Wheeeeeels!

It's here! I got an email yesterday from the folks at Mekong Designs on Street 240. One of their staff, Channy, had gone to their office in Ho Chi Minh City for a meeting, and she brought my bike back with her on the bus.

It's slightly different than the demo model I tested a few months ago -- my bike's mud-guards are made from single strips of bamboo, bent and shellacked.  It's a stronger design than the jointed ones on their earlier model. They've also added a chain-guard, which is most welcome.

I tried on one of their new bamboo bike helmets and would happily have bought one, but Mekong Designs is in the process of having them certified by some overseas agency, and they won't sell them until the certification is set. This is unfortunate, because I'd rather have an uncertified bamboo helmet than the rubbish they're selling in the local bike shops. I was afraid to drop the plastic helmet on the floor for fear it would shatter; it wasn't worth the $12 they're asking for it. As I pressed on the sides and felt it starting to give way, the saleswoman was directing me to a mirror and telling me she had many different colours. That's the sort of thing you say, I suppose, when you're selling a helmet that only works as a fashion statement. I asked an Aussie cycling friend where he'd got his helmet: Melbourne. All right, then. Solution to the helmet problem is yet to be determined.

Phnom Penh has very few traffic lights, so every intersection has to be negotiated with a judicious mixture of eye contact, cunning, politeness, courage, and prayer.  One doesn't speed through this city's streets in any kind of vehicle, but wheels are definitely faster than feet. Tuktuk fares add up fast, so I postponed a lot of errands until the bike arrived. One of the things on my list has been a return trip to Beautiful Shoes to order a second pair of sandals.  As I approached their shop, I pedalled past this cafe. Is this a tribute to the wonders of a bamboo bicycle, or does it suggest that its only value is as part of a cafe sign?  

I will say this:  the bamboo bike is drawing a lot of attention from Cambodians.  The owner of Beautiful Shoes came out and complimented it, and a few parked tuktuk drivers gave me thumbs up.  Some folks on motos slowed down and rode along next to me, pointing to the bike.  They all seemed to admire it, if their expressions were anything to go by. These bikes aren't exorbitant, and the frame is stronger than most metal ones, and light-weight, too. I don't know why we don't see them all over the city.  

Mekong Designs has two primary lines of business:  bamboo bicycles and hand-made quilts. I imagine some would find the queen-sized snake design a little disconcerting, but I think the beauty outweighs the creepiness factor. Do you suppose it would deter the cats from sleeping on it?  

It's an academic question. The bicycle is a necessity, the quilt a luxury. 

Post script:  An internet search turned up a bicycle shop across town which sells Cannondale. Feeling that the helmet is also more of a necessity than a luxury, I pedalled over there this morning. Most of their helmets were more costly than my bamboo bike, but I found one for $40. It's a fortune here in Cambodia, but then again, I do value my head. 

I asked Crumpet if she would like to model it.  She declined.