Everyone, meet this new beauty. I haven’t named him yet just because naming something is always very stressful so for now, he’ll remain nameless. I decided to name him Phillip, after his original manufacturer (Phillips Cycles Ltd.) based in Smethwick near Birmingham, England. I also like the name because it sounds royal and posh. Phillip is a vintage folding bike that I recently purchased.

My boyfriend, along with my other great friends, are avid cyclists and have been advising me to get a bicycle for almost a year now. And although I loved the idea of biking around the city in the summer, the inconvenience of having it and dragging it around outweighed the pros at that time. To be completely honest, I didn’t like the idea of having to wear a helmet, getting my hair messed up, having to wear appropriate apparel or gear for biking (but seriously, don’t trust I’d always subject myself to that).

It wasn’t until recently when my boyfriend moved closer to my studio that I realized, maybe it’s the perfect time to get a bicycle to help me get around. I’m also starting to get tired of walking for more than half an hour when running errands.

Going around the city on a bicycle gives me a different prospective. I’ve been living in Vancouver for more than a decade now and I’ve never explored Vancouver the way I did today. I like the freedom it gives me and the sense of adventure it will add to my life. I mean it’s fun now, we’ll see what I think of it when rainy days start rolling in. But for now, I’ll enjoy the remaining days of summer roaming around with Phillip.