Our new bike came on Friday, so when I got back from the shops this morning I thought I’d take a snap of it before it rained.  So I did.  And then it did.  Rain, that is.

Anyhow, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, this fine bicycle is a unisex,  one-size fits all Workcycles FR8, pronounced “freight”.  Presumably whoever came up with the name spends a lot of his time on his phone sending text messages to his m8s.  Be that as it may, our FR8 has come all the way from Amsterdam via Bristol, courtesy of Really Useful Rob at Really Useful Bikes, who deserves not only a plug here but also a medal for his perseverance when the factory quotes him 6-8 weeks delivery and then takes 12.

It got here in the end though and we’re really chuffed with it.  8-speed hub gears, enclosed chain, drum brakes and hub dynamo equals low maintenance, and it’s amazing what it’ll carry with no ill effects.  I’m sure I’ve seen a picture of one on the interweb with a load of stuff in the crate ( or perhaps in the CR8?) on the front, and two toddlers in child seats on the back carrier.

Hmmm … I really must find our spare Copenhagenize “Choose Style Over Speed” stickers, and see if the Slow Bicycle Movement is doing “My Bike’s Heavier Than Your Bike” ones yet …

Picture credits: Bicycle by Workcycles.  Hampstead-style planet-saver hessian shopping bag courtesy of Borough Market.  Red grape juice from Lidl (we’re not proud here).  Left foreground: old-fashioned sweet peas and sweet pea Hubert Son’s Peaches (no, honestly) from Ferme de Sainte Marthe, Montfort l’Amaury, France.  Behind: climbing French bean Gazes Brown Seeded, grown from seed swapped at Seedy Sunday in Hove last year (gosh, just how eco is that?).  Background: cooking apple Lady Henniker (makes a nice pie, that does) and pear Williams Bon Chretien (which in case you’re wondering bottles very well indeed).  Fruit and veg grown organically by Elsie, patio weeds grown organically by me.  Scaffold tubes courtesy of the building site down the lane, and I think that’s about it.