wheels on the rack to roll it around when folded

Folded, the seat is also a handle for the entire bike when folded

Chain in the middle, so you can't get dirt on yourself when carrying it

Fits perfectly in my car, note the built-in bike pump

Ordered a Brompton

I miss my old bike in San Francisco and commuting in London is not the most exciting thing in the world.  The tube does work (most of the time) and is ok, but the drawback is that it's madly expensive (I would put it up as the most expensive in the world) and overpacked for a system that is 150 years old.

Fortunately my current job is only 8 miles away from home.  I use to cycle to work in San Francisco (with real hills!) and enjoyed it quite a bit.  So it was a no brainer to get a bike in London.  My thoughts jumped around on what kind of bike I should get - a full size hybrid, a fast fixy, or a foldy.  After thinking it over the idea of a Brompton looked really attractive.

Advantages are that you can really take it everywhere, on vacation, on the tube if the weather turns sour during the day.  I also like the fact that they are built in London and are a local business employing people who I see daily.

Here's a photo of my order, it's expected to be ready by Christmas:

Cycling in the Taunus

At this point I was living in Taunus, near my office and was cycling almost daily in the hills.  Here my Dad comes and visits to the Roman Fortress that's near by.