Pimp My (bike) Ride

The idea is that an overly "girly" bike must fulfill its destiny by being as feminine as possible, no matter how ridiculous...right?

My bike, a pink Schwinn cruiser from the 90's, was gifted to me by a wonderful and tall--like me!-- coffee patron who'd hurt herself and decided it was time to upgrade to some gears and hand brakes. It's in wonderful condition and perfect for farting around Chicago's flat streets. Yes, I also have a nice Schwinn hybrid to get me through hills and valleys...

As planned, I swung by my neighborhood craft store and filled a bag with fake flowers to make sure my bike had on its best formal wear for the Tour de Fat. The result is outrageous! This was a fast, easy, and cheap project costing only $8.00 (which could easily be cheaper) and taking less than 30 minutes. Unquestionably, the hardest part was choosing my color scheme.

 The result before the basket went back on.

Step 1: Wrap the handlebars with floral wire in a coil pattern. I kept about a half inch between each wrap. 

Step 2: Somewhat "randomly" place flowers of different shapes, sizes, and colors over the handlebars, sliding the fake stems beneath the wire to secure. I wrapped my wire somewhat tight over its foam grips, and used a pair of needle-nose pliers to lift the wire over the stems. 

Step 3: Fill any gaps with tiny flowers or the the "flourish" that comes with the bouquets and trim any stray wire stems with wire cutters. 

Step 4: Admire and do a little show-off parade around your neighborhood! 

My cruiser in the wild, nuzzling up with my boo's Giant.

In action! Notice cleverly taped directions to our destination on the inside of my bike.

Tomorrow I'll post about the actual Tour de Fat event--what a wonderful day!

Top: Mint-conditon, vintage pointelle (right?) blouse from a church sale, $1.00

Shorts: Sailor-style capris, rolled to the perfect length, $1.00

Shoes: from the "dollar" store across the street, $3.50

Earring: not shown, feather dangle earring from Carissa

Approximate Total: $5.50

What else can I do to doll up Lil' Pinkie? Next on my agenda are some homemade streamers.