Every Wednesday, the Mercury hunts down a sexy bike and conducts a mini-interview with its sexy rider.

This week: Goosefeathers

Riders: Nicole Lavelle (left) and Elizabeth Jaeger
Bike: 1970s French Motobecane Grande Jubile with silver and red frame, red brake pads and goosefeathers.
Spotted: Under the Hawthorne Bridge

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I like this bike because it looks like it's been ridden a lot.
Nicole: So my former roommate's ex-girlfriend's step dad gave it to her. But she's really short, so I think it was ridden before her. Then she left it in our shed and moved to Berkeley and our other roommate, uh, appropriated it. She took it. It's hers now. But now it's Liz's because then that roommate went to Austin.
Elizabeth: So it's been around, I guess.
Nicole: But I think it's original because everything's in red and in French. So I suspect that it's very old.

Do you think someone brought it over on a ship from France?
Nicole: That would be amazing.
Elizabeth: I think it flew here.
Nicole: It's from the seventies. Maybe they didn't put bikes on planes then.
Elizabeth: I meant with its feathers.
Nicole: Oh, sorry.

How has it been riding it around town?
Elizabeth: Oh well, the brakes don't really work right now, but it feels nice.

Why did you put the feathers on?
Elizabeth: Because there were here.

posted by Sarah Mirk