Just beautiful.  Thank you.

On Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 1:54:44 AM UTC-4, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! 
wrote:
>
> Dear Friends, 
>
> In 2015, my husband needed a new bike. Providence would have it that 
> Rivendell was making something totally new, and very affordable: their 
> now-famous and highly-acclaimed Clem and Clementine. My husband got one of 
> those lovely creamy blue Clems, and when his mother heard about it, she 
> asked me to order her a Clementine. “I’d like it in burgundy,” she said. 
>
> “It doesn’t come in burgundy,” I said. “You get aqua.” 
>
> “Ok,” she said, “Tell them I want burgundy.” 
>
> With that squared away, I asked her what kinds of accoutrements she’d like 
> her Burgundy Clementine to have. “When you call them, tell them I want 
> everything. Just get everything,” she said. 
>
> This is just classic. She does nothing halfway, and when she said she 
> wanted everything, she meant it. This was accomplished via phone in a 
> conversation that lasted 2 hours. I had to read every product on the 
> website over the phone to her, and put it in the cart at her direction. It 
> was a large order, and it was right before Christmas, if I remember right. 
> I think I even put a note on the order that said, “No, this is not a fake 
> order.”  It was done and now we had the excitement of waiting for her new 
> bike, which I would not get to see until summer. In her determination to go 
> whole hog, my MIL found Rivendell’s website and decided to call the elves 
> there herself. She made another order. A huge order. And when 6 months 
> later we arrived at her house, she had Rivendell swag for everyone! All 
> four grandkids wore their Riv caps. Reflective triangles galore. Clem Smith 
> tee shirts in several sizes. Water bottles, pins, bandanas. We had it all 
> and we wore it all like Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter, and we were 
> the fanciest family cyclers in all of Beltrami County. We rode to ice 
> cream, rode around the lake, hit the local parks. We took photos, greeted 
> the neighbors, zoomed over bridges and pedaled through the cute little 
> business district in town. My MIL never pedaled but with a giant grin on 
> her face and *always* on the wrong side of the road. 
>
> We had 2 really great summers of riding together before it all went wrong. 
> Just two. I wish I had taken more photos. I wish we had ridden more miles. 
> I won’t go into details here, but my fun-loving, zany, whimsical mother in 
> law is no longer herself. She now resides in assisted living and will never 
> be able to ride her pretty Clementine again. Her Clementine has sat in her 
> garage since May of 2018. On my Annual Great Northern Road Trip this 
> summer, I drove up to see her, and while I was there, I rescued her 
> Clementine from it’s life sentence to the garage. But for two blemishes on 
> the head tube and one fork blade, the bike is mint. Well, it’s aqua, but 
> it’s MINT. 
>
> Since getting it, I’ve decided I LOVE the Clementine. I love every single 
> thing about it. Everything. I love that this bike belonged to my MIL first 
> and that we set it up together. I love the memories we have on these bikes. 
> There should have been more. 
>
> I always wanted a bike with Rivendell’s latest philosophy (fat tires, 
> chainstays for days, etc). It just hums - HUMS - along the road. I shall 
> fear no gravel, as it has no power over my new super tires. It just oozes 
> charm and class and the shape of the step-through frame is exquisite. It’s 
> got those fun thumbie shifters and even has Brooks grips - how in the world 
> did she ever find and order a pair of those?! Also, everyone loves the 
> “burgundy” (read: aqua) color. 
>
> Sincerely, 
> Leah, who suddenly has the strangest urge to ride on the left-hand side of 
> the road... 
>
>

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