Wednesday 29 June 2011

Rothar.ie



I walked into Rothar bike shop on Phibsborough road, earlier this week. This is a charity in Dublin that specializes in refurbishing abandoned bicycles from Dublin streets and selling them at low prices to the poor. Sometimes all they get is a frame, and the bike has to be built up from there. They currently have a staff of 15 volunteers, working on a rotating stock of bicycles. Their stock changes every week. I came in looking for a 3-speed older-model Raleigh. I was kind of wishing they would have an old BSA but those are rare as hens' teeth. I was not able to bring my own bike with me to Ireland due to money issues. A bicycle is considered “special luggage” by the airline industry and most carriers (like American & United) charge around $200 to ship a bicycle on the airplane. Well, I sure have been missing my bike lately. My other half tells me I have been losing weight; we have been walking everywhere since I got here. (I think she is looking pretty good too!)  My parents have been kind enough to store my bicycles for me at their house.  Must collect them when I return to USA for a visit.

3 comments:

  1. What a cool idea to fix up old bicycles. My husband had a Raleigh back in the 80's that he LOVED; alas, it was stolen. Good luck in the hunt for the perfect refurbished bicycle.

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  2. I wonder if you could take it apart and put it in a large suitcase. When Nan & Jack took Trish and me to Ireland we brought our bicycles and Jack had to spend the day after we arrived assembling them. While we were sleeping off jetlag he was down in the garden of the bed and breakfast sorting out derailleurs and bicycle chains.

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  3. Yeah, I suspect there will be some assembly required. The airline is very picky now about people identifying bicycles in luggage. Some require passengers to pack them in special boxes.

    Well, one of the bikes I want to bring is Jack's old Proteus; that is the blue bike he rode across the country with. I have kind of this dream to restore it to its former glory and ride it around.

    Actually this Rothar place is pretty cool. (Rothar is the Irish word for bicycle, pronounced, "ruh-her".) They have all the tools you need, and you can rent a stall there to work on your bike. Cal Poly had something similar in the Student Union. :)

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