Minerva

Today I picked up my new bike. It's a Surly Crosscheck with the works. Dave from Cheeky Transport built it for me.

It has an Alfine 8 speed hub

And dynamo powered front and rear lights

Cheeky Monkey and Surly, as Dave says "A match made in heaven"

Dave

I've named her Minerva. It is a feminine name of Latin origin. The meaning of the word Minerva is “the mind”. Minerva was the name of the Roman goddess of wisdom. She is equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena. It's also the name of the Head of Gryffindor House.

Minerva is the goddess of Wisdom, intelligence, craft and learning. Children and scholars would worship Minerva to seek help with learning or the emperor would ask her to give him wisdom to rule the country better. Minerva was also the goddess of war and soldiers would pray for her help during war.
Coincidently Minerva was also the name of the first armoured cars which were built by the Belgians for World War One. Kind of appropriate seeing as they call the Surly Crosscheck the "Army Jeep" of bicycles!




Minerva is another name for Pallas who is represented by the Queen of Spades in playing cards and the Queen of Swords in Tarot.

The Queen of Swords represents a highly intellectual and strong-willed woman able to make her point effectively without unjustly harming others. She is realistic and pragmatic; she is a loyal friend and a determined ally.She is a woman who is able to balance out her emotions with intellect and she is considered the mother of all wisdom. The Queen of Swords is able to allow others to go through their necessary life lessons without the need to take care of everything. She is progressive in her thinking and is genuinely fair with others. She is impartial and will stand against even the strongest enemies when she feels that she is correct. The Queen of Swords is logical and methodical and has earned her accomplishments the hard way. She demands respect and likewise she deserves the respect that she asks for. The Queen of Swords has no need for emotional embellishments as an appeal to her intellect will always gain her attention. She is the strict representation of true justice tempered with the ability to carry out what needs to be done.