The easy rider!

It's old and it's got a fair amount of rust on it, which bothers R's mom, but I love it! She was nice enough to give me one of her panniers to use for groceries, which works out wonderfully!

Rusty

The coolest part about my bike, I think, is the brakes. Weird, I know. But it's so old it has rod-actuated breaks, rather than cables!!

Rods and Levers

 I also added a dutch lock which I almost always remember to use!

Love my lock!

The easy rider has gotten me around the Netherlands for the past 2 months, and I'm so happy to have had it! R's friend requested some Canadian beer in return, and I was happy to bring some for him. R and I will finally go over to his house to give them to him next weekend. He's planning a bock beer tasting for us!

My awesome  ride!

With the remnants of Hurricane Sandy going through here for the past week, I've discovered that I am a three season commuter cyclist.  I'm planning for four seasons, but I'm waiting until the middle of January to decide for sure!

Arriving Home

Some of the things I've found work well for me while riding in the rain:

• Rubber boots (mine are aubergine Wellingtons, and I LOVE them)
• Wearing dresses with running leggings with a change into leggings/tights at work
• A jacket with a hood

Arriving at work, mostly dry

• Awesome running glove/mitts from Nike. Waterproof on the top, soft and breathable on the bottom. They're pricey, but one day in and I already think they're worth it. I got mine at MEC.

Nike Running Tech Index Mitt (source)

• Front and rear lights, so that I'm more obvious to drivers in dark conditions. This adds to the visibility of my eggshell blue Bobbin Birdie bike.

Front and Rear LED lights that snap on and off easily

• A panier to keep my change of clothes in. I've got the Basil Jada Shopper XL, which I adore because of its capacity and long shoulder straps and the Timbuk2 Shift Panier Messenger for my Laptop.
• Fenders!

Fenders ensure your backside stays clean

• A cloth to wipe down the seat/handles if they get wet while parked, like mine did yesterday while at class. Thankfully my work has secured bike storage in the underground parking, so I don't have to worry about wiping down my seat most days.

Wet seat