The Girl With Her Vintage Bike

The moment I laid my eyes on those stylish bicycles with front baskets provided by our Como B&B host family, well the vintage style reminded me of my very first iron horse (the nickname for a bicycle in Taiwan). Mine was a real vintage, it was a hand-me-down from my dear aunt.

‘Aren’t they cool?’ ‘You should give one a go!’ Kent kept encouraging me to ride one each time we walked past these bicycles in the courtyard, which he had already been riding himself. ‘I will.’ I replied, ‘And I will run a story of it!’
The retro look, especially the front basket brought back some of my sweetest bicycle riding memories…

They originated from my primary school days in my hometown Yilan. Every summer vacation, my bestie Kimmy and I, together with Kimmy’s family dog Taily, a black and white German Spitz; the three of us would always go for an afternoon bike ride. It was a special holiday treat! Taily would sit in my basket most of the time, occasionally in Kimmy’s. Such a showstopper, Taily often pleasantly surprised on-lookers who would coo at seeing him in the basket. ‘Awww… Look at that spoiled fluffy thing!’ We loved Taily and we loved showing him off, it was all part of our cycling excitement!

Those endless summers filled with long, bright sunny days, and not a worry in our minds. Well the only worry was probably that we had to be home by dinner time. But then we could do it all over again the next day and we did! Now, fast forward to September 2018…

On a delightful late summer morning in Como, I finally got on one of these cute bikes for my first riding in.., quite a while! I couldn’t wait to explore this bicycle-friendly city. What makes Como bike-friendly? Well, from my experience in the early morning there were hardly any cars in the old town and I loved it! Lots to see as you rolled along, and distances between squares and places (or palazzos!) of interest were rather close. Although I didn’t ride all the way to the lake side; stayed at Piazza del Duomo, riding circles and having photos taken by Kent was just as much fun! For a few moments, I did feel like that little girl riding with Taily in her front basket had come back into my life! Lots of innocent joy!!

Photography / Kent Johnson
Styling / Vivienne Shui

Outfit Of The Day

Stanton Panama hat
Roberto Cavalli sunglasses
custom-made earrings
Isabelle Wen 溫慶珠 top
French Connection white denim jeans
Citizen watch
Tilkah bangle
DSQUARD2 cross body bag
Robert Robert heeled sandals