I can’t remember ever naming one of my bicycles. As far as I can recall, I’ve always referred to them by make, model, or color. The Rivendell. The Kogswell. The Trek. The Hilsen or the Quickbeam. The black, green, or orange bike. I once had a nice, custom race bike built for me by Carl Strong. It was light and fast. I called it the Ti bike.
For the most part, I don’t think in terms of naming my bikes. Although I have friends who name their bikes brilliantly, it generally doesn’t occur to me. I must admit, however, that the thought has crossed my mind. That fleeting thought usually goes through my head right after I see that one of my friends has come up with another perfect moniker. So I ponder a minute, don’t come up with anything clever, and drop it all together.
Today I was out taking my sweet time rolling through the countryside on my Quickbeam. I was sitting up, looking around, feeling the breeze, and listening to the birds sing. So I have no idea why the idea came into my head. But there it was…an idea for a name. If I ever decide to give my Quickbeam a name, I believe I might have come up with one that would be perfect on so many levels.
Pokey.
Pondero 
Perfect name for a cheerful orange pony (or bicycle). It’s funny, but a similar revelation happened to me yesterday while riding. I was thinking about the bike I was riding: balloon tires, handles well with a loaded front basket, LOTS of beausage, frame cost $5.00 at flea market; and it came to me…Junk-A-Pillar!
Thank you for being a perfect example of a friend coming up with a brilliant name!
Perfect…I like it, it fits.
I don’t name my bikes for the same reasons you listed. The closest I’ve come is naming my blue painted Xtracycle the Blue Truck/Xtracycle. Mostly because it replaced my last vehicle I owned, a blue Toyota truck. The rest of the bikes I refer to as: The Brompton, The Ellis, The Pugsley, and the Belt Check (which is a renamed modified Cross Check). Maybe I’ll name the next bike that is replacing both the Belt Check and my LHT (recently sold)….Hmmmmmm.
Probably not as much as you, but I’m looking forward to “the new bike”.
I like it.
Seems perfect to me.
Great name! You really SHOULD name her.
Pokey the Quickbeam? Ha ha.
I was waiting for someone to catch that. You win the “I’ve got my thinking cap on” award.
The closest I have come to naming bikes was a Specialized bike like the one in American Flyers. I referred to it as my “Come on Eddie” after the scene of Eddie the dog chasing riders in the movie. Other wise its the Schwinn or Masi,etc.I enjoy your blog.
Thanks! There’s another brilliant name with a great backstory!
Whenever my bicycles end up with names, it’s always an accident and they usually come from someone else…and just stick.
Oh, and I think Pokey the orange horse will zip-tie nicely to the stem…
Ooh…good idea. Technically, little Pokey belongs to Mrs. Pondero, but I might need to ask permission to bring him along.