The Adorned Bicycle: Inspiring Goodwill

There is usually a spray of orange silk tulips at the base of my bike’s saddle. Not a lot, just a little touch of flower-ness. For this season, there are  bells and berries on the handlebars.  Such things look pretty and make me happy, but I’ve been completely astonished at how much conversation and delight they inspire in others–in a city where bicycle laws and “rights” continue to be controversial, this simple act brings an unexpected amount of bicycle goodwill.  Though my bike is not vintage,  it is a classic mixte frame, and that in itself invites a fair bit of discussion when I am out and about, but not nearly as much as the flowers.  When I have  flowers on my bike, people smile, wave, and even call out, “Lovely bike!”  And I cannot count how many times, just because of the flowers, people that pass while I am at a bicycle rack have paused and said to me, “I have a bike I almost never ride, but now I’m thinking…”  Sometimes I hear, “I would ride more if my bike was that pretty,” and I respond, “Everyone can have flowers on their bike.”  A simple celebration of soulful transportation.