These are my current commuter bikes. One might think it's a bit silly to have "multiples" but when I first started dating Travis, he wanted to build me a bike that would blow my mind. Thus, Nikita was "born"...I was at first, only able to ride her outside of work on paved/gravel rides. She was too pretty to be locked up outside the Co-Op.

Nikita is formally known as the "engagement ring bike" and she's a beaut. My first custom-built bike, a Surly Karate Monkey. She's bedazzled in Chris King parts; shiny black and stunning teal. Her name is derived from the original La Femme Nikita (think Peta Wilson) series that a friend introduced me to. I figured a sexy bike should have a sexy name, eh?

To keep her from being trashed out from Iowa winters, and to give me a bike that was more comfortable to ride than Sir Richard, Travis built Athena.

Athena is my winter commuter. A blacked-out Karate Monkey that gets to wear fat-tire compatible fork & fat-tire for winter commuting- she's proven herself to be a very adaptable bike. Athena is my favorite goddess and I felt that my commuter bike should be given a strong, female name-she means business!