Grandma rides again

Today my 78-year-old mother got back on a bike for the first time in around 15 years. She had a bit of the wobblies at first but settled into it pretty quickly. Nice and flat, car-free side streets around her house, and I lowered the seat on her old Humber 3-speed so she can put her feet down easily (insert 'granny bike' pun here).

Ok, I'm a little nervous for her, since she didn't really ride much as a kid. But this is the same woman who started playing the cello at age 57, so I'm sure she'll be fine. It'll be good for her hip that's gotten a little funky.

Still, keep it in first gear for a while, mom.

Humber by Hipstamatic

Hanging out at my mom's house on the Chesapeake Bay, nice weekend retreat for me and my daughter. My mom was reading this blog and saying she wanted to dust off her old bike that's been mostly collecting dust for the last fifteen years. So I checked it out and it's this cool Humber 3-speed, an amazing citizen-cycle. According to Wikipedia, Humber was an English brand taken over by Raleigh in the 1930s, up until the 70s.

I'm going to test ride it tomorrow. What sort of things go invisibly bad in a bike that sits that long unused in a basement?