We\’re in distinguished company as cyclists; but I, for one, had no idea of it. Check out this video at 15:50 minutes. The nobility was into cycling, too!

I hope that, as daughters of the Tsar, the Grand Duchesses weren\’t obliged to do their riding where the public wouldn\’t see them. Can you imagine having to worry that somebody — anybody! — would see you pedaling that thing; and think it unbefitting your social station? That would take all the fun out of it; and one of the reasons we ride is to have fun.

I got into the Romanovs quite by accident. YouTubes about them began showing up in the margins of my laptop screen; and I began to watch them, simply out of curiosity.

The case of Nicholas II is interesting; and sad, too. Apparently \”Nicky\” had never been properly prepared to take up the office of Tsar; and indeed, he never wanted to be Tsar. In fact, he reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, who was a good man; but a bad wizard.

Well, I\’m glad I\’m not in public office; or even a high-profile pro cyclist. That\’s too un-private for my taste. I like being able to go out and ride my bicycle, and just be somebody riding a bicycle.

When we ride our bicycles, we have a tiny share of the vanished world of the Romanovs: we\’re in distinguished company! At the same time, we can still be our ordinary, everyday selves; and I like that.