Calliope

I heard once that all the cycling pros name their bikes. There's actually an ancient science behind the art of bike naming - just kidding, there are no rules. I couldn't decide on a name, so a few weeks ago I welcomed donors to pick a name for my bike. For $10, people submitted name proposals, and for $1 people could vote on an already existing name. All of the money went to my fundraising for affordable housing.

The fundraiser continued for a week, and the competition got heated! Some people really wanted Artemis or Augustus to be the winning names, but no one really rooted for Mortimer or Lois. While others voted, I remained neutral. At the tail end of the week, a bunch of extra votes came in for Calliope, which jumped from fourth place to first.

I think this outfit would get caught in the chain.

Honestly, I had never heard of Calliope before this fundraiser. But my friend who proposed the idea had clearly thought long and hard about the name already. She said Calliope was the Greek muse of epic poetry, music, song, and dance. (Hey, this bike ride is definitely epic!) In art, she always has a writing tablet, and is sometimes seen with a book or a small stringed instrument. (My tablet will be me blogging :P ) Of all the nine muses, Calliope was the oldest, wisest, and best-liked. While the full extent of her powers remain unknown, she was known for her power to inspire people artistically. Beautiful - Calliope is a perfect name!

But she's currently immersed in packaging peanuts in the back of a UPS truck, and I'm feeling lost without a bike. "Fearing their power," Plato says in The Symposium, Zeus divided soulmates apart, "condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves." Okay, enough Greek mythology, but it's just so fascinating! I haven't spent much time with this bike, but we're going to bond this summer.

With my bike on her way to South Carolina already, there's not a whole lot for me to do but catch up on sleep, say bye to friends and family, and bring my cycling cleats to spin class.