Unicorns and bicycles

My highlight of BETT this year was this robot unicorn and today I’ve been to pick up my new bike. They don’t seem massively connected but both showed why women are needed on design teams.

The unicorn by itself is pretty cool but was actually sitting on the floor talking with some brilliant women that made it so great. We talked about making creative and interesting things with technology. I’d only met Caitlin 5 minutes before after connecting on Twitter. I’d been to the stall she was on to say hi and then dragged her along to find Helen who had put up some pictures of a robot unicorn earlier in the week.

There’s a lot of fighting robots and ones that do things like follow lines but I love that there are women making awesome things like this. Technology doesn’t just have to be useful, it can be something cool and fun. Though I would argue that bringing joy is incredibly useful,

This beautiful and unruly unicorn is a brilliant symbol for why women need to be involved with educational technology makes.

On my way back from the station in Sheffield I popped into the pub at the end of my road and locked my bike up outside. My friends Tilda and Charlotte were there to say good bye before moving to Falmouth so I had a quick drink with them. When I got out my bike had gone. I had a weird relationship with that bike, I bought it because I needed something lighter to get up the huge hill to work when I left a job I hated to go back to where I am now. From working the awful job for a year I’d saved a lot so was excited to buy a new bike but then after going to every bike shop in Sheffield, and there are a lot, hadn’t found one I loved. I bought a not very exciting one but it was nice to ride. I never named her and when she was stolen felt really sad about that, I hope she somehow finds someone who does love her.

After careful checking of my insurance details I worked out I could claim for the bike and after a lot of phone calls I was off bike shopping. My list wasn’t that long but very specific, beautiful and lightweight with good brakes and plenty of gears. It was a totally different experience to last time. The Giant shop has a Liv section which are bikes designed by and for women. There were suddenly all these bikes that were beautiful and functional.

My new bike is called Aggie after Agetha Christie which makes me happy because it reminds me if Tilda and her amazing collection of books written by women that were everywhere in her Sheffield house. I guess now I’m now going to have to go to Cornwall to borrow books and take Aggie down to cycle with Charlotte.

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