Meet Cecily, my new Bobbin Metropole

This is Cecily. 

Cecily, this is everyone. 

It's been awhile that I've wanted a new bicycle. My first adult city bike was given to me by a friend. It was a Schwinn cruiser and we definitely had some fun over the course of a couple of summers. I didn't ride her regularly because she was pretty heavy and not ideally suited for city riding. Thus, she's been locked up and collecting dust, rust and other debris for awhile now... 

I've been eyeing various brands of cruiser / commuter style bikes for awhile. I wanted a sort of hybrid cruiser / commuter with a looped frame, with at least 3 speeds, likely in a fun colour. There are a few brands that bike shops in Toronto carry that met these specifications, and Corbin and I had also been checking out (and snapping photos) of bikes all over the city. Months ago, I had pinned a Bobbin that I was completely in love with and had in my brain as the 'perfect' bicycle. I compared every bike to this one and when I was finally ready to take the plunge and make my purchase I did a little research to see how much it would cost for me to order my dream bicycle from across the pond. 

Yes, my sweet sweet Cecily came from England. I found a sale on some Bobbins at wiggle.com and after a little investigation discovered it would only cost be a bit more to order her from England (rather than get a similar bicycle from another brand at a shop in Toronto, including shipping and customs). So I pressed purchase, waited and then she arrived just five days later. In many pieces. 

Thankfully my sweet boyfriend is handy and thoughtful and wonderful, and after waiting for her to be delivered for an entire afternoon, he put Cecily together. 

Over the last few weeks I've been acclimatizing myself to city riding once again and it's been an absolute blast. The Bobbin Metropoles are super lightweight, easy to ride and outfitted with 6 speeds. Corbin is a big help as he's quite the bicycle commuter, and it's great to ride with someone confident, assertive and mega helpful. I opted out of buying a Metropass this month and 11 days into the month, Cecily and I are doing just fine. I made a stop at Bikes on Wheels last week and they outfitted Cecily with a shiny new basket and now we're ready for a summer of bike rides and fun! 

Many more stories and photos of our adventures to come.

What is your dream bike? Any tips for bike commuting around a big city?

Thanks to Corbin for the photos and Cecily construction