Annette and I are rich in bicycles. Most are not thoroughbreds, but they are sturdy and reliable. We pride ourselves on having them stabled in New Hampshire, Boston, Brooklyn and Berlin. When Annette moved to the US from Berlin fifteen years ago, she left behind two bicycles which she stored in the basement of her parents’ apartment. Her parents had given her one of these bikes when she was thirteen. The other dates back to college. Over the years we have dusted off and used these bikes when visiting Berlin.
Within a week of arriving last month to live in Berlin, we had added to our collection of mounts. We bought Mamta a new bike, in the hopes of bolstering her enthusiasm for bicycling — and to better enable her to keep up with us. Annette’s sister Doreen and her husband Stefan both have two bikes each, and Rani and I were able to borrow their “seconds.” Although not much to look at, Doreen’s older bike worked well from the get-go for Rani. The bike I borrowed from Stefan needed some work: the rear derailleur cable was disconnected, the brakes were squishy, a fender was loose, the chain guard was kaput, and one wheel had a serious wobble. Annette encouraged me to bring the bike to a repair shop to have it fixed, but I had other ideas.