dress her in pink

I suppose someday I'll come to terms with the fact that pink is really not my colour. I have too much red in my skin to look good in pink. I'm fair, and not blonde - pastels look best on people who are blonde and/or tan.

In the meantime, however, I seem obsessed with it. Maybe it's because I have twin girls who are very into Pink. Maybe Pink really is the new Black. Maybe it's because I secretly loathe myself.

Nonetheless, I seem to be surrounded by pink things lately.

Last weekend in a purchasing frenzy I bought myself a pink camouflage bra by Nike I've been eyeballing for a couple of months. It's just a handy boob-squisher, it could never be worn for running by itself, but it is magnificent in its pinkness. My girls were beside themselves with joy. Twin A even picked out a pair of black capri tights with pink accents to match. I could not resist. After a chafing incident with my other pair of capri tights (New Balance), I think I'll give these Nikes a try.

Geekgirl already let the cat out of the bag that I am pimping my ride. Since I have a tri bike to train and ride, I can do what I've always wanted to do with La Schwinn and make it a really special roadie. I spent last weekend breaking the Schwinn down to a frame and a box of parts. In the end, the box of parts weighed a ton, the frame weighs nothing. Even the wheels weigh more than the frame!

I took the frame today to someone who will powdercoat it in a nice fleshy pink, then apply a sparkly glittery coat to it. I'm hoping it will look sugary, but it'll probably be subtler than that in the end.

Since I first bought La Schwinn, what I secretly yearned for was a pink bike. As a triathlete I find I'm in excellent company. Andrea Fisher, a hella fast professional triathlete rides a gorgeous pink LeMond with silver and white bubbles (like the Project One paint job). It's pictured here. I know this because I saw her on it at Buffalo Springs. That was the moment of my first crush on pink bikes - truly love at first site.

The bike, that is. Geez. Get your brain out of the gutter!

Perhaps some have heard of a lady named Bella Comerford? That's her wheel pictured above. She's a world champion professional triathlete from Aberdeenshire, Scotland (where I met my beloved). She won IM Florida last year, and she's unbelievably fast. She rides gorgeous pink bikes. She races in pink suits.

Here she is, in a pink suit!

In a moment of shame on my desire for a pink bike I wrote to both of these nice ladies and asked them about their bikes. I think I asked if they felt the pink was too girly a color for a bike...

They both wrote back to me and said Get a Pink Bike Already!

So finally, I am.

All pink would be too much. It will overwhelm the eye. It can't be too monochromatic, so I have to bring some other colours in. I've decided (and this I know will sound really dumb) to model the colour scheme after a favourite pair of shoes. They're Pink (obviously), with silver accents, black soles and a little bit of white. Like these, but not exactly.

Why shoes? Because I bought the shoes out of impulse thinking I would die if I did not buy them. Because that kind of impulse is powerful, so I'm gonna follow it for now. Because I have them right in front of me and I know the colours play nicely together. I gotta start somewhere...

So. Pimping my ride. Frame obviously will be pink. Now I get to decide on all the other bits...

The saddle I already ride on Suzy Q conveniently comes in white - with pink accents. This feels like an easy decision.

The carbon fork is already black. I may decide to leave it that way. Or spray it. I'm leaning toward leaving it, because I like the look of it.

Haven't decided what colour bar tape, but the Cinelli pink cork looks nice. They also make a nice pretty Zebra. I wonder how that would look?

I need some decals. I don't know where to begin on this...It can't be too naked.

Bottle cages - silver or white I think.

Housing: black or white.

I have no idea what colour underseat bag.

I'll take off the clip-ons and remove about 5lb of weight - geez that thing is heavy!

Here's the best part: I'm going to learn to build my own wheelset. Velocity makes a really nice rim (I'm going with the Aero Heads - which are nice and light). I'm thinking about the Pink. Do you think it'll be too much? I suppose I could do black. Then I could spray the spokes black.

So many choices -- Oh the mind boggles.

I did not grow a bike mechanic brain over night - I'm getting help with all of this from a friend and bike shop owner.

and quickly - I have to get it back together in time for the Iron Horse!