Bike Goddess

There’s No Rain Gear For That

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Posted on January 28, 2024 by bikegoddess

It feels like we’ve had 1,000 inches of rain. In actuality we’re within our seasonal norms (I checked) so my complaints are more laser focused on the month of January and its predicatability. Predicable much in the same way of a jack-in-the-box. The music is certain and you know what’s going to happen and still that demonic puppet POPS up and you want to rip it to shreads. Weasel indeed!

We’d had a shortened winter break because of our teacher strike. Shortened by approximately 5 days, so in January we had 4 snow days due to inclement weather. POP!

It was after Dr. King’s birthday, Monday the 15th and the Friday before that we were released from school early since the storm was coming in and could dump snow, ice, cats and dogs during the bus ride home. Out early, sure, no problem.

The weather system was of course delayed from Hawaii or something so it didn’t arrive when is was supposed to but whatever, weather is like that. It arrived Saturday and it wasn’t all that bad. A dusting as we say around here. Nothing too significant. Pretty but would likely be gone in a few hours. The wind up. Hear the sing-songy tune? Keep winding and one more turn, nothing yet, still nothing… POP!

Oh boy, oh boy! It came down.

I could hear the little diamond drops hitting the picture window in the living room and I knew it was icy but it left behind more snow than ice at first. The ice was on its way.

Again, this doesn’t seem like much, but in my neck of the world this represents a late start which could become a snow day, depending on whether is persists. Buses aren’t going to be able to pick up kids safely. Let’s not be judgmental here because I even though I grew up in the midwest and this is nothing by comparison, it’s treacherous here because we’re neither prepared for it nor do most people know how to drive in it and there are lots of steep hills. My school district goes from elevations of 300 to 1,000 feet.

Saturday was the day it snowed and snowed and snowed more

After about 8 hours the blanket covered more.

Sunday was quiet and this snow was “Canadian snow” or so I’ve heard from a friend who lived in Alberta. It was wonderful easy-to-walk-in-without-being-slushy snow. However, Mother Nature was not finished with us. Next temps plunged into the teens and ice cometh.

With temps in the teens, our pipes at school froze and at some point on Sunday one broke, “at an elbow”. There were two spots and one specific pipe broke in the library. Yeah, I’m a bonafide school librarian so my principal called me Sunday night and in a voice that sounded like doom on the doorstep and gave me the news that there was around 2 inches of water on the floor because the pipe burst in the corner and the ceiling tiles came down over a whole section of books.

Speechless and stunned in an avalanche of feelings I’m not sure what I muttered back in response. It’s not bad, y’know. You’re alive and you have heat and water and really in the grand scheme it’s not that bad. I wanted to be consoling but I was seeing the area in my mind and I couldn’t quite visualize the extent of the damage described.

The week rolled out like a bunch of glass in the bike lane. Shards everywhere you couldn’t really see, but you can feel your tires being punctured. Monday Closed for MLK Day.

Tuesday-Closed

Wednesday-Closed

Thursday-Closed

Friday-Closed

I couldn’t get to school. I could only wait, wonder and worry. Despite the futility in that process, I still did it. Updates from my principal who was very suppotive and thoughful. I learned about something called the Extraction Team! There was a team from a company known for restoration work called Paul Davis who were at the school throughout the week that was. They took some 4000 gallons of water out of the school. Around 400 in the library. Two science classes were damaged and their classes had to move into portables.

In the library a whole section of books was wiped out. Ironically, the 500s, which are Natural Sciences. Of the 280 books in the section about 50 survived. There are several still checked out, so that saved them.

POP goes the weasel, again.

There’s no rain gear for this sort of thing. As a cyclist, I’m accustomed to lots of weather systems and situations. How many times have I been waiting for a traffic light to change and noted that the rain was coming in sideways or that the wind was blowing hard enough to knock me down. I get it weather. I’m in and of all the weather. I’m never trying to outsmart it, I’m trying to stay out of its way and do my thing. I try to dress for the weather and I do conisder alternatives if I could be in danger. What about if you can’t protect against Mother Nature? There’s no Showers Pass rain gear for this sort of thing. Only insurance. Like this situation at school is really impressive. The damage to classrooms, collections and the building is something I’ve been fortunate in my career to avoid.

Until now.

People have said “that’s why you have insurance” so much that I hear it as a mantra. But the fact is I will believe it when I see it. Will that section of books come back better than it was? I don’t know. Lately all I’ve heard are insurance horror stories, so I’m dubious.

POP!

What happened after all that? Monday came and we all went back to school. No one has much experience with this and educators are planners. We don’t do well with not knowing what’s next. Plus, the library is still absorbing (pun intended) the impact of the pipe break. I’m going through each book one by one to determine what, if anything can be salvaged. I’m throwing away more that you can imagine. A little part of my soul pouts in the corner over the losses. There were two other big areas that were impacted. The studio space where we do the news and the head end room/storage area which also was hit hard.

The incessant sound of the fans and dehumidifiers are annoying but necessary to extracting the water from the area and the air.

It has been a January for the books. Funny, not funny. POP!

Yes, it could have been worse.

Yes, it will be okay.

Yes, no one was hurt, just stuff which can be replaced.

In library school we have whole classes devoted to “collection development” because it’s rare to be able to have everything up-to-date and in perfect condition so you develop and grow areas over time. I lose a section and that also means lost time and content.

Still. Like that moment when the weasel POPS up out of the box you’re surprised and it scares you a little. I’m drawn in and ready to start building another colleciton, post flood.

There’s a series of books called I Survived by Lauren Tarshis and each explores a time in history and characters that survived a certain event, like the sinking of the Titanic or Hurricane Katrina. The first book someone brought in to me was unscathed and found in the hallway was the one I’m holding. I took that as a sign, that we will survive this setback.

I was hoping my first post of 2024 would be a recap or goals or plans for biking this year or the best gear of the year or I don’t know anything else but a flood. POP!

I’m grateful. This will be in the rear view soon enough. It did provide enough content for a blog post and it will be okay.

Thanks for reading and checking out the photos. I’ll post an update a few months down the road when hopefully insurance has come through and I can share pretty pictures of spring in the libary.

No people and no bikes were harmed. I am hoping to settle into a routine soon. That would be a lovely surprise.

One more thing. Did you know that often the song Pop Goes The Weasel the puppet BOINGS on the word, “POP” so there’s some predicability.

Get out there and ride. I’m going to try that today to lift my mood.

-Bike Goddess

Calm, Relaxed, Submissive State

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Posted on December 23, 2023 by bikegoddess

The calm and bright from the sailboat on the Columbia River.

The lines from Silent Night echo in my mind often and without provocation at this time of the year. I think it’s a coping mechanism in my brain and much like breathing, it’s simply in my head on autoplay. I especially love the “all is calm, all is bright” line. There are many more.

“Glories stream” and “radiant beams” and the “dawn of redeeming grace.” Wow, right. I mean, the words alone are sunrises and you feel your heart fill with the potential of the universe. Plus, there’s sleeping in peace and heavenly hosts singing and the shepherds are quaking but who can blame them with all the beams and streams and glories.

I love it because it’s simple and majestic and there’s a meditation in the lyrics that helps me breathe and relax. There are such equisite simplicity in that carol.

Being alive is science and it’s also a miracle. It’s wonderous and any day you feel like you’re healthy means you are indeed wealthy. Any day your head is on and you feel like you’re in a good place is special and if you happen to be moving and grooving, well, that’s success!

At this time of winter darkness anytime a star wants to lend its light is indeed magnificent.

This was the first night which was delivering Santa to the public dock. Photo credit Christmas Ships.

Dear readers, at this time of the year I usually report a great year of biking. The miles ticked by and topped over and I feel like a Goddess to the tenth power! This fall has not been successful in miles. The weather has put quite a damper on my riding goals. I’ve also had a few mechanical issues and I’ve felt defeated by the number of things put on my work plate and much like a child who shoves superfluous items into the grocery cart, my work life has been full of excessive distractions and most of which are not even my job. But whatever.

What better time to admit that it’s been a daunting December. However, also delightful and successful in a different way. The days that I have been able to ride have been splendid and beautiful with sunrises that are breathtaking and remind you that the madness of the moment will pass.

Also I had some new experiences on water not land when my guy and I joined the Christmas Ship parade on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Even though we thought we’d only do a couple nights, we ended up participating in seven of the 13. This is the 69th year of the Christmas Ships parade and I’m happy to report that both our boat and our marriage survived.

She’s also a biking pal who enjoyed our river run.

As it is the eve of THE EVE, I wanted to take time to be calm and mild and think about streaming glories and radiant beams of light since it’s been weeks of watching the boats on the rivers and seeing the community of people who pull this off. There are moments when the lights from the boats ahead or behind fill your soul and you know that it could all end right then and there but you’d be complete.

I ride and I ride a whole lot. I do have suggestions for gifts to buy the cyclist in your life, but that will have to wait. Maybe Valentine’s Day I do a post about that. I don’t even remember my Strava goals for this year and while I could look it up, I don’t really care. A year ago this experience with the Christmas ships was merely an ember. I never expected to be among the fleet of boats that participate in the parade. But now, I can’t imagine not doing it. That’s the thing about new experiences, they seem to crack open something in us that fills a void. The faces of people at the dock were indeed radiant and they were filled with a childlike innocence that was resplendent and angelic. I remember thinking, “It this what it’s like to be Taylor Swift? Is this what it’s like to be so beautiful that people line up to take your picture and applaud at your existence?”

Simply, yes, that’s what it’s like.

Our onboard noise makers and more importantly, friends.

However, to do this, we had to submit. We had to defer to those who have done it and we had to be passive and learn how to be meek and mild. That’s not easy! It’s a miracle we could set aside our egos and our will and fall into our place in the parade.

My life is much richer for having experienced the rigorous pace of doing Christmas ships and for hearing people from the docks and piers yell their appreciation and Merry Christmas greetings and telling us and all the ships that we were beautiful. We should all do that. We should all yell to one another how beautiful it all is and in those moments find the calm and mildness and simplicity of the moment.

Readers, thank you for being here with me in the moment. I’m grateful for your Likes and Follows and I wish you all the calm and mild you need this season and into each and every day of 2024.

Until next time, get out there and ride.

Got it Made

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Posted on November 6, 2023 by bikegoddess

In between summer and the teacher strike I wrote about recently, I went to an event called Made. This event exists to honor, appreciate and demonstrate the ingenuity of people who make bikes. However I forgot to remember it. Now November, I am starting to remember that I did some cool things in the waning hours of summer that I’ve neglected to share.

Maybe you’ve done this too. You’re reviewing your photos and you see a chunk of pics that you know you took but they were eclipsed by a thousand other things happening on and around the very same time. For me, the time we went on strike feels surreal. Literally the time has been put back into our school calendar to “make up” the strike days. Ηοςεωερ the other happenings were sidelined. That time has left me feeling flat even though they were very cool events. It all feels like a bike stuck up on the top of a car lying on its side and forgotten about completely.

As I was looking for photos from the strike for a collage, I saw these other moments digitally preserved and I was remembering the day I went to Made and how I hitched myself up on a pennyfathing and actually rode it in place for a few minutes. I remembered how amazing the event was and how I was itching to blog about it. I remembered that I forgot to share the adventure.

MADE is described on the ticket as “an industry/consumer bike event highlighting the craft of handmade bicycles.” There were 200 or so builders and brands sharing their creations.

As we say in a post Covid world, it’s been awhile since we’ve even had this event in Portland, Oregon, so I was as excited as a kid hyped up on Halloween candy to attend. I could not contain myself.

As I walked into the area I felt like everything was possible. I knew I would see some builders I remembered from past shows and I knew I’d see cool gear and unique builds and I was ready and raring to go.

Zidell Yards is an outdoor performance venue on the South Waterfront.

The venue was spacious and buzzing with activity.

Pennyfarthing bikes a.k.a. High wheel bikes are so odd and iconic. Most of my sources say that these bikes were notoriously difficult to handle and I can see why. Getting aboard them requires a leap of faith and you literally have to hop up and hang on.

At first the gentlemen asked if I wanted to take a spin. The bike is stationary but on a platform so you can try riding it. I dismissed the opportunity outright. “No thank you, I’d prefer to not risk my safety.”Wait? What did I just hear coming out of my mouth!? Is that doubt mixed with fear? I lingered a bit and wondered why I said that.

I love bikes. I love opportunities. Why, yes, I think I do want to try it. I mean in all my time on planet Earth I have never had an opportunity to ride a Pennyfarthing. Yes, I want this!

There are these pegs on the rear little wheel and you step on it and then hop just as I was told. With the hop up you also lean forward enough to grap the handlebars and then you scoot your caboose up on the saddle and you ride. It’s very smooth, but not because you’re on air (which I was) it’s because the big front wheel allowed for higher speeds on the flats. I was told that it was a smoother ride before the invention on pneumatic tires.

Pennyfarthing for your thoughts.

I couldn’t believe I was riding and gliding and generally loving the experience. I’ve never been on a tall bike, but I imagine it’s a similar feeling. The handlebars were odd and you can see in the video that it was as if I was holding myself up while pedaling down. I felt like I needed longer legs, but I was pedaling long enough to get a sense for how difficult it would be to ride this out and about in the olden days. What a great moment in time and lots of fun to actually give it a spin.

There were bags and all sorts of beautiful bike related gear but the spotlight was on the stars of the show, the bikes, all made, engineered and created like works of art you ride. Everything you can imagine and some things you didn’t even know you wanted to see.

Overall it restored my faith in humanity because it’s all impressive and clearly some people are ingenius and inventive and they know how to make cool things. They got it MADE and I feel ebullient because I got to witness it all in one place.

Plus, the pennyfarthing. Right?

As I listen to the rain thrash against the house and I watch the leaves swirl around in colorful cyclones I recall that hot August day and how beautiful it was to see bikes forged from imagination into reality. Do you have any favorites? If you had a bike custum built what would you do to make it the perfect bike for you? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading my blog. I wish you a wonderful week and I’ll see you in the next post.

Thanks for being here. Get out there and ride.

Gratefully,

Bike Goddess

The Tour de France of Libraries

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Posted on September 15, 2023 by bikegoddess

September 14, 2016, Dr. Carla Hayden was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts as the 14th Librarian of Congress. The third professional librarian, the first woman and the first person of African American descent to hold the position. This is important because today is the 14th and I went to the Library of Congress National Book Festival in mid-August in Washington D.C. and I was out and about on the convention floor browsing books and I spied with my little eye, Dr. Hayden.

A selfie moment with the Librarian of Congress!

It was one of the moments when I hesitated and thought I looked too beleagered to greet her but then I thought, I MUST MEET her so I caught her eye largely because I was staring at her until she looked over and then I shoved out my right arm and actually introduced myself like a boss and told her I was a volunteer (I also had on my volunteer t-shirt) and my super cute bookish skirt and then she asked where I was from and of course I said I was visiting from the other Washington, the one that was a state. She smiled like I said the wittiest thing ever and said it was such a beautiful state and I agreed and quickly added that we had some great indy bookstores and then I think I blacked out because I was talking with Dr. Carla Hayden which is about a high as you can go in the library business and I felt like I was at the summit of Le Col de la Bibliotek and then she shook my hand or had I even let go of her hand from the first handshake, I can’t recall.

Library of Congress National Book Festival

Sometimes you have to seize the moment and I’m glad I did because there are just as many times one might say, “Oh, I shouldn’t bother them” or “Why don’t I mind my own,” and then you might be fraught with regret about not seizing the moment and so I’m glad I didn’t let good judgement interfere with intution and I thrust out my arm and gave it a go.

Since today is the day she was appointed, it felt like a good day to share my moment. There has been so much business in the days following the return from that trip. I’ve had no time to process what a great trip I had to D.C. and that moment of meeting the Librarian of Congress was such great fortune.

I also got to sit in the reading room because I got an LoC card. I spent about 2 hours looking through books in the stacks and sitting at the beautiful tables and reading. The serendipity of it all was overwhelming. I couldn’t have written it into a plot line of a book better than I lived it.

After that I was floating around a few inches off the marble floors reliving the moment hoping it really did happen. I checked my phone to be sure the photo was there, and it was, so it did in fact happen. I bought more books and went to a few more author sessions and marveled at what an amazing adventure the event had been.

Then I hopped on my Captiol Bike share bike and rode the National Mall. That’s a story for another day. D.C., to be continued. Today, I’ll savor the memory of meeting Dr. Hayden.

I hope you have magical memories. Thanks for reading my blog post, I appreciate it.

Like Riding A Bike

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Posted on September 10, 2023 by bikegoddess

#Red4Ed and striking for a fair contract

Where do I begin? As I was riding my bike to the bike shop for my volunteer gig this morning, I marveled as how wonderful it feels to ride. Just riding a bike is pure bliss. How wonderful it is to just roll on by without too many cares. How magical it will be to start our first full week of school and how tremendous it is to claim my routine.

Yes, claim my routine. I’ve never been on strike and never in my 30 plus years in my school district have we, the teachers, striked until this year. It has been absolutely weird but last Thursday we voted on our tentative agreement which means we ended the 7-day strike and will start the terms of our new 2-year contract. This is good but there are residual hurt feelings between workers and management that are not easily mitigated. Navigating that part of the discourse will be the challenge of the year.

I want to talk about it, but I also absolutely don’t want to talk about it. It has been the focus of all energy and ire and stamina and the vitality with which I usually greet the new school year is dulled. We’ve hit a flat in the relationship and trust is a bent rim, you know? I am still processing everything that has happened since the start of the strike, and there’s no Google map for this sort of journey. I’m not in a place where I’m ready to talk deeply about it. I’m glad it’s in the rearview mirror and we are stronger as a union because of it. I don’t feel like the same person I was prestrike and I don’t know what that means going forward.

Last Friday’s first day of school was a foggy ride
but clearly happy to be back in a routine.

Strange that I’m writing so much about the thing I wasn’t going to write about. Go figure. My bike ride to the fire station which was our staging area for picketing is close to my school. I rode my bike like I always do toward school, but stopped at the fire station and waiting for my colleagues to join me. I was a picket captain and that means there are some details to iron out before we hit the line. My point in talking even this much it to say that riding my bike to and from was my meditation. It was my normal and without it, well, who knows. The bike ride was the most normal thing I could do amidst the oddness of the start of the year.

To feel the bike under me.
To feel the cold morning air in my face.
To pedal the cadence of the commute felt like the best aspect of my routine I could perform.Every day felt out of true and yet riding brought me comfort.

The picketing meant I was doing a daily duathlon. We were all walking 10 to 15 miles in just steps back and forth, so it was quite a workout which again I feel like I was prepared because I commute by bike.

As I perused my photos there were hardly any recent photos of my bike or sceney or anything beyond the daily picket line. I wanted to take a moment to blog about my absence and say that getting back into the routine is like riding a bike. You don’t forget. Time has muscle memory and seeing the students and getting back into a routine is what back-to- school is all about.

As I see my fellow staff members and walk the halls or settle into the paceline of being back at work, I know we’ve all been through something monumental together. I’ve never felt as in tune with my colleagues as I do now. We walked and talked and thought together. There’s a collegiality and companionship that will bind us together beyond the 180 days we spend working together.

Get out there and ride even if it seems like an indulgence, because it could be the only part of the day that brings you peace.

Thanks for reading my blog and hanging out with me. I appreciate it. Have a good week!

Summer Musings

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Posted on July 12, 2023 by bikegoddess

A muse is any goddess presiding over a particular art. Yes, that’s my photos of the Acropolis in July, 2019.

Summer musing is the best. It’s squandering time like you’re a kid and just rolling down life’s hills and letting whatever happen. Today for example I have been thinking about donuts. I often think of donuts. It’s because there was a time in my area that there were zero donut shops and now there are so many I could honestly have a donut every day from a multitude of places. I “donut” indulge often because donuts are my Achilles heel. I’ll overindulge and that won’t be good either. I’ll be in the corner with a box eating them like Homer Simpson.

After the donut musing I thought about Threads and I fingured out how to get on it last night and it’s nice. Most seem to agree that it’s like you realize you were in a very toxic relationship with the other one. I like it and since my blog posts no longer go out on the Twittersphere through WordPress, I thought I’d give it a looksee. I don’t know what to post yet, so I figured I start with a new blog entry. I’ll just ease into it. I’m still on Twitter, but I’m not really ON it at all. I guess like most people I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I don’t really like to share vast amounts of information on the socials, so even though I wanted to be closer to family, I’m mostly posting my Wordle scores and of course watching pet videos.

Next musing was whether to bike or go for a kayak today. I could try for both however, if it gets hot-hot, then it’s better to bike earlier in the day. I could take the Bromptie to the kayak and paddle around the marina and out onto the river. That is a very attractive option since we are hopefully getting the newly fabbed fuel tank and that will mean we can finally start our Summer of Sailing. Last summer I kayaked just before returning to school so this year I’ve been trying to get out once a week. Last week I went out of the marina and onto the Columbia River and it was spectacular. It’s my upper body workout plus you can’t beat the sounds of water lapped on the sides of the kayak and the ducks and the intimacy of being right there at each ebb and flow of the river.

Getting close to the pilings and the current is definitly got a mind of its own.

Then there’s book musing. When I’m not being Bike Goddess, I’m actually a middle school librarian and I love my job but I also love summer and reading the hours away and preparing video booktalks for my YouTube channel. I’m trying to become a YouTuber and the channel I have with my school district is doing pretty well, but once I moved everything to my home study I needed to step it up with lighting and audio so my hobby is becoming work and I’m struggling with that a bit. At school I can crank it out and post in the fallow moments between chaos, classes and Chromebook repair. Musing about that becomes overwhelming and I feel myself getting into a the bilge of details, so I push off and go back to the donuts, because, well, those beautiful pillows of sugar and all that’s sweet and glazey calms me down even if I’m just thinking about it versus shoving it in my face.

That’s the very essence of summer though, it’s pondering all the possibilities and considering what, if anything, you want to do on a lazy summer day when you can do anything.

Here’s hoping summer is being nice to you and you are getting some time to chill. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.

Get out there and ride. Or kayak.

Tell me in the comments how you’re spending your time.

I’m Still Standing

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Posted on June 19, 2023 by bikegoddess

It has been too long dear readers. I’ve been remiss in my blogging. But, but, but… I can’t control where my mind wanders, but today with the dawn of summer on the horizon and the promise that I will be on summer break is imminent, Elton John’s song popped to mind as if was the 1983 all over again.

"Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind." 

Elton John, "I'm Still Standing" lyrics.

Since my last post, I’ve been in survival mode. Typically, it’s manageable, but this school year, it feels like everyone I talk to is experiencing the same overwhelming situation. If you’re an educator, this year has been beyond comprehension. It’s been filled with countless meetings, constant planning, unexpected changes, and more meetings to discuss those plans and changes. The pressure of managing school, students, and constantly wondering what comes next has kept me awake countless nights. Thankfully, I’m still standing. I might be wobbly, but, I’m determined to make it to the very last day. And once that day arrives, I look forward to finally being able to put aside all these thoughts and concerns and start picking up the pieces of my life.

Easier said than done. It always is. There is always a period of decompression and rest. I’ll have anxiety dreams about all the ways I’ve failed but I’m hoping that period will be shortened by fact that we are getting out later than normal, thanks to Jack Frost who made a late appearance and canceled school for like four days. I digress.

Think mazes. I’ve been in one of those mazes made of high hedges. Each turn leads to another hedge and another and it’s possible that I’ll need to be air lifted out. It feels like I’ve been trapped in it. Each turn leads to a new challenge, and I’m constantly searching for a way out.

If it wasn’t for my commutes in the morning and evening, the quality of my life would be much worse. My rides are my solace. They are the daily vacation from the chaos. The rides let me reset and if I’m lucky I can work out the issues, at least in my mind, before I get home so I’m fretting a bit less.

Readers of my blog, I thank you for engaging. I appreciate seeing you click the LIKE star and I know that someone out there gets me. I get a little notification and I think, whoa, cool! My absence from my own blog has been rough on me. I set a goal to ride my bike a minimum of 75 miles a week, but writing 75 words a week has been the real hill in my life of late. I’m excited about my own personal routines outside of work, and I have got some stories to tell.

Like I found a bike using Bike Index and reunited it with its owner! Yeah, you are not going to want to miss that story. I also found a bike for a friend who had his totaled in an accident (he’s fine, but his bike didn’t survive). Oh, and I found someone’s phone and its handlebar holster and actually got it back to them. So many stories amidst the busy days. I can’t wait to tell you more.

I’m grateful for your support and patience and the plan is to write more, ride more and I’m still standing!

Stay safe out there.

Bike Goddess

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain!

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Posted on April 9, 2023 by bikegoddess

In my city we average 42 inches of rain per year, which is four inches above the U.S. average. Spain gets like 25 inches of rain annually, so clearly spring has been a soggy mess on the plains and dales and mountains and everywhere in my area. There’s a fatique that comes with that much rain. A hopelessness that it will never be sunny again or that you may never, ever see the blue sky unless you leave and go to another city perhaps in Spain.

Today marks the last day of my Spring Break. My expectations for this vacation are always extremely low. Some people can rally and book a trip someplace like Las Vegas or Los Angeles or Paris, but I don’t like week long trips to places overseas. I’ve been to L.A. and Vegas doesn’t interest me and I mean a week is not long enough. I like to set up camp and get to know a place. But more than that, but most importantly I don’t have the energy. Summer is around the corner and experience has taught me that it’s better to rest and. find my life again.

Monday we took our sailboat to the boat yard for some work. I wasn’t going to join my husband onboard because there was rain in the forecast and my friends, the only thing worse that being on a bike in the pouring rain is being on a sailboat under the same conditions. But the skies, while menacing didn’t rain. They glowered and grayed and clouded and scowled but then there was a break and I saw some blue and I found myself forgiving the great Northwest rain gods for their moods.

Same day. Bluish skies start to give way.

We even saw seals. I do not know much about smelt but the numbers are high this year (or so said everyone upon learning that we saw seals) and for the first time the seals are abundant on the Columbia River. It was amazing to behold.

Seal chat.

What I assumed would be a terrible weather day turned out spectacular. The seals and the break in the rain and seeing the sky was like finding a hundred dollar bill. It reminded me that even with all the prognostications and apps that in-between the storms and gloom there is such beauty. Now it might not happen again for another 40 days but I took photos and video to record the moment.

That’s at the heart of any vacation too. You leave or vacate your life and routine and go do something, somewhere else and come back refreshed and ready to take on the next thing in the routine. Back in January I was contemplating a trip to Nice, France. Ticket prices were good and I was starting to consider an itinerary, and yet, I knew that it wouldn’t work. Realistically I knew I’d feel like I do during most spring breaks, exhausted, enervated and weary.

But I know that on the other side of those clouds there’s a blue sky trying to break through. I know that as I move into the downhill portion of the school year I’ll think of those seals out there on the river doing their thing and barking at the boats and I’ll know I saw them and for a moment I forgot about everything else and that was wild abandon.

Happy Easter to you if you celebrate and happy, dry trails ahead. Although I think for me that will be in July.

Stay safe (and dry) out there,

Bike Goddess

Air Apparent

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Posted on February 24, 2023 by bikegoddess

We had Monday off for Presidents Day and so Tuesday felt like Monday and it was the beginning of the work week so I take off on my morning commute and I’m about 2 miles from my house near the church with the substantial parking lot. As I crossed the busy intersection it sounds like a small train is behind me and of course I have a flat. I stop at the church which is weirdly THE PLACE where my last two flats have been and I call my husband who thankfully comes to my rescue to deliver me to school to still be early. He also trasports my bike to the shop to have the flat fixed and get the liners to help with this in the future.

It was a construction staple that took us down. I hate those things. How can something so small be so hideous and flatten an otherwise perfect morning? This is why people don’t ride or want to ride. They hate flats and they are terrified they will be helpless by the side of the road in a church parking lot waiting for help. Plus it’s a staple and those are supposed to bind, to keep things together and yet the irony is that it punctured my beautiful nubby tires and pierced the tube so much that it will need to be replaced. I have had so many flats over the years and it’s always the same story. Some little thing topples the plan. I’ve fixed some but mostly I prefer a mechanic to do it becuase they are fast and far more adept at it.

I should have taken the side road I chide myself. I wanted to but I thought since the roads were a tad icy that maybe I should stay on the main drag and this is the thanks I get. By the time my husband gets to me I am as deflated as my tire but I’m also feeling like the day is doomed.

By the time you are 2 miles into a ride, you’re IN! The cold air is bracing and yet you are out there doing it and feeling all the feels and I’m listening to a new book and all is well with my soul as the spiritual hymn says.

I see our little red electric mini turn into the parking lot and we load my bike on the rack. We are quiet on the drive just thinking about what needs to get done and still sort of waking up and considering more coffee but don’t want to take the time to stop. How do I not have protective tire liners and how can such a small staple kill my tire? I’ll get to school still early enough that no one would know my drama. I’m pondering the list of things I need to do to pump up my morning, but all in all, the tire is what’s on my mind. The tire and the concept behind a spare because this is my second tire incident in the new year.

About two weeks ago a colleague of mine and I were heading north to Olympia, Washington, the State capitol to testify and meet with legislators about some House and Senate bills. It’s called Legislative Day and it’s such a great experience. This is the second time I’ve participated. It’s invogorating to meet with representitives and senators about what concerns you and how you want them to vote on bills.

But on the car ride we both had a first time experience with car tires. CARS! She was driving and it sounded like a train was behind us. The freeway does run parallel to the tracks but the sound was deafening. It was as if the train was tailgating us. Do you have a flat? What does a flat on a car even sound like I remember thinking. The thumping, rock tumbler, gravel grating was a roar I’ve never heard before. I am old and I have never experienced a car flat. I don’t know anything about car tires except that they use the Schrader valve (same as some bikes).

I checked the passenger side mirror and no, it was not a flat on that side of the vehicle. It was the driver side.

Now, we’re both librarians and we know things but this is not an area of expertise for either of us. We’re bookish women, who are teachers and feminists and we do it ourselves but we don’t know how. We could get a YouTube video, but there’s the whol jack thing, right? Where does that even go? We’ve never been here before so maybe we do need some assistance. She checks on the spare and I head into the quickie mart to see if someone could talk us through it. Just before I open the doors there’s a woman putting oil in her engine and we catch eachother’s eye.

Hey, would you be willing to help a couple of library women learn how to change a car tire. Sure she says as if it’s really is all an adventure. I’d love to! Wow, I think, we’ve hit the lottery! Her name is Candace and she drives a truck and she helps us with the jack which frankly looks like it couldn’t lift a 4th grader let alone a 5000 pound SUV.

Typically cyclists don’t have a spare tire in the same way you do on a car. Just sitting back there in the boot waiting for it’s occasion of glory. The moment the understudy in the theater of transportation comes onstage to take its turn. Having a patch kit, or a spare tube or CO2 or a packable, yet highly rated pump to save the day isn’t even close, really.

NASCAR called and they want us for a pit crew. Candace did most of the work but we helped by giving her some great new book titles to read. I marveled at how fast and efficient the process was versus changing a bike tire. Put side by side I wonder which would take longer and I still think changing, patching or in any way dealing with a bike tire takes more time.

You can triple check your tires (either bike or car) and you can always have patch kits and all the accoutrement for dealing with flats but they still happen and they require time to change and adjust. Like the spare on the car felt weird and wobbly to the driver. But the spare is temporary until a new proper tire can be installed.

Then of course that all leads me to thinking about Prince Harry and being a spare king (recent royal memoir) riding along never knowing when your moment to come out of the boot and into the spotlight will come. You can’t overthink stuff like that though because otherwise you’ll never get on the road of life and ride. I guess the lesson is to keep learning and growing and recognize that staples and screws are part of the path we’re all on and it’s good to have people in the pit ready to help us out and get us back on the road.

Thank YOU dear readers for being out there and sharing in my somewhat off the beaten track adventures. I love your Likes and it’s nice to know that out there someone gets me.

Have a brilliant day!

Bike Goddess

Degrees of Dull

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Posted on February 19, 2023 by bikegoddess

The sky looks like Milk of Magnesia and I’m not impressed with the forecast for the day. Not raining does not mean sun. There isn’t rain today but I did experience a brief misting. There is snow in the forecast for Wednesday, but for now it’s just dull.

I won’t say how stunned I am about how quickly this month is passing. I won’t drone on about the fickleness of the weather. I won’t invoke the various frustrations I’m having with the morning temperatures which hover in the high 20s and only climb to the mid 30s. I’ll reject the notion that spring is in the air, because it’s not. The gardening shops are putting out the pansies and it’s all I can do to resist the urge to buy them to brighten up the yard, but the fact is that there’s still frost on the roads and rooftops in the morning and I’m going to stay firm in my commitment to waiting. I’m here to announce that I’m trying to keep a steady cadence in life and I’m overjoyed that Monday is a holiday.

Holly Berry, my newest bike, is simply lovely and I enjoy taking her on rides she hasn’t been on yet. Today we went to the waterfront and looked at how the Milk of Magnesia sky met the gunmetal gray of the Columbia River and I enjoyed looking at her candy apple red frame against the backdrop of winter dull. She’s gleeful in a sea of dullness.

Last week I decided to ride in spite of the weather. I didn’t care if it was icy, I was going to give it a go and commute anyway. We had a late start on Tuesday because there was a bit of a dusting of snow at higher elevations but since school started 2 hours later I figured it would be okay. I’m glad I did so at least I have a sense of what it looks like when I ride in those conditions but I don’t know if I would do that again. Probably I would but I hopped up onto the sidewalk at several points on my commute since the bike paths were icy.

Why do you do it? People ask me that all the time. They cite various issues, like safety and time and of course the unpredictable weather. I guess I do it because it’s beautiful to see how nature works and behold with my own eyes how spectacular it all is. That and bragging rights! There are things about commuting that people often say seem dull. I don’t really get that because I can’t fathom commuting by car. While it is a challenge some days to get in gear and ride, I’d much prefer that to the alternative. I get to witness the sunrise and sunset and the birds and the blooming of everything. It’s like having a front row seat to a performance and sometimes it’s beyond awesome.

Winter is long and cold and sometimes it feels like it will never be over. I often remind myself in a commute that the seasons will change and to settle in and enjoy the moment I’m in. It’s not easy but when you breathe in that cold air and open your eyes wide you can see that it’s pretty special to just be in it all.

Wherever you are in the world and with whatever the season, I hope you’re doing well and enjoying the ride.

Thanks for reading!
Get out there and ride your bike

Bike Goddess

To Serve With Love

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Posted on January 16, 2023 by bikegoddess

On this MLK National Day of Service I want to share something. One of Dr. King’s lesser known speeches called The Drum Major Instinct in one in which he talks about how “anybody can be great because anybody can serve.” It’s one of my favorites because it’s about greatness and yet how ultimately we find that quality when we help others.

In this speech, Dr King says,

“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”

Me and a pup. We were exhanging hair tips.

Back in 2021, on MLK Day I wanted to do something. I wanted to get my hands dirty and dig into something that was akin to going to church, but not church exactly. I wanted to worship with like-minded people and help out in some small way. All my other days are spoken for and Sunday was often treated like prep work for Monday, so I wanted to change that and in the process do some good. I wanted to serve something, somehow, somewhere. I heard the call and I had been hearing it for sometime, but I dismissed it because I figured I was already doing what I could. I worked hard and I did extra things at school so I was covered.

But was I? Something was missing. I felt like I wanted to be doing more of something else but I wasn’t sure what that meant. A friend of mine volunteered for Make A Wish Foundation but that was a long time ago and that wasn’t quite the right fit. Then another friend said I should just donate money to a cause or buy more stuff for school. Again, great but like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, that wasn’t the right fit.

Follow bike.clark.county on Instagram or Facebook.

As is often the way I start sentences, I was out riding my bike and I saw a shop. It said BIKE SHOP and it was in the Burgerville Headquarters on Main Street. I was on the other side of the street, checked my rear view and swerved over and went inside. What is this? How is this here and I didn’t know? I walked around and found a hat, and some spoke reflectors and then at the counter they had a sign up sheet for volunteers.

Why, yes, this is it! On this day, or weekend, in 2021 I started to volunteer at a nonprofit called Bike Clark County. On the first day, I knew this was it. This was my place. Bike Clark County is my Sunday Service and when I ride my bike 3 miles to the shop every Sunday the church bells chime at the Catholic Church and roll in and get ready to do my thing. My heart always expands when I hear the bells. Something opens up inside my heart and I feel like I’m complete. There’s Paul, Ryan, Benjamin and Eisa. We are the Sunday crew. Sometimes Ed comes in and he volunteers by working on bikes whereas I’m usually arranging and rearranging and talking with customers. I help with displays and sorting and greeting one and all. Sometimes I put air in tires, sometimes I share my commuting opinions, sometimes I decorate, I greet pups and people alike. I get to go through the donated items and see what we can rescue from the landfill. I love it when Ryan gives me bike bits to organize. I love it all. The time goes by in the blink of an eye and we say our good-byes until next Sunday.

Volunteering means that you “freely offer to do something” and let’s be honest, I’m not completing college applications or trying to prove anything. I heard the call for help and I am happy I answered it and thrilled that I’m starting my third year. I look forward to a time when I can fix someone’s flat quickly and confidently. I am greedy for a time when I can find things with the swiftness and ease of finding a book in the library. I can’t wait to have a suggestion that people go, “Yeah, that!” But it’s also okay if I just do what I’m doing because it’s helping them.

I get to take glamour photos with bikes too. #perks

A commitment to volunteering is not easy. When you’re volunteering you have to consider that you’re giving up time doing one thing to do another. I wasn’t sure if I could keep it up because maybe the work week would be too much and I’d want time to rest on Sunday or maybe they wouldn’t like me (naw, that’s not it), or maybe I just wouldn’t be good at it. Almost instantly I started to do their social media posts on Instagram and Facebook. I would like to do more mechanical things, but right now I’m happy to be there and happy to serve in my tiny way.

Plus, it’s bikes and people and occasionally dogs and it’s always amazing! Volunteering intentionally like this is newish to me. What is your experience? I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading my blog post. If you found some value to it, please give it a like and then get out there and ride.

Glad Ridings

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Posted on December 26, 2022 by bikegoddess

It’s one of my favorite pics of all time.. Kermit on a bike. Note the basket!

The best part of my day usually involves a bike ride. It’s the gift I give myself. It’s the chunk of time combined with moment after moment where I feel my heart beating and my legs pumping and I take in the beauty of nature and I think wow, I love doing this. I feel like my universe expands exponentially, and I know in my bones that whatever the problem du jour or the angstyness of fill-in-the-blank, it is all going to be okay because the cadence of life is just that, the revolutions of pedals, the ups and the downs and the movement of riding.

There should be no rain in a virtual bike ride. Seriously!

That’s even the case on Boxing Day when after two days of Zwifting indoors because the freezing temps forced me inside. It has been in the low 20s and today we are experiencing a heatwave in the 40s. My weather app (y’know Dark Sky was purchased by Apple) says that rain is coming and the radar is showing light to moderate waves of precipation for the next hour (or more). Right after coffee and some breakfast, I suited up in my rain gear (Thanks, Showers Pass) and layers of merino to see if I can get in a ride. It was not raining when I took off, but I put on my rain pants because things can change.

Glorious! I saw people out walking and running. Some were out with their kids or pets. I didn’t see any other cyclists but still people were out. We waved and said our hellos and kept going, enjoying the warmer air and feeling good.

There are still some patches of ice, but nothing treacherous or dangerous. The rain will likely wash it all away. The pools of water did make me wish I’d selected my rainboots over my waterproof(ish) shoes. The plan when I was getting ready, was a quick spin. I was thinking 30-40 minutes. However, I couldn’t stop. My brakes are fine and everything was working on my machine. I just couldn’t stop. It felt wonderful to just pedal on and on. I didn’t have a book or podcast playing in my ears. It was amazing to be a part of nature unfolding. I turned left here and right there and then let myself be lured by some mysterious decorations ahead and I got some pics of my bike with some holiday yard decorations and I kept going paying no mind to where.

HollyBerryBike is far better than a camel.

This bike, I call her Holly Berry, (she has an Instagram account called @hollyberrybike) is new. I’m still figuring out how cadence and radar works but I did dial in some details with the level of assist I want and how to reset trip distance and riding time, so that’s progress. I also experimented with her grippy tires. I am able to fully stop in slushy road spots and thanks to that belt drive she looks pristine even after a splashing about in puddles. We logged 16 miles today and looked good doing it. Holly more than me.

Glad ridings indeed! 16 miles just riding about. No destination in mind. Nothing planned. Not even a grocery stop. Just riding.

Singing praises for the wonder of a simple ride!

When I pulled into the driveway after about an hour and a half, I was pleased. My shoes were soaked and my socks were sponges but still I was giddy. What a great ride! According to the weather app, we should have about two inches of rain today. I’m glad I seized the moment and got in a great ride.

Often my rides are purpose oriented. Getting to work or doing errands are a part of the ride. Getting in a ride just to ride is magic. I strongly recommend it.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for riding!

Great is My Thankfulness

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Posted on November 24, 2022 by bikegoddess

Gratitude for all that was, is and will be.

I believe in gratitude all year long, but it’s nice that on Thanksgiving we all have the opportunity to take time out to take stock and count our blessings and acknowledge our appreciation. I remember the hymm from vacation bible school back when I was a youngster. “Count your blessings one by one and you’ll be surprised by what the Lord has done.” Religious or not, the general consensus of any belief or religion is to focus on the blessings and not the problems. There’s a hymm Great Is Thy Faithfulness, which was one of my dad’s favorite hymms. There’s a line, “Morning by morning new mercies I see…” and over time I have adapted the lines, Great is my thankfulness!
Great is my thankfulness!
Morning by morning new blessings I see.”

Every day I am grateful to get up and ride. As I get older and hear from friends and family about various aches, pains and afflictions, I am happy that I can get out of bed and get myself dressed and ready to ride on. I’m joyous about it.

I’m grateful I have such wonderful memories of my family. In the face of losing my dad in 2019 I can say unequivically that he has left me with such a catalog of memories and they are all funny, or silly and almost always put a smile on my face even if a moment later I’m thinking about how much I miss him and suddenly I’m bawling, but I’m grateful for the 57 years we had together. I’m always greedy for more, however, I’m coming to terms with the reality that grieving is as much a part of life as breathing. There’s a reason the Greeks have the comedy/tragedy faces side by side.

There’s gratitude in the routines because the beauty of the mundane is not something to take lightly. Look up synonyms for the word “mundane” and you’ll see banal, day-to-day, everyday, humdrum and normal! When things are just as they are, that’s not bad. I mean if you want some sort of change in your life, that’s something else entirely, but I’m talking about the day-to-day tasks. Normal. No flats, no weird squeaks or clinks, no fires or atmospheric systems to keep me from riding, no drama, just pedal onwards. That’s sort of a metaphor. I love those moments of balance on a bike when I realize I’ve learned how to balance and my cadence is perfect and I feel like the star ballerina with the New York City Ballet. Normal is good.

This will sound cheesy, but I’m grateful for you right now reading this blog post. I love blogging and making videos and putting it out there. I struggle with wanting to do more but feeling too exhausted to do more but then someone Likes a post or makes a comment and I’m thrilled. I appreciate that there’s someone out there spending a moment with me.

I’m grateful for the journey. I’m grateful to get out there and ride! The ride anywhere at any time, always focuses my attention on what’s most important. The present.

Thank you for reading. I wish your a good day doing whatever and eating whatever. Thanks for being here. I am grateful. 😊

Seeing Red

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Posted on October 29, 2022 by bikegoddess

Red is a great color for a bike or a car or a cape. I have wanted a red bike since I was grew out of my red tricycle. I’ve pined over red mixtes (Soma Buena Vista) and road bikes (Salsa Warbird) and even mountain bikes (I did have a Gary Fisher Tasajara) but what they possessed in color they lacked in other ways, or that’s what I tell myself. Hi, I’m Bike Goddess and I have an addiction to bikes. Thanks for being here.

Gosh, I still miss Tessa, my Gary Fisher! She was sassy!

When Bryan at the eBikeStore informed me in an email that the bike of my dreams might be available for a test ride, I bit. See if you can answer the questions:

George Clooney, Madonna, Donatella Versace and Sir Richard Branson all have homes on Lake _________. (Como)

When excited, a favorite greeting is a “High __________.” (Five)

Ferrari’s are often this color: __________. (Red)

When I got my first electric bike it was winter of 2015 and the bike was a Faraday Cortland with a belt drive. It had the 3 B’s. Belt drive. Beauty. Blissful. The third B I use to refer to the sounds a bike makes while you’re riding. I want my ride to be steath and I don’t want to hear the machine of the bike regardless of electric or not. The Como got a 4 out of 5 on the Bliss scale of noise. The battery is the quietest ever however there’s a sound the chain makes that’s a bit on the loud end when you’re coasting. My Cortland was my favorite and still holds a place in my heart. It’s baby blue with hints of opalescence so the color alone is iconic and difficult to name.

Why a belt drive? I took a belt drive bike for a test ride years ago but I let myself be swayed by popular opinion at the time and price. Popular opinion from the bike mechanics was that it was a fad and I should wait and see. The bike was expensive and just wanted to see what it was like. I was extremely impressed but I’d wait. Belt drives are stealth and maintence free. Imagine never dealing with chain grease or chain issues at all. I mean at all.

Lulu, the Cortland, has over 6,500 miles and she’s the only belt drive bike I’ve ever owned. She was my dream ride. Super cute and perfect for my 20 miles a day commute. I dolled her up with a few accessories and we got along famously for quite sometime. However the range of 22 miles round trip proved difficult for a few things just outside the range like riding into Portland and back. Two levels of boost such as boost and a little more boost was fine in 2015. She’s sublime and everything I wanted until I needed just a little more.

This was after I first got the Como. Original saddle and using the rack for panniers. I changed out the saddle and still a perfect commuter in 2022 with outstanding range. #ebikeanywhere

Isn’t that the way it goes. My second ebike is the one I ride now which is a Specialize Como 5 Turbo. I did call her Ella (Greek for come) but recently she’s become more of a Perri, as in Perry Como because it’s such a great name and when I had her in the bike shop for some annoying crooning and creaking, Perry became the obvious name choice. She has over 14,000 miles which means she’s taken the lead over any of my miles and my Kona mixte comes in at 13,000 as an analog bike. Both of these bikes fit me like designer jeans or like they were made especially for me. I can ride and ride and ride either bike without worry. All the adages come true with these two bikes. I can go the distance and wear whatever I want, kitted up or not, these bikes are my steelmates.

My Kona Mixte is such a sweetie. Best analog bike ever!

Basket situation on my 2019 Como 5. Not a frame mount, yet perfectly adequate.

The desire for a belt drive nags at me however. And the color. I don’t mind the midnight blue but I live in the Northwest and everything from November to May is midnight blue. I want color. I commute to and from work and most errands and generally I do everything and go everywhere on my bikes. Don’t I deserve it? Yeah, but do you really need it? Ugh! Life in my head is like the Devil and the Angel and I’d like to evict both of them.

Very soon I will test ride the new Como 5 in red with a belt drive. There’s a possibility that this bike can also be outfitted with a large basket in front that is frame mounted which is another feature from the Cortland that I adored. This will pose a big problem for me because I will want. I will pine. I will long for it. I will feel all the feels and I’ll need it like I need air. I will feel all the longings of all my days summed up in one object and I’ll be out of my right mind and become obsessed with having the thing I don’t really need but I want.

The answer to the questions above are: Como. Five and red. This is a review from Ebike Review and even though it’s the Como 3, you’ll get the basic idea. I don’t 100% love the look and the deep step through but I could see myself appreciating it in a few more years too.

Will this one have it all? The truth is I could be content with Perry Como as she is. There are many features I’ve dialed in on my 2019 Como. You know how it is. You fiddle and toy and tinker until it fits the way you want and does what you want it to do. I have the basket situation arranged so I use a Timbuk2 messenger bag to stash all my capes and clothes and accoutrement so basically the new Como will have to knock my cleats off. I wonder if it will.

Thanks for reading my musings on bikes and accessories. It is a bit of an addiction, but a good one. At least that’s what I tell myself. Right? What are your bike obsessions? Anything that’s a deal breaker?

Have a great day and get out there and ride!

Bike Goddess

Frightful Few Weeks

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Posted on October 21, 2022 by bikegoddess

Not my skeletons but still a fightful few weeks!

Are they still on the lam? The local polic posted a photo of a white subaru and video of what appears to be some sort of pyrotechnics and then days and days of fire and smoke and evacuations. 18,000 acres burned. All because someone thought fireworks in a forest would be what? Fun? Stupid is and stupid does. I haven’t been on my bike since Monday, October 17th because the air quality numbers have been high enough to make me think I should brush up on my driving skills. At school students are inside for recess for four day. It has been yet another unprecedented week of chaos.

Smoking in restaurants was banned first in California in the 90s, but this isn’t smoking per se, it’s a forest fire. Firefighters worked tirelessly on the Nakia Creek fire which is near my school district. I live about 12 miles south and west, but it’s a fire…therefore the high winds and lack of rain means that lots of families were evacuated and the reverse 9-1-1 call made to many people I know. You may have seen news of the incident on the news but what you don’t see unless you too have been through it are the dire effects of all the smoke. It’s in my eyes, lungs and it feels gritty and gross. If I ever thought I could be a firefighter this week has eliminated that possibility.

Usually in the Green but several days of bad air makes you appreciate all the good air.

Two Mondays ago I commuted 11.6 miles in the morning but my husband picked me up because air quality was getting worse by the minute. Moving the needle of normal air quality from green to yellow to orange and red and before you know it you couldn’t see ahead much more than 3 feet. I commuted again on Friday, the 21st.

October 21st we finally had the first drops of rain.

Once the rain came it stayed and I’m happy it’s back even though I do complain about it. I admit that I prefer misty-moisty to burning embers, smoke, cinders and ash. However, somehow between the fires and mist I caught a cold. Not Covid, which is what everyone says now. “I got sick, but not Covid-sick.” I tested myself multiple times and I was negative for Covid but a cold caught me and regaled me with a sore throat, cough, massive headache and general malaise. I wish I could tell you that I stayed home, but I did not. I know, I know! Have I learned nothing? I know better but the educational system does not look kindly on taking time for oneself. It didn’t before the pandemic and it doesn’t now. I masked at school and took my DayQuil and pushed on through. Sometimes that’s the only option even when you know better.

What does this all mean? In the bike confessional, it means it has been two weeks since I’ve commuted my regular commute. Insert blood curdling scream here. I’d completed about 15 miles total which is disturbing and makes me long for the regular routine. I do this from time to time. I want a break from the routine, the grind, the day-today, but it’s never quite the break I want. I was thinking more along the lines of a vacation to a Greek island.

‘Tis the season of skeletons and pumpkins, monsters and ghouls however to me the scariest thing is not being able to ride my bike and be out there enjoying the scenery and breathing the clean air into my lungs and being happy to be alive. Here’s to health and happy trails and solid rain gear.

Keep riding dear readers and take care of yourself. Thanks for reading my blog. If you found some value in it please give it a Like and have a great day!

Bike Goddess

Paddle Over Peddle

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Posted on August 13, 2022 by bikegoddess

We cyclists work out the lower half of the body with every revolution. Whether we go fast or mosey our way to and from work or wherever, we are working out our legs, calves, thighs and gluts. We ride the waves of the pavement like a surfer amidst the swells. Our arms, biceps, shoulders and back hold us in place but they don’t get half the workout that our southern regions do.

Even professional cyclists have massively muscular legs with well defined calves and quads while their arms look like linguine. I’m not a professional but I do love it when I notice my leg muscles. I mean I can’t see ‘em but sometimes you flex and suddenly you’re like, “Whoa, those are my legs and dang, there’s some new definition there.”

In the waning days of summer as the start of a new school year looms I’ve been longing for the water. My guy sails and he’s very good at it. I love the feel of sailing but I admit that within a short time of being on board, I’m ready for a nap. The lulling action is like being rocked into the lands of Wynken, Blynken and Nod. Also, I’m here to admit to you dear readers that sailing is an all day event and unlike biking you’re at the mercy of the currents and wind and factors that on a bike you can usually change by going left or right and trying a different route. I’m not the sailor my guy is nor is he the biker I am.

Not my dog in the water, but that’s our sailboat.

We’ve been trying for over a week to go out for a sail, but there hasn’t been enough wind to scoot a napkin across a table let alone fill sails. We have a kayak and the ducks and geese in the marina have been terrible tenants. There was evidence of their derelict behaivor and partying so we decided to remind them that it belongs to us. Within an hour we had it all cleaned up and ready for action.

Geese what? They quite literally did #2 on our kayak cover.

After a deep cleaning and super scrub we successfully exfoiliated all the moss and algae and unidentified green goo from the underside and I went out for a paddle. Not a typo, I paddled a kayak. A paddle over peddle means that a muscle group heretofore unused got a bit a of a workout. It was a gorgeous dead calm day in the marina which means I had a great time paddling about like I was on an Olympic Paddle Team. It was glorious and I stayed out there for over an hour.

I’m not a seasoned kayaker, but I’m not a novice either. Here’s how it usually goes. I go out and then the next day my arms scream for relief and I don’t go out again for 4 years. I was thinking about that as I paddled around. Don’t overdo it in such a way that you never want to do it again.

Despite the fact that the opening to the Columbia beckoned to me like a siren I opted for the safety of the marina. I have no idea what the currents are like and IF my triceps could handle it.

I could stop and start and turn around pretty easily and I was feeling good. I was musing about taking a kayak trip of the whole Columbia, but of course, that’s the lustiness of adventure speaking. I paddled around and felt like a teenager who got their driver’s license. I didn’t know I could record kayaking as a Strava activity or else I’d have proper evidence. Next time.

What about that other muscle group known as the upper body? I’m happy to report that the next day my triceps were fine. Okay, a little stiff but if anything I feel ready to go again. I’m not as sore as I thought I would be. That must mean that I yell and wave my arms at offending car traffic enough to keep those muscles toned.

What’s the attraction? Why kayak instead of a bike ride? Some cyclists run. I’m not a runner. However with all these activities you are communing with nature and enjoying the world around you in a different way and seeing life from another perspective. I’m always up for that kind of adventure.

I rarely choose anything over a bike ride, but sometimes you gotta get out there are try something else. Paddle over peddle? Sure, it’s every bit as fun. What about you? Ever been kayaking? What did you think?

Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate it and I hope you enjoy the rest of the month. Stay safe and take care.

Kayak Goddess. Nah, just kidding. It doesn’t have the same ring. Until next time, get out there and ride. Or paddle.

Bike Goddess

The Bike Goddess Boutique Garage

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Posted on July 25, 2022 by bikegoddess

One of the tasks that’s been on my to-do since April was the garage. I know what you’re thinking. It’s a garage, who cares? Let me tell you. I do. I never fully appreciated my garage until I didn’t have one. For a period of time we lived in a condo. It was not a great situation for the bikes. I thought I could downsize until it came to the bikes and the bike related accoutrement. I can’t. I like my stuff and I use my stuff. Once we moved back into a house with a two car garage I wanted one side devoted totally to bikes. Thank goodness my husband was on the same page. I’m sure you can understand that as a Bike Goddess I need space for research and development.

For my birthday my husband agreed to help me by adding some shelving and peg boards. I followed all the classic suggestions offered by The Home Edit and KonMari Rules and took the kit and caboodle out of the space and sorted it all. I was thorough and did a deep edit of anything that wasn’t getting used over the last few years. Since I had been considering this refresh for some time I had a hunch about some of the stuff that was going to be moved onwards. I organized like items together. I also wanted to organize for my commutes. What are musts for my day-to-day bike commutes. I considered what happens coming in and out of the garage every day and what specific essentials I needed to have close to my rig. Additionally, I wanted a work bench area, a spot for tools plus a place to showcase things I’ve collected over the years. I’m obsessed with bike bags and I wanted to display them. Yes, it’s a garage however there’s nothing that says it can’t be fun and creative too.

One area for bags and items I need access to daily.

Rain gear, bike stand and pump plus gloves and such for my commute.

Julia Child used peg board for small spaces and specifically for organizing her kitchen pots. Her husband was behind that idea so I thought I’d follow suit. I recycled peg board from the cupboards already in the garage and after a few refresher lessons from my guy on how to use the drill, I drilled the holes and put up the peg board to spotlight the gear I use every day.

If it didn’t spark joy then I moved it on in its “cycle” of life. The bag wall is one of my favorite things about the garage freshen. I love that I can see all the gorgeous bags and even though I don’t use them every day I know when I need a big waterproof roll top bag I have one, uh, four ready to serve.

How do you park multiple bikes? That’s the big question. We’ve struggled with how to park the bikes but ultimately I let the space speak to me. I noticed that our homemade bike rack looked a lot like the studs on the wall. So why not rest a tire against those when needed? I dismantled the rack my husband built (he used cabinet screws, so hello? That took all day!) and lined up the bikes. It’s given us more room in the garage and overall each bike is easier to valet.

Stash, stow and store the other items in bags and old bike baskets.

What about the other stuff? Whatever the sport there’s always gear. I have two long shelves for odds and ends that get intermittent use. This was the big addition to the space.

The big before. We’re measuring and cutting two boards to fit the space allowing for more accessible storage.

It doesn’t seem like much, but two long boards have extended the space in a way that exceeded my expectations. I used old shopping bags plus some older model bike baskets to stash, store and stow other like items. We needed room for some bike travel cases and the bike rack for the car as well, so those items are on the floor with the two long shelves above. All in all it works better than I imagined. Yes, these are things I dream about. You do you and I’ll do me. I love to organize and I’ve been like this since I was a youngster, so my 10 year old self was super stoked about the whole thing.

The garage already had some built in storage so I deep cleaned it all and added baskets I already had to organize more gear. I did not go out and purchase much for this refresh. Most of it was sorting and classifying and choosing what stays and what moves on. I figured it I haven’t used it in the last two years then I wasn’t going to use it going forward.

How much did it cost?

Shelves and brackets $150
Paint -$0 : Used what we had. I painted the bare edges of the shelves mostly to seal against the elements and because my guy said I had to.
Time -Most of the labor was done in a day. I’m still organizing and fine tuning out how I want things.
Baskets– 4/$60 total at Cost Plus World Market. Not pictured but they are great for gloves and hats and leg warmers or other gear that might be needed. I did search for some cheaper options but I also have several already in the space and I like that they’re not all the same.
$3 for the small storage bin I scored at someone’s garage sale (gotta love the irony) for the teeny tiny stuff like cleats and valve caps. I was going to buy a new one, but this works great so why not reuse it?

Using the phrase Marie Kondo uses, the whole space sparks joy now. Want a bike valve? Oh, I know exactly where that is. Need an Allen tool? Yep, I know where those are. How about tubes? I have an inventory.

Organizing the garage has had a liberating effect on me. I know where the gear I need is and I can get my hands on it immediately and that sparks joy!

How about you? Do you organize your bike gear? What are some things you do to make the gear you use all the time more accessible? Is there anything else you’d like to know about the bike “boutique” garage? Share in the comments.

Thanks for taking some time to read my blog. I appreciate it.

Here’s a small gallery of pics. Do you have a favorite? Have a marvelous day!

Bike Goddess

Le Tour de Imagination

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Posted on July 15, 2022 by bikegoddess

I’ve been watching Le Tour de France this summer. I’m always in awe of how fast, how far and just how this race comes together. Think about it. Twenty-three days and multiple countries on flats and in mountains and always right alongside rabid fans. It’s a spectacle that captivates my imagination. I stopped watching in 2017 because I was traveling in July. Then Paul Sherwin of the Phil Ligget/Paul Sherwin team of commentators for the Tour died in 2018 and I couldn’t listen. I missed their collaborative banter. They were such a great team of commentators whose “suitcase of knowledge” about the sport made me feel like I should sit up and take notes. It wasn’t the same without Paul. But this year with Bob Roll riding shotgun with Phil Liggett plus Chris Horner and Christian Vande Velde in the studio it’s been amazing. Watching these young riders primed and ready to attack is entertaing and fun once again. I’m not one for watching any other sport so take this all with a swig of your favorite sports beverage.

I’ve been entertained to such a level that I’ve taken my 2012 Trek Portland road bike (probably more of a touring rig) out for a spin on more than one occasion in the last several days.

Must be special if I’m putting on the cleats.

As a commuter I forgot what a road bike feels like. It’s a different sort of riding experience when you clip in and go. I’m amazed at how swift and agile the machine feels. Shifting is instantaneous and your heart pumps with a pace that makes you feel alive and ready to race and pace with anyone around. I immediately saw a rider in front of me and went full tilt to catch ‘em like a retriever eyeing a bird. Of course the guy was in his 70s and on a tricycle with a basket, but still, in my mind he was Chris Froome.

The 2006 Trek Portland is more of a touring rig, but still, she can move.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a racer but gosh it seems like such an exciting life. The bikes are exquisite and I love that the traffic is all in service to the riders. The cars are ready to serve each rider whatever they need; water, air, food, energy bar, a new bike, now that’s perfect.

My husband has stepped up to the challenge of watching with me too. “What’s the Green jersey?” He asks. “But the dots are mountains?”

It’s fun to realize what I know about TdF standings as if I’m a child who knows all the names of the dinosaurs. “He doesn’t have the legs today,” I’ll observe or when I explain how the riders need to cool down after a ride.

“I’m only watching this because of YOU.” My husband observes daily but it’s genuinely fun because the arena is the world. I mean how amazing is it to hear all the languages and see the sights and scenery. I especially love when the rider crosses the finish line and punches the air with the herd of helpers gathering around with water and congradulatory pats and shoulder squeezes.

I understand why people speak in sports metaphores when I watch the Tour. Life is full of stages and some are mountain stages when others are flat and steady but all in all you get up, get dressed and go out there to see if you have the legs. You see what you can do. Some days you’re in the peloton just keeping pace, helping your mates and other days you’re on the podium.

Thanks for reading. Have yourself a Yellow Jersey sort of day.

Get out there and ride. Stay safe.

Bike Goddess

Piano Moving

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Posted on July 8, 2022 by bikegoddess

It’s a simple question that could be answered simply. How was your year? The year refers to my school year which typically starts at the end of August and ends in mid-June. Of course it could be answered with words like busy, hectic, demanding, difficult, arduous, tough, exhausting, and even Herculean. I’m coming up on three weeks of summer break so far.

Readers, thanks for being here. I’m happy to be here too and I’m working on catching my breath after a school year that can best be described as riding a tandem alone on a gravel road with a 12% grade.

A little bit about myself. When I’m not Bike Goddess here on the blog and out on my bike, I’m a teacher. I’m a teacher-librarian which means I moved out of the classroom to be a school librarian over 25 years ago. I got another Master’s degree and became a teacher-librarian or what many call a Library Media Specialist. In some states you are required to have a degree in library science, media or learning resources. I enjoyed being a classroom teacher and I’m glad that I was able to move into library media early in my career. That is the perfect fit for my skills, interests and passions and I love it. Yes, I’m hooked on reading and I love working with tech and research so together all these skills mean that every single year is different. People often think “You must get tired doing the same thing year after year,” and that’s never been my experience. Very little is the same year to year and the last two years have been formidable.

Working hard on cleaning the plates at a restaurant in Thessaloniki.

I always have grand ideas about summer break. If it were up to me and me alone, I’d be in the Greek Islands on a bike roaming about from beach to beach eating dolmathes and sardinis and Greek feta with some Αλφα beer but Covid and travel uncertainties and the general malaise of pandemic and politics have grounded me. At the three week mark I usually start to let go of bits of the previous school year. I’m still on track with that. It’s the point where I’m processing the year and my subconscious have formed a sort of story for me to explain how I feel.

Maybe you’ve seen the posts about how teachers aren’t doing well. Maybe you’ve even read about how there are massive shortages in staffing and substitutes. Perhaps you’ve seen additional posts about how teachers can’t focus on their own mental health because of the constant barrage of attacks on what they’re teaching and how. It’s hard to explain how it’s different than a “normal” year since we haven’t been operating normally for quite some time.

Recovery is real and educators are in recovery mode now. While I don’t speak for all educators I can tell you that we’re all hemming and hawing about the state of affairs. When you try to be positive there’s some naysayer ready to meet your glee with doom. July has always been the month where I feel myself loosen up a bit like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. It’s the threshold month when I start to recognize myself in the mirror and feel a tiny spring in my step again. That means that the focus, like when you’re getting your vision tested, becomes clearer and clearer with each passing day. It’s when I can see for myself who I am again and I start to smile and laugh with less restraint. It’s when my pace becomes steady and I settle into a cadence that feels restorative.

Couldn’t find a picture of a grand piano so you get another bike in Greece photo.

My subconscious revealed to me in a dream about moving a grand piano what my year was like. In my dream another colleague told me to move a grand piano to an auditorium several miles from my school. In the dream the colleague said to “just get it done” and his tone was hostile and aggressive. I said it wasn’t really my job to do that. They’d have to hire a moving company or get the school district to make the move. “Not happening,” he said. “It’s you!” In the dream I resisted until I didn’t. I caved into the pressure or expectations to move the piano. Next scene, with a group of several students we moved the piano on its tiny little wheels over the streets and down a hill amidst traffic to the auditorium. None of us alone had the strength of Theseus . We worked together. Hmmmm. Very interesting Sigmund.

I woke up thinking about both the absurdity and truth in the dream. It was another intensely challenging year in which I felt that there was nothing I could do to make things right. I overcompensated with certain tasks which left me bereft in my own life with things I missed doing, like writing and resting. The year was as hard as moving a grand piano across town.

We all have our pianos don’t we? I don’t know what your piano is but I do know that if we don’t rest and if we don’t take care of ourselves the weight is unbearable.

Thanks for hanging out with my blog today. I appreciate it.

Have a great day and get out there and ride your bike.

Be safe.

Bike Goddess

The 4-1-1 on 3-1-1

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Posted on May 30, 2022 by bikegoddess

If it was raining would you know if someone threw water in your face? I ask because last week while riding home from school a kid in the backseat of a car emptied his water bottle in my face and then threw the bottle at me.

Not being one to litter, I stopped and got the bottle and I was so confused by the whole incident I didn’t get a license plate but I did get a good look at the kid and the white Scion hatchback so even though I couldn’t “catch” them to throw the liter bottle back in the car and say, “Hey, dingdongheads you dropped this!” I did manage to think it over well enough to compose a decent blog post.

Over time I have been extremely lucky and had very few encounters like this out on the road. As the rain got a bit heavier and I thought about the times I’ve yelled back at a driver I can say it’s enough to count on one hand.

This sitch was different because there was someone else driving and the kid in the backseat seemed to be gleeful about his actions. I heard him laugh as if he heard a hilarious joke.

After retrieving the bottle I thought I saw them on the opposite side of the road but my glasses were dotted with drops and the din of rain and traffic noise made it hard to tell what was going on. Plus, there are lots of white cars out there.

Once I got home I was telling my husband and he said I should report it. Uh, how do you do that? It’s nonemergency and so do you call 911 or is there another number.

It’s 3-1-1 and there’s a dispatch operator who took down the details I report and asked me a few clarifying questions and then an officer called me to go over the the incident.

Bear in mind that I ride this route every single weekday. Monday through Friday, if I’ve ridden my bike to school I’m very likely riding this East-West stretch home. It’s wedged between a high school and a middle school and in a dozen or more years I’ve never had something hurled at me. Drivers along this segment are accustomed to the bike lane which is what makes this whole event all that much more startling.

“Would you recognize the kid if you saw him again?” Inquired the officer.

“Yes, I defintely could recognize him. He had reddish hair, no mask so I could see his face. He was 15-16 years old.” I replied.

“Yes, that’s consistent with other reports. Were you injured?” He wondered.

“No. The bottle missed me but it was certainly aimed at me. He emptied the water in close proximity to me and seemed like I was being splashed with extra water. It was as if I hit a branch on a tree that was heavy with water on its leaves. But I wasn’t near a tree. Then I saw the bottle and heard his laughing.” I explained.

“Hmm. Do you want to file a report in such a way that you have a case number?”

“No. I want you to know in the event that it happens again.” I continued.

“There have been other reports of a kid in a white hatchback who throws stuff at people walking or riding their bikes. We think he’s being picked up at school. That’s my beat, so I know.” The officer elaborated.

“Really?! Wow! I ride this all the time and this is a first, but I’ll keep an eye out.” I declared.

“Yes, and you have my number so if anything comes up don’t hesitate to let me know.”

After I hung up I felt like it was a small win for bikers. I also loved hearing the word “beat” in the conversation and I thought maybe he had one of those notebooks you jot down notes in like all the cop shows.

The next day, Friday, I took off like normal but when I got to the spot where the bottle was thrown I stopped for a moment to see if I got the cross street correct. Yes, it was 144th. Okay, good. Behold in front of me was the hatchback.

I took a few pics of it and called the officer and gave him a license plate. This is consistent with the other part of the story in which I heard the deliquents again on the other side of the street. I just couldn’t see since they probably passed as I was passing on the other side. They didn’t have school on Friday, but my school did, so I was out and about gathering evidence, I mean riding to school.

Overall, this was an interesting experience. The 4-1-1 on calling 3-1-1 is that you should do it. What’s the worst that can happen? You take a little bit of time to report an incident which could lead to helping out the next person. It’s important to the safety of others if you or someone else is harmed or threatened.

Be safe out there! Don’t let the dingdong heads keep you from enjoying the ride. As I mentioned before this incident was rare but it rattled me until I got it on the record and now I feel like I did my civic duty and maybe helped someone in the future. There’s strength in numbers and my dear readers and fellow bikers, we have to stick together.

Watch your 6 o’clock and get out there and ride.

-BG

Snow Much MORE Fun on a Bike

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Posted on April 11, 2022 by bikegoddess

Trek Stache 5 in her natural element: SNOW!

Woke up to snow and a late start at school. Then within an hour or less it became a full closure. This day brought to me by Mother Nature and I decided to go ride. I went out early and the neighborhood was quiet and chill. Literally! I watched a bunch of videos from this cool creative person on YouTube called AkubraBromptonGirl and that gave me the motivation I needed to make a video about my romp in the powder.

It was in the forecast but it was “frozen mix” not a full on blizzard! Anyway, it’s fun and I realized how much fun it was to just get out there and ride plus make a video about it.

April SNOW showers. Enjoy!

How’d I do? Is this video okay? I haven’t done one in a long time. They take so much more time than writing, but I do enjoy getting in there and making them. Would you like another about the awesome rain pants from @Showerspass?

Thanks to #Akubra for inspiring me to dive in and try.

Have a great day and get out there and ride!

Best,

Bike Goddess

Oh Sunny Day!

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Posted on April 7, 2022 by bikegoddess

Spring Break is almost always a rainy mess where I live. I know I complain too much about the gray days but I admit that I love where I live and I can’t imagine life anywhere else. Spring Break usually means a week of Zwift rides. Today was the exeptional exception and I had a great 40-mile bike ride out to the Sellwood Bridge and back again.

As is often the case the day started out cold but the sun was up and at ‘em so I began to entertain the idea of a long ride while we were out to breakfast. I spent some time on Tuesday cleaning my bike fore and aft since there was encrusted bits of winter clinging to everything. Like a homeowner who knows exactly what stair creaks in the house, I knew my bike was overdue for some lube and general cleaning.

I spent an hour or more deep cleaning and despite the fact that the rear derailer is still a bit greasier than it should be my bike looks brand new. Of course I went for a ride to show off and got caught in the rain. That was Tuesday and I only went 12 miles, but still, I was feeling exultant about my work. Also I’m only too happy to put on my new rain pants. I have to blog about my new Showers Pass Transit rain pants. They are the best ever! I mean they are a game changer!

After breakfast, an indulgence on trio of French toast, I decided to try for Sellwood. The reason this is a big deal is because I’ve only ridden out there a few times and it’s usually during the summer when the days are especially long and I can usually find someone to ride with me. On this occasion I just thought I’d go it alone. No big carved in marble plans, but the opportunity to try.

The first big news is that a land bridge that’s been under construction for the last several months reopened and it’s my direct route to the I-5 Bridge. What a primo upgrade! I mean it’s amazing to traverse this route now. The areas that were gutted and rutted are made smooth. Truly an Hallelujah sort of moment for me.

The Vancouver Land Bridge got a new surface. It’s bliss!

I did a couple of errands and then decided to go for it. By this time it was getting warmer and I was regretting wearing my puffy coat but it’s Portland and I could probably ride naked and no one would notice. I went through the Columbia Slough which was the perfect viewing deck for both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.

Columbia Slough (slew) with Mt. Hood in the distance.

Like many things I haven’t done in awhile I was trying to remember how I wanted to get into downtown Portland. There are many routes but which one did I want to use? I almost always take the Broadway Bridge but I wasn’t certain if I wanted to go that way. There are several homeless encampments and friends have said that some areas should be avoided. But as long as I don’t get a flat I’m good, so I figured I’d forge ahead and if my Spidey sense kicks in somewhere along the way then I’ll go another direction. I have nowhere to be today except in the moment with my Sunny Day.

Everything was perfect. I mean picture perfect. I rode and rode and rode some more. I thought about how seamless the routes and trails and roads connect and I felt thankful to live here and to have been here since the beginning of the bike boom. While I often listen to a book or music I didn’t do any of that today. I listened to the air, watched the birds and squirrels. I felt warmth of the sun and watched the light sparkle like glitter on the river. I heard the wheels on pavement and the hum of my perfectly lubed rear cassette and I felt like this has been the moment I was waiting for over the last two years. It felt ever so slightly normal. I went from Vancouver to downtown Portland and then over the Sellwood Bridge and then took the descent into Oaks Bottom and rode along the Springwater Trail and then over the Tilikum Bridge and back into the city and home again. Three hours and 15 minutes to do 40.97 miles.

Unless you’re worried that I’m living in some sort of Bike-topia, there was an incident with a car wherein the driver cut in front of me in pursuit of a parking space. The driver’s window was down so I yelled at her that that was a dangerous move. She sheepishly apologised and I yelled, “Well, that’s not good enough.” I could have used some stronger language, but she did seem sorry.

Tons of greenboxing in Portland. Yes, that’s my riding bunny.

Out to Sellwood is one of my favorite routes because it takes me along the Willamette Riviera (River) and it brings back scores of great memories of my adventures when I was a youngster in high school exploring the city. Back when I was just discovering how much I loved bicycling everywhere. There was nothing like the current network of paths but there are still some spots that remind me how far the city has come. How far I’ve come as well.

This was the ride I didn’t know I needed. One of those great rides that remind you that you’re gonna be okay. That life is heartbreaking and yet you can still get on a bike and find a path and move forward. That’s a good day in the saddle.

The Tilikum Crossing Bridge open to the streetcar, bikes and peds.

The view from Fort Vancouver on my way home.

I didn’t go to Hawaii or someplace else for Spring Break. It’s not that I didn’t want to but I’m not ready for that sort of tourist travel yet. I was in Chicago recently not by choice but because my Uncle Harry passed away. I have more to say about that but this was the post that needed to be written today. It’s harder and harder to find our happy. Everything seems hard and it’s not like a bike where we can just shift and make something less difficult. I have two more days of Spring Break, then the weekend and then back to school. Today I had such a brilliant, beautiful ride that it was better than Hawaii.

Not better than Greece, but not much is.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I appreciate it! What’s a ride that makes you happy? Tell me in the comments.

Now go on. Get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

The Tooth of the Matter

Aside

It’s the four day weekend and I’ve been waiting for it like it’s a long lost love. Four gorgeous days to not work. Four spectacular, wait what is this pain? Why does my head hurt and did Rocky give me a right hook on the, holy mother of pearls, this pain is like a brain freeze married a migraine and this was their offspring. Needless to say my stunning four day weekend kicked off at Urgent Care where I haven’t been since long, long before Covid and it will end Wednesday with a root canal.

It’s hard to fully capture all that was for the last four days but I will say thank the gods of Olympus and science for drugs because pain associated with teeth is torture hence the whole Marathon Man movie and I can’t even comprehend how people got by without the powers of numbing.

It didn’t start out with my tooth however. I’ll say that things were off a week ago. I didn’t feel myself and my neck and head were not feeling full range and normal. I felt tired but doesn’t everyone feel just a little off? I pushed through and by Wednesday last I had done myself in. I missed lunch and didn’t drink any water at school because masks and Chromebook pandemonium and classes and yeah, I did not take care of myself and I should have done something but what can you do? The long and the short of it is simply that there’s not enough me to go around and everyone is pushed to the max. I messed up. Thursday I felt like I would do better but my jaw was aching and I thought TMJ. I’m grinding and gnashing at night and that’s also part of the package right now. I’ll make it and it’ll be okay. But it didn’t get better.

On Friday I was moderately better. I went for a 10 mile bike ride and took some banned books like Maus and New Kid to the Little Free Libraries near my house and the ride perked up my soul, but not my body. I thought maybe the cold will loosen up my jaw. Maybe I should chew some gum? Sure, let’s put my whole face in the cold air like a big dog with its head out the window of a truck. I felt fleeting relief. Once I got back home and got inside the house, my head felt like it was imploding and exploding simultaneously. I was balled up and whimpering and once “the episode” passed I called the Advice Nurse to find out why I hadn’t heard from my doctor and then they suggested going to Urgent Care.

This is one thing we haven’t done during Covid. Thank goodness that we’ve been pretty healthy and all so this was a first. Husband drove me and waited. I didn’t get seen right away, but they did get an EKG and then like dinner at a fancy restaurant they texted me when my “care team” was ready to see me. By this time the pain feels like it’s starting to pool on the right side and settle in my jaw.

I’m escorted back and wait behind the curtain and I’m feeling okay but there are these waves of excruciating pain that are definitely not okay. What the heck is this? Of course I’m an expert on all things TMJ because I’ve read six articles on WebMD and I’m massaging my jaw. In the faux room across from there there a man who’s had a work related injury and a small cut is becoming a “gusher” and I think to myself that pain seen is easier to treat and mine so I’m wondering what happened to him and he’s talking about tourniquets and clotting blood and the nurse says in a gentle tone, “I can’t tell if you’re looking away because of the pain of the blood.” Oh dear Athena, what is going on over there. I want to fling open the curtain and offer my help but my only training is Gray’s Anatomy, so I’m probably no use to them. I hear muffled sounds and grunts and I’ve been waiting for 35 of the 15 minutes they initially said. I have determined that my pain seems to be most intense below my right ear. Is that my tooth then? Hmm?

In my curtained cubical a nurse pops in to apologize and she gives me an ice pack and I practically dive for the plastic bag of joy. She says it won’t be much longer but they’ve had some emergencies. Yeah, I get it I say. Bleeding sounds bad.

Veins take blood away from the heart and arteries to, so look at me. Maybe I can help over there? Nah, let’s not offer. But now the person says that a vein was nicked and they’ll tighten the tourniquet until the doctor can come and advise.

Oh, my gods!

Now the nurse asked if the guy has to work on Saturday.

Mumble, mumble from the guy.

“You need to take it easy. We can give you a note. You don’t want to stress this and you’ll need to take some time to heal.”

Swoosh. My curtain flies open and it’s all about me now. He’s Dr. Matt (I thought only chiropractors introduced themselves by their first name. I’m processing the blood guy and the wait did he say Dr. Matt or did he just say Matt? Why can’t I concentrate in here? He’s very tall. Like 6’5″ and he assures me that he’s there to help me. “Tell me more about how you’re feeling?” Turns out his wife is a Gnasher so he can tell but he’s pretty sure that it’s not TMJ because those symptoms don’t just come on like this did. No elevated blood count that would reveal an internal infection. Lymph glands are fine. Heart is great. Blood pressure is great. Yeah, nothing left but the teeth.

Appears that my right molar is discolored and that’s where his expertise ends and I’ll need to make contact with my dentist.

Saturday was spent on pain killers and penicillin with some fitful naps and not much eating. Sunday I begged for some relief. Thank goodness I wasn’t pushed so far over the edge that I sold a bike to relieve my pain, but I had a partial root canal to relieve the pressure and he said the words I was most afraid to hear, “No bike rides for a few days.”

There’s truth in teeth. Seriously if someone wanted to torture me they’d have to go through my teeth. It’s so sensitive in there and even when you’re given some relief you start to confess things. When I was getting my partial root canal and the dentist was numbing and novocaning, he said he’d go give my husband an update on how I was doing. I called after the dentist about my husband and cautioned, “Be careful, he’s prickly and he bites.” When it comes to teeth and pain in the mouth regions I will cave.

Wednesday I get the real deal and the tooth of the matter is that I’m looking forward to putting this four day weekend in the rear view mirror. I know there are better ones ahead.

As far as the guy in the room across from me I can only hope that he took a few days off and his days are brighter also.

Thanks for reading!

Get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

Year of the Tiger(s)

Aside

Born in Detroit but also Year of the Tiger

Happy Lunar New Year! I like that it’s a new month and another new year. January was intense for me. January is usually the one month out of the 12 that sort of comes with too many expectations and it has this never-ending quality which is overwhelming. It was challenging to ride and you’ve read my ongoing complaints about rain, so January was a slog.

January is all business. I usually set some goals like how many books I want to read this year (100) and how many miles I want to ride (5,000) and other than that I’m going to enjoy the days and the seasons and see what comes. Not too many plans. I’d like to post more on my blog, but that’s a very indefinite goal. I noticed I posted the first part of last and I’ll admit with my Tigers shirt I felt a post coming on. I know if I’m too definite I end up disappointing myself so when the muse speaks I listen and try to write.

What else? Maybe traveling will come back into view, but if it doesn’t I’ll have to be okay with that. Maybe I’ll get the basement of the house finished but it’ll have to be okay if that doesn’t pan out either because I’m content and I’ve learned over the last two years that that’s a gift all by itself.

I won’t hedge my bets this year on anything and I’ll tame the tiger in me a bit and try to nurture the calm instead of getting riled up. That’s important for the Tiger born since we’re often “hungry for excitement” and I agree that I often look for mischief and even when I try to avoid it, well, it comes my direction anyway.

Ox and Goat are considered the “luckiest” signs in the Chinese zodiac and apparently wearing red will bring you luck in your birth sign year. Maybe I should buy a red bike? Riding a red bike would certainly be the luckiest way to celebrate, don’t you agree? Red isn’t my favorite color, but let’s agree that red bikes are attractive. Have you ever owned a red bike? My first bike was red. It also had three wheels, but it was a beauty.

I am superstitious. I’m Greek, so I was trained in the ways of my grandmother, my yiayia, that itchy palms mean money coming your way and you enter a house with your left foot and you always spit to bring good fortune and toss salt behind an unwanted guest and they’ll leave. I think a red bike for good luck makes sense. There’s one Greek superstition that involved the color red. If you and someone else are talking and you both same the same thing at the same time, like when you say, JINX, well to the Greeks that means that you and the other person are going to have a big argument so you touch red cloth to bread the spell. I know, right? You can’t make this stuff up. A red bike seems to make the most sense.

As the sun sets on one month and we get closer to Spring, life starts to feel less dark. Yes, there’s more light and we’re waking up out of hibernation and it feels good. Winter won’t last forever and we can all roar into another month. I may not see the sun often enough but when I do I try to take a picture so I can remind myself that it’s going to be okay.

Thanks for reading. Greeks also like to say, “Good month” or “Καλο μηνα” at the start of each month. That’s less a superstition than it is a good omen. Now where’s my evil eye? (called το ματι in Greek. Wards off the bad stuff.

Until next time. Take care.

Bike Goddess

First Ten (miles) of 2022

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Posted on January 2, 2022 by bikegoddess

The snow came last week and the cold persists into the new year. Meanwhile I think of the white beaches of Naxos or Paros or Santorini because this Goddess can’t warm up. The nippy temps nip at my eyes, masked face and I think I’ll never been toasty again. This isn’t a blog post about how I don’t like the chilly temps. I do enjoy the seasons, my only wish is that they were all like summer. Mostly I’m kidding. All the season have their charms, however, when you are a year-round cyclist and bike commuter you want the weather to cooperate.

On New Year’s Eve I went for a ride and I underestimated the wind chill and the general arctic feel of being outside. My two layers were not enough and I then I succumbed to the nippy air and biked less than six miles and complained about it for at least an hour after I got home. I am not new to this topic. I wasn’t thinking. I have all the right gear and I can only conclude that because the sun was shining I suffered from the delusion that it wasn’t all that bad. Often this is the case in the Northwest. That’s why sometimes you’ll spot someone outside in shorts and a t-shirt when it’s in the high 30’s but the sun is shining like it’s 80.

Admittedly, I was flummoxed about how I could be duped. Wishful, optimistic thinking perhaps?

Today being the first day of 2022 I wanted to go on a local ride in Portland. However it was 23 degrees when I got up and then it warmed to 26 and then my husband did the unthinkable. He made this roaring fire and I sat and enjoyed every ember as though it were a gift from the heavens.

The New Year’s Day ride was set to start at noon. I saw some posts on Instagram and it looks like 70+ brave souls were out there. The fireplace was holding me captive so despite “registering” for the ride I bailed. In the hopes that the temps would climb to 30 degrees later in the day I started planning my own 10 miler around my neighborhood. How did I manage? I layered up as if I was about to head out for the peak of Mt. Hood.

Getting dressed for winter bike rides is similar to climbing a mountain— you have to begin at the base. I started with a two foundation layers; a thermal long-sleeve t-shirt and a merino wool hoodie. Then added a SmartWool jacket with puffy core. My favorite jacket is a Gore insulated jacket that I’ve had for years. It’s perfect at 45º but not enough for today’s temps without a windbreaker, so my ShowersPass windbreaker to the rescue. I bought an XL for just this sort or layering. That’s 5 layers. At this point I wasn’t sure in which layer my phone was hidden. I had to frisk myself. I added fleece lined thermal bike tights and my heaviest DeFeet wool socks. I could still bend in all the right places and generally move, so it was time to test it out.

I lasted for 10.2 miles and 49 minutes. I feel like I could have gone a bit longer but my hands could turn water into ice cubes. Consequently there are no pics because the thought of peeling off my gloves to snap a selfie was unbearable. All in all the layering test was successful. I know that my gloves are in dire need of an upgrade. It’s always something! I have a set of bar mitts but I’ve never had much luck with them. That’s tomorrow’s project.

Mother Nature is a formidable opponent. I know winter won’t last forever and I know that as a cyclist I have to be more tuned into exactly what I need to be comfortable, safe and climate controlled on my bike.

When I say, “Get out there and ride” I mean it, however, make sure you’re ready for the elements.

Happy and healthy 2022 to all.

Thanks for reading!
Bike Goddess

May All Your Rides Be Merry and Bright

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Posted on December 24, 2021 by bikegoddess

Isn’t this the best? From a local bike shop and nonprofit in my area. You can vote for their window. It is the best, but I am biased. Choose BikeClarkCounty.

Here’s a short post to say thank you for being out there following this blog and sharing your insights. Even reading a post here and there helps motivate me. When I see the notification that someone has said something or Liked the post I’m overjoyed and feel less alone in the vast universe.

We know all our rides are not merry. Yesterday someone was parked in the bike lane and up ahead of the parked car there was a police car and the officer was alongside the offending vehicle telling the driver that they were parked in a bike lane and “You can’t be here. I’ll let you off today in the spirit of the holidays, but—see look here (pointing at me) there’s a biker and you’re making her go into traffic because YOU are in the bike lane.” It was a Christmas miracle and had me smiling all the way home.

Some of my treasured bike-related ornaments. Plus look at that ribbon! I found that on Etsy.

I give you my thanks for reading, following and generally liking my blog posts. Plus check out these pretty ornaments! I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. May you find your days merry and bright and may there be no cars in or near your bike lane.

Be safe out there.

Bike Goddess

Attitude of Gratitude

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Posted on November 25, 2021 by bikegoddess

What a great 25 mile ride! I didn’t stop for much. No commute, just a nearly perfect 25 mile jaunt around. About 3 miles into my loop this tree stopped me. A tree right had fallen across the path. I went around. Thanksgiving Day, weather permitting I like to go for a pre-feasting ride because it’s often quiet and there’s sights and smells and sounds to take in. I never plan it, I go and see where the mood takes me.

I am thankful for the time to reflect on life. In my mind, I roll in and out of memories of this holiday in the past and how happy it makes me to recall my grandparents, parents and cousins. It’s not what is was. Every year seems more and more removed from those ol’ days and that’s okay. I’m still thankful for the memories and they make me who I am. I’m thankful for another day. Another mile.

The fact of the matter is that there are always trees and brush and obstacles in our path. We have to be thankful for the obstacles too because they help us think and problem solve and consider options. You can’t have one without the other.

Thanks for being out there. Thanks for reading and riding and living life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bike Goddess

Racing A Roadie

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Posted on September 12, 2021 by bikegoddess

I wish I was a primo athlete who cared about racing with others, but the fact of the matter is that even if I cared (which I sort of do) I am not that type of cyclist. I learned that fact early. Last week on my regular commute to school I was in my zone listening to a book and a roadie came up on my left and started to pass me. Now keep in mind that I ride 11.2 miles to work and about 12 miles back home in the afternoon with a rambunctious day of working with middle school students in between so I’m pretty much tuckered out by dinner time. Being a teacher means you are active. Maybe some have some time to sit, but I rarely do. Teaching is a workout!

Back to the roadie who dared to pass me. He was in full roadie regalia and I saw him off to my left as I was scanning the streets and taking in the sparkling sunshine. He said, “I decided I probably shouldn’t be pacing off you. So I’ll just pass.” Suit yourself, I thought.

I turned my audiobook off and decided to engage. I launched into conversation, keeping pace with him side by side. He’s likely in his mid to late 40s and he used to race. I’ve never met a roadie who didn’t claim that they used to race. I usually say that I prefer touring to racing, but again there’s very rarely a follow up question about what sort of touring I have done. He says, “I’ve always thought of eBikes as cheating but I can see and hear that you’re working.” Good thing my glasses are tinted because I was rolling my eyes! I was carrying the conversation, so yeah, I was talking and keeping his pace of 19-22 mph in first level of assist on my Specialized Como Turbo eBike. I’m pretty sure I could have kept pace with the electric juice anyway, but I might not have stayed with him for 5 miles. Maybe. But maybe he couldn’t have either.

I was having a blast. But consider this if you will. I am not an athlete. I don’t claim to be athletic or even sporty. I am lucky to keep my weight in check and ride a bike. I have bike commuted for over 20 years. I am average height and weight and I work at eating my salads and not overdoing it on anything. I think even if hired a trainer and worked on speed and climbing and time trials I’d still only manage to be a roadie who could crank it out at 12-15 mph. I don’t have speedy legs. I don’t care about being fast. I do care about getting on my bike everyday and riding my rides and my routes and being in my bike-ish element. End of story. Also, I ride an eBike for commuting, errands and whatever else I want to do but that doesn’t mean I ONLY ride eBikes. I love all my bikes and I ride non-ebikes as much if not more than eBikes. Also it’s assist, not a freakin’ motorcycle or a mo-ped or a scooter. Good grief, people are weird about eBikes and honestly I think it’s bizarre and narrow-minded. Is a carbon fiber frame cheating? Is electric shifting somehow cheating? What about people who drive less than 5 miles? Should we shame them? I mean why didn’t they walk the mile to the store instead of drive? I digress!

He’s a fair-weather cyclist who likes to put in some miles before he goes to work and even though he raced when he was younger it’s hard to get in the miles now. He has had a few different brands of bikes and one of his favorite bikes was a Specialized he had in the 90s. He asked some questions about types of eBikes and he said he was interested in trying it out because clearly you could as I demonstrated get a good workout with one. Plus it could replace a car. I was pleased to hear him say something supportive.

As we got to the part of the conversation that was more, “Well, it was nice talking with you…” I told him to ride like he would normally and I’d pace him. Now whether he was showing off or not, I don’t know, but I paced him at 24.4 for about a mile and then he decided to make a left turn and we waved good-bye.

We like our categories, containers and levels don’t we? I wish we weren’t like that. Bikes are bikes and you should take care of them so they can take care of you. Bikes are transportation and exercise and touring and racing and cargo movers and carts and anything else you need them to be. If you see a person with a certain type of bike you assume things about them. I’ve see more than my fair share of roadies who didn’t look like roadies and I know I don’t look like much of a biker but let’s not let that get in the way of us riding our bikes. Just ride your bike!

Whatever your ride, enjoy it and don’t let anyone give you a flat tire of attitude about how, where, how far or what you ride. Just be you. Get out there and ride your bike and throw a wave along the way because that’s always encouraging.

Take care out there! How do you feel about other riders or bike or interacting with riders you meet on the way?

Thanks for reading.

Bike Goddess

Are We There Yet?

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Posted on August 12, 2021 by bikegoddess

The classic line uttered by so many of us. We were kids and wanted to get there so we didn’t have to share the backseat or snacks or play stupid car games. As an only child I had none of those issues. I loved having reign over the backseat and sprawling out with my books, workbooks and assorted distractions. But I do recall watching the signs along the way to signal we were getting close to being there.

Truth told, last summer was a different story completely. We were really alone. A few weeks ago I was out there riding my bike and a group of riders heading to one of the local Pedalpalooza rides asked me to join in. Now these are amazing rides with themes like Goth Bike Ride and Dead Baby Prom and Disco Ride plus so many more. I want to ride them all. But there’s something that tugs at me and says, “Nope, not for you. Not yet.” I waved them on and thought, I can’t. Thanks, but I’m not there yet. You might be there, but I am not there. Yet.

Where? You know. There. There is the place where you can be on a bike ride with others and not be consumed with doubt about their health or Covid-19 variants. There is trusting them to tell the truth about being vaccinated. There is not feeling compelled to ask for their vaccination card. There is when you can laugh freely at a joke without wondering about the germs scattered and if you just back up a bit to be safe.

I’m not there. I’m a small group person and the small group is part of a bubble that I do know and trust without question.

Lighthouses are socially distanced. Photo from a recent trip to the Puget Sound.

I know others who aren’t either so I take solace in the fact that I’m not alone in being cautious about being with others. Plus at this point I’m totally enjoying getting lost in my own thoughts or getting lost on a new route. My alone-time will continue.

There is the place and time before it all caved in. Before we all went into our respective caves and stayed apart. Many people have endured more than I can comprehend. If the mask and a vaccine is the least I can do to help others, then sign me up. I was talking with a man who lost his job because of the pandemic. My glass in half full. I’m grateful I have my job. I’m thankful my family and friend are well. I’m grateful for the couple of trips I was able to take this summer. It’s all good in my book.

In Chicago people were masked on the street and inside businesses. However, in the Puget Sound area when I went into a little beach shack on Boston Harbor I saw only two others who were masked and the majority were not. That Includes the cashiers. I couldn’t take it. I was extremely uncomfortable at the sight. I had to get out of there. It’s an anxiety that I’m not familiar with until now. I wanted to exclaim, “You might be there, but I am not there yet, so stop staring. I am a card carrying recipient of the vaccine and I am going to continue to wear a $%&! mask. Deal with it.”

The reality is that I may not be there for quite awhile. I miss the community of riders chatting it up and swapping stories, but not enough to risk my health and the health of others.

Are we there yet? The classic question is part of being a kid and learning how to annoy your parents with such skill that you ask the question often enough that you ultimately get the response, “NO! And stop asking!”

Whether you are there or not is not the point of this blog post. It’s merely to suggest that we respect each other enough to say, “I’m there for you when you feel like riding together again.”

That’s sweet.

Random sunset on the Puget Sound at Boston Harbor.

Thanks for reading my blog. You have no idea how motivating it is when someone clicks that STAR and LIKES a post. It makes me what to vault through the air like Simone Biles. Thanks for being here and there and supporting this little blog. You have yourself a great day and get out there and ride your bike.

Ride on!
Bike Goddess

BrompTuesday

Aside

How many miles does it take for you to know you have the right bike? I was thinking about that today when I took the adorable Brompton out for a ride. I always figured she’d be *just* the travel bike, but that’s silly because she’s such a wonder of engineering and she rides like a goat eats grass. She’s efficient and sturdy and she can go places other bikes can’t. I have hit the mark where my Brompton, (I call her Katniss) has 200 miles and I’m thrilled I have this marvel of a bike.

It took less than 200 miles to discover her talents. Today she seemed to be calling to me to take her on a trail not too far from my home. It’s wooded and rife with nooks and crannies that are fun to explore. It follows a creek and there are a few bridges to cross and it’s enchanting because there are grasslands and glens and city neighborhoods all around you.

Grasslands and glens abound on the Burnt Bridge Trail.

With its low center of gravity I feel nimble and quick on my Brompton, like Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance on wheels. I didn’t think I’d go on the trail today. I was riding around and then I went down a hill and knew I was close to the trail so I meandered about like I was looking for my glasses in the dark and found an entrance I’ve never used before. A little more and a bit more still and then I was on the trail and I kept going. The bike felt amazing. The ride felt solid and commanding. Note that I ditched both the saddle it came with and the Brooks Cambium for a Specialized saddle and all is well in the nether regions. I say this because saddles always need a few more miles of testing than bike frames require. Sometimes you have to try a few to find the right fit for your tushie. Here’s a link to the one I really like right now. The picture makes it look rather wide yet notice it on my bike. I love this one and have put this saddle on three bikes.

This is the right saddle for some BUT, not for me. I’ve had it for years but still my bum doesn’t love it.

Recently I had the rear rack added plus bigger wheels on the rack for when I take her into a store. At 200 miles I feel like my Bromptie is ready for anything. I do have a few bikes in my life because I love bikes and cycling. I don’t want to limit the Brompton to travel only so I was riding and wondering about commuting to work with my Brompton. People do it. I don’t know about that yet because I haven’t tried it. I hear people travel the world with their Bromptons and while I can’t do that quite yet I can say that she’s capable of any trips, even if it’s to the store or work.

I’m happy to have a Brompton in the fleet and I’d tell anyone who’s thinking of getting one to do so. They are spectacular machines that deliver a great ride.

Thanks for reading and following my blog. My bikes and I appreciate it. Have you ever tried a foldy bike? What did you think of it? If you have any questions please post them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you. I’m new but I’m loving the Brompton ways.

The 411 on The 606

Aside

If you’re looking for urban perfection then follow the trail to the 606. It’s an oasis for cyclists, runners, walkers, dogs, cats, birds, you get the gist. When I got my introduction, I thought, “Is this heaven?” The response, “It’s Chicago!”

My affinity for Chi-town, the Windy City, Second City, started at birth. My mother’s side of the family hails from Chicago. When we would visit nearly every other weekend I loved the tuk, tuk, tuk of the L, and I adored how when I stayed with my grandparents, we’d walk everywhere. Mostly to get bubble-gum ice cream outside the Sears Robuck. My Yiayia (Greek for grandmother) would hold my hand and we walk slow and steady so I could drink in the sights and sounds.

This post isn’t about the Memory Trail though, it’s about the 606, a.k.a. The Bloomingdale Trail. If you use Trail Link I’ve linked the map. At 2.7 miles you might think, “Meh, what’s the big deal?” Yes, it’s short in length but long in personality, character, art, landscape and history. It’s elevated too. Read that bit again. It’s elevated. Like heaven.

The eyes have it all and this ingenius art installation called Bird Watching by #JennyKendler from 2018 is stupendous. There are 100 photographs of birds’ eyes watching and each bird is named on a placard labeling the installation. I spent about 20 minutes studying it all and watching families interact with it. Pure joy!

As I was riding I couldn’t help but think that this trail is one of my new happy places. I’ve uncovered a secret. My cousin’s hubby told me about it and while he’s not a cyclist, he is a train guy. He’s an expert on all things rail and when he first told me about it I started to research it on Trail Link and then I wondered how I would ride to the trail. This is often a challenge when you hear about a possible trail and you’re lost when it comes to navigating easily to the trail.

It’s easy enough to get to if you’re staying/visiting/living in the Lakeview East area. I had some directions from him which I checked with the Maps App and Google Maps and it worked out pretty well. There were a few busy stretches but I don’t recall a street that didn’t have a bike lane. There’s a small portion on Cortland that could use some paving but all in all I arrived in under 20 minutes and then spent a few hours exploring the the 606.

14 feet wide with plenty of room to stop or pass.

It’s on Chicago’s northwest side and it’s built on an old rail line, hence the elevated bit. It sits about 20 feet above four of the city’s neighborhoods: Humbolt Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Bucktown. You get a distinct feeling that you are one with the world as you traverse effortlessly atop the city as if you are a rare bird trying to decide where to build a nest.

You can easily use ramps to get down into the neighborhood for a closer look at murals you can see from the 606.

On your left a mural and on your right an art installment then oh is that another mural and wait a statue and on and on for nearly 3 miles. The perfectly paved trail is 14 feet wide so there’s plenty of room for everyone. It wasn’t crowded and I had plenty of room even whilst people were walking with double strollers, big dogs, little dogs and inline skaters.

I regretted every picture I didn’t take, so I tried to take many pictures, but it’s hard to capture it all. There was a point when I was riding and these exquisite blossoms were waving at me and I felt like I was being caressed even visually massaged by the color orange. My senses were like fireworks on the 4th of July.

Orange you glad you’re learning about the 606?

I neglected to bring my handlebar mount but I did manage to get a little video of the trail. The flowers.

Chicago has an impressive trail system. According to Trail Link there are more than 200 miles of on-street protected, buffered and shared bike lanes. The 19-mile Lakefront Trail is possibly the most well known, and the 606 is worth exploring. Chicago is a great place for cyclists. Why is it called the 606? That’s the first three numbers of the zip code and the areas it goes through. The 606 is just one more reason to love Chicago. The 606 is worth riding again and again and in different seasons. Oh, there’s an idea! Yes, dear reader, I will return to the 606 and next time I write about it I’ll include more video.

Katniss Everbike (mentioned in the previous post) did a great job. #mybrompton

Can a trail be inspiring? Can a trail infuse you with enthusiasm? I think so. The 606 is inspiring. Well done, Chicago!

How about you? What trails have stayed in your memory. Share a trail you love. Thanks for reading. Get out there and ride your bike!

Bike Goddess

It’s A Bromptime!

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They look like clown bikes if you ask me. Honestly they do. How can they possibly even BE bikes that you could actually ride for more than a few miles! Bromptons are like a praying mantis with wheels or a pterodactyl that mated with a pennyfarthing. Yet, they are the most elegant, feisty and dynamic wee bike machines I’ve ever had the privilege of riding. They’re truly a marvel.

It started as a conversation with my husband who has a Brompton he bought a few years back. I thought I’d see if he’d let me borrow his for a trip to Chicago. Poor Bromptosaurus (as we named it) was just folded up in the garage and I thought I could coax him into letting me borrow his for the trip. But my plan backfired when he decided he’d like to get back into riding it.

We went to the bike shop to check on a used carrying case for the Bromptosauras and ended up buying a bike for me. Yeah, it all happened so fast and color played a big part in the whole story. We tinkered with the case and getting his bike inside properly and there was this used red one that I took for a test ride and one thing led to another and suddenly I was taking a test ride on an orange beauty that reminded me of Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games because the orange flame lacquer was shining bright and it felt like I was on a chariot with flames coming off the rear wheels. I have a very healthy imagination. Find me and #KatnissEverbike adventures on Instagram. Next thing I know, Clever Cycles has my credit card and I’m considering accessories and of course bike bags.

Katniss has a straight handlebar and all she needed was a dynamo light system and then Brompto and Katniss could be canoodling Brompties and the whole household could be happy.

New Bike Day with Katniss Everbike: June 6, 2021

Size matters when it comes to traveling with a bike. On a Brompton, it’s three folds and a pedal and with origami engineering it feels compact and creative. Such an engineering genius. Since new bike day Katniss and I have been to Chicago by train and then back home via plane and then I got a “special bag” from Ikea called Dimpa that’s a solid investment at $5 for traveling with your Brompton via car so we went on a short road trip with our bikes in the boot.

The Dimpa bag from Ikea is $4.99 and an easy way to pack up a Brompton for a road trip.

I’m enjoying a new lease on life with a bike that acts like a Yorkshire Terrier. It’s small, compact and ready to go, go, go. All bikes come with energy, and the Brompton seems to have an unbridled energy that begs you to get into places you might not go with a regular bike. You can take your bike inside a store or restaurant with you. With 6 gears you’d think you were on a short leash, but quite frankly I feel free and ready to ride off into any sunset, anywhere.

This is the kickstand fold. The sculpture is called The Kiss.

Now I know what you’re thinking. You can rent a whole lot of a bikes for what it costs to buy a Brompton. Yes, but… I have and I’m sort of done with that drama. Also, I’ve done that for more than a decade. This gives me more freedom to get out into the world and explore and travel.

I happened to meet a bike mechanic at the Specialized Store on Halstad in Chicago who used to work at Brompton. He said he loved Bromptons and he especially loved the people who rode them. “They’re cool people,” he added. I might have beamed a bit when he said that. I sure feel cool when I’m riding. They have a BMX sort of vibe. People do look at you a bit but and sometimes they ask questions about how Brompties ride. When you’re fluent in bike all that matters is that you’re enjoying the ride and experiencing the place where you’re riding. That’s all part of the adventure.

Do you travel with your bike? Tell me about it in the comments.

Until next time, get out there and ride your bike.

Stay safe,

Bike Goddess

The Heat Is On

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Not only a classic hit from the 80s, (Thanks Glenn Frey) but a reality right now living in the Northwest. Temperatures have been usually high. Before last Saturday three digit temps were a record from 1965. Our heatwave of 115 degrees is a shock to most natives. Even though I enjoy the sun I must admit that it has been intense and scary.

At least it only FEELS like 111 degrees.

Even seeing the big number 115º made me think of the hottest temps I’ve experienced in my life. The highest temperature I recall experiencing was 118º in Athens, Greece in mid-August. Not unusual for Greece. I know that on the coast-to-coast bike trip I experienced days of temps in the high 90s and mid-100s, but I remember 118º because I had to convert it from Celsius… (47.8C). When you do math like that in the real world, you remember it.

How do you ride in high heat? I’m not an expert, but I’d say you have to work around it. One thing I do is I start early. That’s my first big tip. I’ve set out early on my daily rides during this heatwave. On Sunday I went out at 5:30 AM and it was already in the high 70s and inching up a few degrees every few minutes. Monday I woke up a little later and set out by 8AM and today was a wonderful respite from blazing heat with temps in the mid 60s. I even broke out with a case of goosebumps for a few minutes going downhill. I wanted to take a picture because I didn’t think I’d ever feel chilly again. During the summer even if it isn’t a heatwave, I tend to head out early.

Always have water. Even better if you throw in more ice cubes and let it melt during your ride. Friday I wanted to go a different route but I changed my mind at the last minute because the heat was coming on fast. Not being one to admit I should turn around and head home I figured the best thing would be to go forward toward the other bridge and cross to make my way home. It would be 15-18 miles round trip and I had water so I did it. Sunscreen is a must! The heat is a formidable opponent. I had slathered on the sunscreen and I wore one of my favorite summer garments, my Terry Soleil top. I’m not making any money to tell you this, but these tops are the bomb! They are super lightweight, moisture wicking and UPF 50+. Plus even with long sleeves they are weirdly cool and I love them!

Another tip: Ride in the shade if you can. My route did not have much shade. I was out there and exposed to the rays of the day and without some of the aforementioned tips it could have been bad. I think the heat has reminded me that it’s important to pick routes closer to parks and keep my foliage friends nearby and ride in areas where you aren’t out there like cookie dough in the oven of life.

I’m bad about packing food, so another tip is you should pack a protein bar or some snack you like because you never know when you might need it. Since I’m so accustomed to commuting I don’t always remember to check my snack stash. Sometimes you can pick up something while you’re out but that may not be convenient so better to leave with something in your snack hole.

No, I’m not in Phoenix, it only feels like it.

“Shoot some over here!” It’s usually what I yell at someone watering their lawn if I happen to be going by their yard and the planets align and they spray me. I love those moments but people are becoming so much better about watering their lawns that it’s hard to find sprinklers running when I most need it. Take two water bottles and spray yourself with one. While we’re on the topic of water, another top tip for riding when the heat is on is to carry a bandana or just soak a shirt and wear it.

I’m a slow rider. Works great in the summer months to ride slowly especially in the heat. You wouldn’t want to sweat any more than absolutely necessary.

Thanks for reading. Try any of the ones I mentioned? How do you cope with riding in the heat? Any tips you want to share that you completely endorse for riding when the heat is on?

Feel free to comment.

Until next time… stay cool and get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

Where’s My Oscar?

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I’ve always wanted one and I think this year I really earned it. The whole line goes like this: “Where my Oscar for acting like everything is fine?” A friend of mine posted it and I’ve been thinking about it today. Nailed it!

The drama of the last few months of school is something I will spare you, dear reader. Suffice it to say that I survived and now I look forward to some fallow time to find myself and my life. I want to reclaim my time. I have some advice for you. If you know a teacher or anyone in education, please just say, “Thank you.” Maybe they deserve it, maybe they don’t, but I’ll tell you something, if I was a tire and this year was my tread, I’d be shredded.

This is from a kids bike. They know how to shred!

I’m a seasoned, veteran educator which is a diplomatic way of saying I’ve roamed the land with the dinosaurs. I love it, however, even I haven’t seen a year like this. I’m not okay. None of us are. Not really. We will pretend. We will continue to act like it’s fine. We will continue to do what we do. Friday was the last day of school and I’m slowly regaining consciousness.

The first Monday of break is always a real day. It’s not the Monday of Sunday night plans and preparations, it’s just a day full of unstructured time. Potential just waiting to unfold. The only thing I know for sure is that my first Monday will include a bike ride. Some riding and some writing will get me on the road the finding my way through.

Get out there and ride your bike!

Thanks for reading.
Bike Goddess

Out of True

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I’m a year older tomorrow. I don’t feel older. That’s good. I do feel wiser. Since my last birthday which involved a masked party in my mom’s garage (which was great), the pandemic has been the top story. This whole year has been about surviving the pandemic and getting the vaccine and pivoting in ways that let me know I should practice yoga. At work, remote and in person have given way to roomers and Zoomers. Every day has been an adjustment to an ever changing landscape of challenges. Like the spokes on a wheel help the wheel hold its shape. Each day of my 58th year has been a spoke helping to move me forward and get me through.

Spokes are pretty amazing when you consider what they do for a bike wheel. They take all the stress we put into our bikes. As I understand it, the spoke pulls the rim toward the hub. Spokes have to put up with all sorts of stress. Consider those potholes you hit because you’re watching traffic. Consider the time you lob yourself over a curb to avoid a squirrel or what about just trying to go a little faster and on the road only to end up on gravel or worse. The tension makes them stronger.

That’s all well and good for a wheel but what about life? It has been a very tense year. School is extremely stressful and even if you are doing your very best you feel like an utter failure everyday. Everyone does and you can’t even complain without hearing someone best your story with one of their own. “Yeah, you’re right,” I want to say, “You are working harder.” We have these signs on campus that extol positive messages. I’m all for that and yet I overthink them. One is “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Okay, so what should I do instead? I feel both driven and lethargic. I tell myself to focus on the students and think about them first and foremost and in the same moment I feel ignored by coworkers. An island. Alone. We are isolated and every meeting and most interactions fall short of community and connection.

A maladjusted spoke makes the wheel out of true and wobbly. I love the way that sounds: out of true. Whoa! Conversely if it is balanced than it is trued. It is aligned and working in the community of spokes. Truing in bikes is making those tiny adjustments and getting the spokes aligned so they can handle the stress and tension of the ride ahead. It takes work to true a wheel. Typically there are 24-36 spokes on traditional bikes. Truing a wheel can mean hours to weeks of time to get it into balance. We are making similar adjustments.

That’s just it. We all have to make tiny adjustments to be true and aligned and balanced to withstand the stresses of whatever is around the corner.

William Shakespeare said it best, “To thine own self be true.” He probably was not talking about bikes but he and I share the 23rd as our birthday and I think staying true and honest to yourself is as much about balance and alignment as a spoke is to a trued wheel.

Here’s to fair weather and trued spokes and another day to ride. Stay safe!

Bike Goddess

Thanks for reading. How do you find alignment and balance in times of stress and worry?

Thank you for visiting me on WordPress. I appreciate it. Feel free to add your Likes and Comments. If you really want to make my day, you could Follow the blog through WordPress. Re-blog and Share as long as you give credit and a Have a great day!

Bike Gallery: A Tribute

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Posted on April 8, 2021 by bikegoddess

My Kona after a tune up at the Bike Gallery on Sandy.

“How do I love thee, let me count the ways.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 43rd Sonnet is easily recognizable as one of the greatest love poems of the English language. People often quote the first line not just for their beloved but for stuff and things too. Possibly even bikes. What do you mean you don’t write sonnets to your bikes?

I do love bikes. The beauty of design and geometry of each and every machine is a marvel. The ending of the poem is where she hopes God will grant her the ability to love even after she has passed. I don’t know about bikes and the afterlife, but I do know that in this life I love bikes. That means that I also love bike shops.

One of my all time favorite bike shops closed recently. All six of them closed and then morphed into Trek stores. The first 1974 iteration was owned by a local man by the name of Jay Graves. Then in 2012 the 2.0 version opened with some changes but generally the stores still felt local. But a few weeks ago the 6 stores were sold to Trek.

When I saw the official announcement on Facebook with the name change then it sunk in.

I can have all the mixed feelings I want but it happened regardless. Bless me Father, I have a confession. It has been over a year since I’ve visited either the Broadway or Downtown Portland shops. Pandemic year and then add another year where I was crowned a Specialized Ambassador and I wasn’t popping in as much because of the Specialized connection. Don’t get me wrong though. I love bikes. I do have some favorite brands, and Trek is one for sure.

My 2006 Trek Portland after getting dolled up.

The Bike Gallery was the start of something beautiful in my biking life. It wasn’t just about the bikes though. It was the people. My biking life started at the Bike Gallery. The fine people at The Bike Gallery never missed a chance to say hello or chat with me. I always felt welcome. Such a phenomenal bunch over the years. I can’t even name them all but there was an ethos, a mindset that set them apart and set the bar by which I measure every bike store. Is it customer service or it is who they are? It’s a “You can do anything” sort of attitude that filled every conversation, every purchase and every goal. Simply said, they believed in their customers. Well, that’s a broad statement. They believed in me. There wasn’t a single sales person or mechanic that every made me feel like I couldn’t win a race or ride to the ends of the earth. They looked you in the eye and said, let’s figure out what you need. The customer experience was a conversation.

The Bike Gallery sales were momentous events.

When I couldn’t fall asleep the other night I stated counting Bike Gallery bikes instead of sheep. I was musing about how much I enjoyed Bike Gallery and wondering how many bikes I had bought there over time: I came up with 9.

Trek 520 touring

Trek Portland 2006

Gary Fisher Tasajara MTN

Kona roundabout 2012

Trek Lime (gift for my mom)

Electra Townie orange

Trek road bike, (For a friend who had his bike stolen)

Trek mountain bike (for husband)

Trek stache 5 (Fatty)

That doesn’t take into consideration a few friends who bought bikes from them as well. I even have a few that did a fitting with a fit expert.

Some of the bikes from The Bike Gallery.

Bike Gallery always had an incredible selection of bikes on display for you to admire. I always felt my eyes grow big with desire and plans. As a woman it’s always hard to find people (men) in a bike shop that take you seriously. I’ve always had this challenge. One man from another store even asked me if I was there to buy a gift for the “ol’ man” and I left. Note to bike any/all shops: never do that!

One of the bike mechanics, Pete, did this mount for my light (way back when) and it even had the Kona cap. Seriously, this was a work of art!

Bike Gallery always had great gear for women too. I never felt like gear for me was an afterthought like most bikes shops. “Let’s order a few bike tops for the ladies.” Of which most would be extra small. Instead I felt like buyers knew what I wanted. I was a priority. Women’s gear was not at the back of the shop or even behind the men’s gear, it was alongside and there was equal parts, right down to shoes and socks. It was impressive. They carried SheBeest, SheilaMoon and Sugoi products that no one else ever carried. Nearly every visit meant I’d buy a bike, something for a bike or gear for me. I rarely left empty handed. I have a few pieces that I are as timeless as pearls. They are key articles of clothing that continue even after years of use to perform superbly! Investment pieces. One of my favorites it a racing style sweater with Bike Gallery, Portland, OR on it. That’s the warmest layering piece I own and my go to when temps dip. I did notice a change in gear in 2012 when it was first sold. More Bontrager and less about accommodating more types of riders. I’m not a racer and bike shops need to think about the everyday rider.

Always smiles at The Bike Gallery. That’s me with Niko.

I always felt comfortable and not in the least intimidated by their experience or athleticism. Just good people selling good bikes and excited to share their passion of the ride and commitment to the community.

Their $180 winter overhauls was the best deal in town and so thorough you’d think you were getting a brand new bike. My bikes always came back feeling like they’d spent a week in a spa. Perfectly lubed and cleaned and ready for the next adventure.

I wish I’d said thank you more.

I wish I’d bowed down and kissed their cleated shoes.

I wish bought them a round of beers.

I wish I’d bought 9 more bikes.

I wish I hadn’t taken them for granted.

I never ever thought they’d be gone one day.

Nostalgia is like an upset stomach. Take an antacid, go to bed an hour earlier and it will pass. This has lingered. I feel sad that a Trek superstore bought them up, or they got sold or whatever the circumstances. Here are the details of the change.

Every bike event I ever attended always had a Bike Gallery tent and the mechanics helping people get back on the road. In the Seattle-to-Portland ride when some jerk put a mess of tacks in the road causing a massive pile up of flats, they were fixing tires like something out of Nascar, and getting people back on the road. Every Reach the Beach, Bridge Pedal, every event you knew to pop over and say hi and ask for some air or you could count on them to tighten, loosen or just be there.

Someone at the Sandy store did these great chalk drawings. This was one of his.

As the saying goes, don’t be sad it’s over; be glad it happened. I am glad I have such fond memories and while I am not a poet gifted with the skills to write a sonnet, ode or even a haiku, I can take a moment to thank the good people of Bike Gallery for a great ride.

Thanks for reading.

Bike Goddess

Have a great day!

Friday the 13th, 2020

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I’ve always been superstitious. That said, Friday the 13th has always been a lucky day for me. I never go into a Friday the 13th thinking something bad is going to happen.

I could never have imagined what happened on this day last year. 2020. It was the last Friday when life could be called normal. It’s the sort of life altering day that seems prophetic by the light of 2021. When I look at pictures of me and my students in the studio doing the news LIVE, or being together with our unmasked faces, I wonder if we had any clue what was ahead. Of course not. There was a massive run on books in the library and shelves were left in disarray when students learned that we would be starting Spring Break weeks ahead of schedule. It was a great wonderful mess that made me feel happy to have something they wanted. Books! But it was also paralyzing. There was an upcoming musical and the cast was commiserating in the library and clinging to each other but also looking to the adults for answers. We didn’t have many if any answers.

Chromebooks and books checked out in droves.

Then the doors were shuttered and we went home and our world of screens and Zoom meetings became our new universe. Schedules were completely overhauled and even though I’d had solid video editing experience at the juncture even I had to learn other tools. So many other tools.

Remembering that a year ago it seemed like there was no one else out. A biker’s dream!

We had 5 days to shift, pivot, swivel, think, mourn and wonder what was next. The anxiety could be seen in everyone’s eyes through the little Zoom screens. We all looked like the sun was too bright in our eyes or our brows were furrowed enough to create a unibrow of distress and uncertainty. Then we had “spring break” week to rest, but no one did. I worked. I was trying to think about what my job would look like and how I could help provide assistance to teachers remotely. I could continue to offer classes and record instruction and share the videos with teachers. There was a massive push for eBooks and audiobooks, so I used the remaining money in my budget to purchase those resources. It wasn’t much but it was something. I created a Google Classroom for students who wanted to join to have virtual contact with other kids in my school. I would post tasks, ideas, suggestions, videos, lessons every weekday during their breaks. It never stopped either. Even now, evenings, weekends, everyday is consumed by school.

With my commute less than 20 feet, my biking life changed drastically. Instead of going to and from school I would wait until the end of the day and ride to all the Little Free Libraries and stock them up with books from my home. I’d even move stock around if I noticed that one was brimming with books while another was nearly empty. I rode not to or from but around. I rekindled my love of the ride. Just to get out there and ride with no destination or task in mind.

Did you have a period of time when you sampled masks? I did. I tried one or 10 others to see which one(s) fogged my glasses the least. The weather was decent which made getting out easy and predictable.

Here I am a year later. I’m grateful that I’m healthy and one shot away from fully vaccinated. I’m employed and able to continue working in a job I love. I’m also grateful there’s a vaccine and that little by little the students are returning to school and life is starting to expand beyond my house and my school. I have a fashionable assortment of masks and all in all life is good. It is hard, but it is working out. It always was good, but a pandemic helps reveal all that is good.

My wanderings to every Little Free Library within 20 miles of my house.

Saturday the 13th of March 2021, I rode my bike on a gorgeous sun shiny day. The daffodils are popping up like sunshine at your feet and I see the rhododendrons are also starting to flower and I can’t help but think of the lyrics from Sheryl Crow, Soak Up The Sun, “…It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.”

Today was a good day. I hope your’s was too.

Take care out there.

Be safe.

-Bike Goddess

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog. I appreciate it. Feel free to add your Likes and Comments. If you really want to make my day, you could Follow the blog through WordPress. If you already do, thank you! Re-blog and Share as long as you give credit. Have a great day!

Snowlandia

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This Trek Stache 5 is the best snow bunny.

Winter has fallen. Snow is not unheard of in my corner of the world, but it doesn’t often stick for an hour let alone a day. Flurries were expected yesterday but the weather has a mind of its own. It has been snowing all day and now it’s as if confectionary sugar has been scattered everywhere. I have learned not to get too attached to the snow. Instead I seize the moments however sleeting and take a quick ride or at least a few pictures and marvel at its beauty. The bright blanket of white that both confuses and awes young and old alike.

Snow has a quiet quality until it mixes with freezing rain. As it begins to transform into icy pinheads you can hear it in the trees and its audible droplets turn the powder into sheets of ice as soon as they hit the ground. The freezing chorus whips into song as the wind blows. I don’t fancy riding on it when it’s icy. I prefer the powder. Admittedly wearing a mask and riding in the snow means I can’t see a flake in front of my face. Very few people out in it because we just don’t know how to drive in this weather since we seldom have to do it.

It could be gone by the morning. It’s a welcome change from the usual weather du jour. The forecast says more is on the way and it won’t be turning to rain until Monday. I like the possibility that it will linger a bit longer. Like a guest you didn’t even know you missed. I’ll give credit to the pandemic for making me more aware of the subtleties in changes. Everything small feels miraculous and worthy of note.

Brisk ride at midday. Perfect powdery combination for a ride.

Me in the mirrored eye leaving after my first dose of the vaccine.

In other news, I got my first dose of the vaccine today. That is notable since this day was all about getting to the site to get the shot. I was considering biking to the clinic or taking the bus, but my guy drove me. In Portland there were vaccinations scheduled to be administered at the Convention Center and in Vancouver at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Both were closed due to the snow. I wasn’t nervous about getting my vaccine but when the nurse told me that the other sites were closed I felt waves a gratitude that it worked out for me. This whole thing has been like gambling. In 29 days it will be March 13th when life in the pandemic started. My school building closed and the whole pandemic-quarantine-bubble existence kicked off.

View of the park across the street. Great light dance on the snow.

Who knows what’s around the next corner? Let’s not even guess. The snow is beautiful. I had a brisk ride in the powder and I got my first dose of the vaccine that didn’t even exist until recently.

I’d say that’s a good day.

I hope you had a good day too.

Get out there and ride or take a walk.

Stay safe. Stay kind.

Thanks for reading!
Bike Goddess

I Woke Up, so YAY!

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That’s where the bar is these days. I’m exhausted. I feel like the sludge at the bottom of a puddle. Pretending that you’re okay is a full-time act of fiction. Notwithstanding the Biden-Harris uptick in energy and hope for the future, the last 10 months have been a slog of despair where I’ve said more often than not, sure, eat the Oreo cookie or donut, you may not even survive the year. We’re all tired. Have you noticed how we compare of levels of exhaustion in addition to our burdens. You can’t mask that sort of fatigue. Pun intended. It’s a challenge to find the energy to stoke the embers and feel the fire in your belly that you can do whatever; get up, go to the mailbox, go to work, think about writing, write. Fill in the blank with whatever it is for you.

Between expectations, intentions and plans there are storage bins full of doubt. Despair rings like tinnitus in my ears all day and all night and you might find five minutes in which you aren’t completely freaked out by whatever the next step is.

That’s what leads me to my January mantra, I woke up. Yay!

I got dressed and even accessorized a bit. That means that I put on some earrings. Woohoo!

I made coffee. Thank the gods of Olympus!

I ate breakfast! Now we’re talking!

The steps to success are just that, steps. The activity rings on my watch don’t count effort, so the data is in steps.

Everything is a of a celebration. It should be because life right now is hard as chromium. Maybe you’re trying to be postive for the negative people around you. Again, work on a scale of lifting 50 pound dumbells overhead. Maybe you float on the bubbles of hope or what I like to call do-able tasks. Maybe you wrote songs for your new album. I am not Taylor Swift. But I can feel ebullient about completing a blog post or reading one of yours.

Someone asked me if I do yoga or meditation or anything to align my chakras and get out of my head.

Cue the crickets.

I replied with two words. “I bike.” If there’s one place where pressure can only be found in my tires, it’s on my bike. That’s my zen, my calm, my meditation and medication. It’s where the sun meets the sky (if it’s not raining that day) and I can be free to roam, wander and just ride like I’m making a masterpiece Strava GPS picture. On my bike is where I engage with the world. Have you noticed how waving has returned. People wave and children yell HELLLLLLOOOOO and we interact at 12-15mph more than we have in a long time. Some drivers actually wave too instead of trying out other hand gestures.

Seeing and interating with the world from behind my handlebars I’m filled with joy that I woke up.

I rode.

Me on a bike riding the island of Santorini.

Whatever is in between my rides, the bits and pieces of the day, got done because I had my ride. I have been trying to close my eyes during the day and be in the moment breathing in and out and it is helpful. The funny thing is I usually visualize myself on a bike riding a bike on a Greek island feeling the heat of the summer beat down on me. I woke up. Yay!

Thanks for reading my blog.

Get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

2020 Happy New Gear

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Click on the products mentioned to go through the post: Thousand Helmet • Mia Melon • DarkCycle • Safety Pizza • Showers Pass • Sparrow Bottle Cage • BikeLaneUprising • Endura gloves • Brooks Bag

Not too much shiny and bright about 2020, however, there are some great products I discovered. This is a post I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t have any codes or special discounts. I can only say that I don’t like parting with my money so if I like gear enough to recommend it, that’s gold. It takes me more than a season to decide IF the product in question merits the investment. Dear reader, this post includes my unvarnished, honest opinions about products I strongly recommend. Some are newish and some have proven their value over time. Read on for details and links..

Products with Punch

Let’s start at the top. I am a helmet wearer. I always have been. Many helmets have been on my head. This year I found one that is sparkle and delight. The Thousand Helmet is elegant and I have never, ever owned a helmet that garnered more compliments. People always call it a hat as in, “I love your hat!” as I breeze by. The algorithms must have aligned because one day in a search for “chic bike helmet” it popped up. I couldn’t stop looking at all the colors in the Heritage collection. When the page opens in your browser, you’ll be asked to take a quiz about your perfect helmet. I love a good quiz, but you can also close the quiz and just browse around. If I’m ever on the cover of Vogue I’ll request one of these with my kit. If you pay attention to bike details on TV shows you can appreciate that in Emily is Paris one of these helmets is featured. Super cool!! And they are just that. It’s a helmet where form meets function and you’re proud to have it on your noggin. There’s a spot where you can put a U-lock through a pop-lock. The site says, “Access the hidden channel behind the logo mark, and pop your U-Lock or chain lock through. Backed by our Anti-Theft Guarantee.” But here’s the thing, I like wearing my helmet, so I never really got in the habit of locking it up with my bike. It’s a great feature and maybe as the days get warmer and I can sit outside and enjoy a

Sizing is the only trick with buying a helmet online. I bought a medium following their measurements and I wish I had bought a large. The adjustment wheel makes it very easy to size down a bit but if you wear a beanie on colder days you’ll appreciate a few milimeters of head space. If between, always order up. I have heard that they have a great exchange policy, but email to get more information. I chose to try the other helmet called The Chapter with a magnetic light on the back. I love it as well. Since I got the white one I figured it would be better for riding in the winter or with a beanie, so I bought the large for extra space.

People notice me which means the helmet helps them see me on the road. Read more about the company and their goals. Helmets only last forever if you never use them. The helmet I’m wearing in the lower left is an older one that had many dings and dents. I moved it along in its cycle of life.

Next up, the bod. If I could make a coat, this would be it. For years I wore the traditional rain jacket. Then a few years ago I decided I wanted something bigger, bulkier, warmer. I am Mediterranean and I do not like being cold. Mia Melon coats are the best coats I have ever owned. I wish one of the two I own would wear out (after three years) so I could get another one. They are beautiful on and off the bike, but most importantly, they are warm and waterproof. They have lots of styles and you should shop what works best for you. I wear the STELLA MODERN RAIN JACKET – MICRO FLEECE INTERIOR the most. The other one is similar to the Anna, but mine is an older style which I no longer see on the site. There are often sales and there is a store in Vancouver B.C., however, they have great customer service and if you’re not sure what’s best or how it will fit, then give them a call.

If you want the traditional biker rain jacket, I’m also a big fan of Showers Pass, jackets, and rainpants. I’ve had mine for years and they are a great investment.

Best t-shirts ever! They are massively creative with all sorts of animails, and in my opinion, you can’t have enough bike related t-shirts. I live in bike t-shirts. When you wear these you feel fierce and playful. Dark Cycle Clothing is located in Tampa, Florida and I signed up for their monthly t-shirt release. I had some challenges with sizing, but they were so helpful I decided to maintain my subscription for another year. I still think they need a Yorkie.

Pizza is the most important food group. Right? I like pizza all the time so when I saw this on Instagram I took a bite. Safety Pizza! How do you improve on safety and being seen? You get a Safety Pizza because it has PIZZA in the name and why not? I love this slice of safety and singular function. Reflectivity. You can organize the “toppings” however you choose. Super fun!!

Put a bird on it. A phrase made famous by Portlandia, but design-wise, Portland Design Works captured the essence for cyclists. Great products of all kinds for all types of riders. How can you find fault with a company that sells sticker sheets, donut bar tape or bird inspired water bottle cages? You can’t! Gear like this makes me smile each and every time I use it. I have one of their bottle cages on all my bikes.

Fits like a glove, then buy it! If a glove keeps your hands warn and cozy, buy two pairs! There is no such thing as the perfect bag or the perfect winter glove. Our extremities prefer gentle conditions and I am here to say that I’ve spent money on pricey gloves and still felt my fingers freeze. After years of research, I can say one thing for sure. It’s personal preference. Gloves that claim to be wind breakers and laugh at cold temps, often leave me cold. Endura is possibly my favorite mid range glove for most winter cycling. They outperform my Gortex and they are my go-to glove. I lost one hi-viz glove a year ago and I’m still bummed about it. I bought a black pair to replace but for some reason I still have the single high-viz. Many bike shops carry the brand and if your favorite bike shop has an online store check it out.

Still with me? Good for you! Thanks. Let’s start wrapping it up. Two more. I love Chicago. Because I have family in Chicago, I consider it a second home. When I visit I always Divvy and I visit bike shops and I entertain thoughts of living there. Chicago is about 8 years younger than Portland or the Northwest when it comes to biking, but this organization, Bike Lane Uprising, is trying to delineate the bike lanes and bike lane usgae by keeping people safe. You can support them by sposoring lights for others and while you’re at it, buy yourself a set. A sweatshirt is good too. These lights, are amazing! For $10 you can sponsor a set that might save someone’s life. Being lit is extrememly important on a bike, walking or running, so make an investment. You can’t have enough lights and this set is a blinding good deal!

Lastly, the bag. I am obsessed with panniers. I know. What a shock! This year I got closer to the perfect bag, for me. The Brooks Suffolk rear pannier is “made from high-quality polyester with a waterproof polyurethane coating to protect your gear while you ride.” That’s what they say and they are spot on. It’s hard not to say, “Brooks Suffolk,” without a British accent! Jolly good bag! This pannier I bought on impulse. Give me a break. I hadn’t been out shopping for anything in three months, so I was ready! They aren’t cheap, $130 for a single bag. I was at the eBike Store and I’m drawn to bike bags like like a magnet so I started looking it over and I was impressed by how the pockets were all on the outside and I like that for access the garage door opener, my phone, water bottle and work related fobs and keys. Boom, sold! They deliver. I like them so much, that a few months later I bought another. Not too big, or small, just right. Waterproof and simple to use. Similar to an Ortlieb in how the bag attaches, and I won’t shine you on. I have used them like a fangirl since day one. They still look brand new and yet neutral enough to go with any bike, or rack.

Gear is important to making your ride comfortable, safe and likely to happen again. With mass production of so many things, it’s hard to know what really works for discerning riders in certain climates or any climate. One thing about the pandemic is that I’ve looked to the gear I already own instead of looking for something else. If you have gear that you don’t use or didn’t make the cut for you, try donating it. In my area, I’m lucky because Bike Clark County takes donations and I know the gear that doesn’t work for me may help someone else.

The gear mentioned in the post are equipment I’ve own and use regularly. That’s the real test. 2021 is the year to get in gear. I hope this helps.

If I haven’t said it, thank you for reading and being part of my blog. I appreciate your LIKES and comments. Thanks for taking a moment. Happy New Gear, I mean Year.

Get out there and ride. #2021

Be safe, be seen.

Bike Goddess

Special-Evangelize

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Parked only long enough for a glam shot. But this is a newly remodeled park near my house. I love this path that was added making it better for all wheels, including strollers. Brilliant update! @cityofvancouver

I was getting ready to head out on a ride. As I stood in the driveway making sure I had all the necessities: mask, ID, wallet, phone, gloves, water, a spry guy in his mid seventies walked by and exclaimed, “What is THAT?”

Looking for agreement in the subject and predicate is often futile. “Are you asking about my bike?” Speaking from a tennis court distance we started to chat about ebikes. He thinks he took one that looked like mine for a test ride. I turned my bike to the side so he could get a better look. I felt a little like a peacock about to pose my beautful bike and all her glory. “Yeah, yep, that was it I think.” He said he was thinking of a “well, what do you say, a girls’ bike” to which I suggested, step through and he agreed. You know, guys, just chill about this. Women don’t think less of you for wanting low entry.

He admitted he really wanted a new bike and he was at a point in his life where he still thinks he’s in his 20s but his body doesn’t agree. I told him I’d has some experience with ebikes and I really think he should go to a bike shop. I stashed some business cards from The eBike Store in my bag for just this type of encounter. I walked toward him and handed him a card as if I was about to press a doorbell and run. I also decided to share some advice.

Try out three different bikes. Even a few models within the same brand. The more you try the more you get a feel for what you like and what you want.

Take a month and try out at least three. Talk to owners of the bikes and ask how they use their ebike and why they chose the one they did. He liked Specialized and noted that was my ride and he was also curious about Treks. I said both were great choices but you owe it to yourself to take multiple test rides to get a feel for what you want. I shared that I was a Specialized Ambassador so I had a very strong feeling about that brand. But I have own other brands and I have two Treks in the herd and I love them too. I don’t have any experience with the Trek eBikes so he should find a store and take a few out.

He thanked me and went on his way. It’s Sunday and I did a little bike evangelism. You gotta love your ride if you’re going to ride. So if you are looking at riding in the new year, then my advice is to reach out with a phone call to a bike dealer and be specific if you want an ebike. Which brands do they carry and why. Also do a little research before you go in. I watch videos most often from ElectricBikeReview. Know the tech specs enough to compare bikes. Ask about test riding during a pandemic. Find out about scheduling some time with someone to ask questions and take a test ride. Take a helmet if you don’t want to borrow one of theirs and go for a spin.

I spend 2 hours a day commuting. I need a bike that will keep up and be ready for whatever I need. I chose a Specialized Como 5, Turbo. I may not use all its features, but it has them in case I need them.

2019-Turbo Como 5.0 650b – Low-Entry and it has 7005 miles as of 12/26/20

I love talking about bikes. I especially enjoy it when potential bikers ask about why I have this bike or that feature. I can give them chapter and verse. What about you? What advice do you give about buying a bike?

Next post I hope to get out soon will spotlight some gear I found very helpful in 2020.

Get out there and ride. Preferably with some lights on your body or bike. Be seen!

Stay healthy,

Bike Goddess

Roll Model

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Fall is by far my favorite time of the year. Seasons in general are a great concept because right about the time you start getting weary of a routine the searson changes and so does your routine. A slightly heavier coat leads to another layer and then some boots, wool socks and insulated gloves and the season change is in full swing.Before you known it you’re wishing you had a heated saddle because you will never be warm again. Winter.

People are seasonal too. Some people you may see everyday and others only through social media and yet you’re sort of attending the same party. We never really know what impression we lieave unless we’re told. Love it, leave it or try to deal with it, social media keeps people connected.

All that to say that I heard from a friend I made in 2009. He and I were on a Fulbright cultural exchange in Potsdam, Germany. I quickly became known as the biker of the group. By biker, I mean cyclist. I had no problem actively pursuing opportunities to rent bikes and roam around the city. Potsdam is wonderfully bike friendly. Actually, Germany in general is bike friendly. I’d bumble my way through whatever German I could muster to say, Bitte mieten sie ein fahrrad, Please I’d like to rent a bike.” One bike shop took mercy on my daily visits and agreed to rent me a bike for a week at a time. Bike love is a universal language and I recall that they were helpful and accomodating.

The bike bag wall at the Radhaus in Potsdam. Epic shop with people who speak the universal language of bikes.

With a basket and a lock I would peddle about for as long as time permittied between classes. Scenery swirled around me as I claimed a city for my own behind the bars of a bike. I may have named rental Greatah, because it was great, ah! I felt like a local and took pride in the fact that from behind the bars of my rental I felt like the city and I knew one another.

Wander time is built into the day when you’re learning a city. I rolled my way into an area known as the Neuer Garten. Brisk summer morning air was chilly and I was woefully underdressed. My light rain jacket and t-shirt left my teeth chattering but I didn’t care. The sights were spectacular and it felt like I was the only one on the path. My lungs expanding with the country air and my eyes wide with the lush lawns and lavish scenery.

I helped a few others in the group with bike rentals and the last week or so of the trip the bike rental fees were waived since I brought customers to the bike shop.

Bikes at every turn. This was near the U-Bahn station close to the hotel.

Not a bike shop, but bike parking near one of the classes at the University of Potsdam.

A classic Gazelle in its natural habitat.

It is how I roll. I do what I do, ride my bike, and if my zeal, my enthusiasm, my bike love somehow spills on to others, that’s a bonus. I heard from that traveler from 2009. Howard recently retired and sadly had his bike stolen from right off his porch.

In Germany in 2009, my friends Inga on the left and Howard on the right.

He sent me this great message: “Been thinking about you lately, Connie. My road bike was stolen off my front porch about three weeks ago. I’d been thinking about buying an e-bike, so I decided to splurge and get an e-road bike. It’s a Specialized Turbo Creo Evo, and I love it. I’m actually back on the bike, and getting back in shape. You have been my role model for bike commuting for a decade now, so I wanted to let you know that I’m getting back in the saddle.” -Howard

I appreciate that he shared his news with me and I’m thrilled that he’s back in the saddle. I’m happy to be a role model and even more delighted when someone else learns first hand the love of the ride.

Are you a bike roll/role model for someone? Have you ever helped someone with a bike purchase?

Thanks for reading.

Stay well,

Bike Goddess

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes … and Nose and Everything

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Why is fog more interesting than smoke? Scientifically speaking (and I’m not a scientist) I guess fog has condensation. It is essentially air saturated with water but smoke is a sign of combustion. Hence the addage, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” I live in the middle of all these fires out West. I am not in danger at the moment and the closest fire has gone from about 2 miles at the beginning of last week to 90 miles as of this writing. The smoke in the air is daunting and debilitating. My eyes burn and the last two days when I wake up my nostrils tingle.

The air quality index is at 445 on a scale that tops out at 500. This morning is was at 526. That means that it is hazardous. Kaiser Permanente sent out an email saying that all physical activity should be limited. It is another chapter in the apocolyptic story of 2020 but we’re crossing a line now because I can’t bike. I can’t Zwift, I can’t meander, spin or roll. There are advisories against any activity either Inside or out.The most I can do is sit in the garage (with the mask pictures below) and tell my bikes that someday we will ride again.

I wanted to write about some virtual events I took part in over the summer, but I don’t feel like it right now. All I can do is check the EPA AirQuality app and see if the number goes down. All I can do is look out the window of my house and see if it looks a tiny bit clearer. All I can do is wait and see.

Last Friday my school district advised staff to work from home since the ventilation systems couldn’t keep up with the smoke in the air. Not a snow day but a smoke day. The smoke is so thick and pervasive that your lungs ache and your nostrils flair in an attempt to keep the toxins out of your body.

Thanks to my husband and numerous home projects I have a great mask if I need to be outside.

When the fortune teller in the movies looks at the crystal ball for answers there’s smoke swirling around before the answers are revealed. From the murky smoke answers are revealed. I’m in a house and I have food and coffee, books and distractions. Wifi and water. I’m grateful and hoping for rain. The forecast says rain on Tuesday (not the umbrella on my sweatshirt) and through the rest of the week. That’s what I’m clinging to. The hope for rain.

Be well, readers.

Go ride some miles for me.

Thanks for reading.

Bike Goddess

Bike Throwback

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My love affair with bikes goes back a ways. If I was sitting on the proverbial coach getting therapy and I was asked to recall my earliest memory it would look something like this. Streamers off the bar ends and ready to go. Looks like this might be a Sears brand tricycle. I’m in the living room of my grandparents’ apartment in Chicago. I do remember riding up and down that hallway and turning around in the dining room or the apartment entrance. My eyes are shining and my smile radiates pure joy. I especially like how I’m holding the handlebars. Pinky up. Pretty much sums up how I feel whenever I’m riding a bike.

Earlier this year I was crowned a Specialized Ambassador. I was nominated by the eBike Store in my area and I didn’t think I’d “get it” because I’m not an athlete, racer type person with ripped muscles or that lanky look bike racers own. My only claim to fame is that I do it. I ride.

Over my lifetime I have had various phases in my riding but let’s be clear I have never been fast and I’ve never been competitive. I’m not a racer. In a small group I might try to beat everyone up a hill but I’m a cautious rider. The litte girl in the picture loves the ride. Tour might be a better explaination of my type of riding. I secretly wish I was a racer but it ain’t happening. I answer that secret desire with Zwift.

As a brand ambassador I talk about the brand and the bike. I have experience with a Specialized bike so I can help people who might want someone’s opinion or feedback about a bike. I wanted an eBike because my commute to and from work was taking too much time and I needed a bike up to the task and the Northwest weather of rain and more rain. I took three bikes for test rides. First a Gazelle and then a Specialized Como 4 followed by a Specialized Como 5. I own another ebike; Faraday Cortland, which I will save for another blog post.

The Como 5 Turbo won me over with its range and style. If I had to do it all over again, a year later, I’d still buy this bike. I’m not saying that because I’m a brand ambassador, I’m saying that because I ride. Since the pandemic it has been less about back and forth to work and more about riding routes in-between the commute. The Brose motor is whisper quiet and just like the Specialized tag, “It’s you only faster,” it really is. I get a great workout and I get to work on time. There are three levels of assist, low, middle and high. I tend to stay in low. That level of assist lets me ride at 17-20 mph versus 12-15 without assist. The Como 5 Turbo also has range which means I can get to and from work without worrying about running out of e-juice. That’s 25 miles.

I mentioned that I had another ebike, a Faraday Cortland. It’s the prettiest bike I own. I named her Lulu, but I think of her as the Princess of the fleet of bikes I own. She has a belt drive and if there’s one think I wish more ebikes had it would be a belt drive. Sadly the company went bankrupt. There were more than a few things about the company that should been a factor in my purchase. New. Kickstarter new. I wanted to support an American company and the burgeoning ebike market. When I bought it in 2015 there weren’t even Gazelles in the USA yet. Specialized is a company that has been around for awhile and isn’t going anywhere, so getting an ebike from an established company is also something to consider. I might want to rethink straightening my hair in high school but I don’t rethink bike purchases. I seem to imprint on a bike or vice versa and it’s over.

Ready for another #bikethrowback? When I turned 25 my boyfriend (now husband) got me a Specialized Rockhopper. Back in the day, this bike was the coolest “mountain bike” ever. I still have this yellow Rockhopper. Probably you have one from your past too. Sentimental and staying put.

Still smiling and biking after all these years. Here’s to more miles, routes and bikes.

I think I see a gloved pinky finger propped up in this picture too.

Love your ride and ride your ride. What’s your #bikethrowback

Bike Goddess

#bikethrowback #iamspecialized @iamspecialized #bikethrowback
#iamspecialized @ebikestore @iamspecialized

It’s About the Bag(s)

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Posted on August 8, 2020 by bikegoddess

Read on to see how I turned a $12 tote turned imto a pannier.

There’s always stuff. When you’re on a bike you need to carry stuff. My stuff and your stuff may not be the same sort of stuff but I can guarantee that we both have stuff and it needs to be shleped from point A to B and beyone. Sometimes it amounts to more than a peck and gets closer to a couple bushels especially if you commute to work. Consider that you might need to pack rain gear and by that I mean rain pants. Even if they are packable rainpants they will be about the size of a roll of toilet paper. Wallet related accoutrement and maybe some incidental items like shoes or a jacket are included and then you could have tech stuff like an iPad or a laptop. Don’t get me started on the bike related supplies such as a flat repair kit with a tube and a pump. By the time you add that you might as well just drive.

The Wall of Bags… Still the search continues. No bag is perfect.

Kidding. Commuting is not something to enter into the night before. You should definitely plan for it and prepare your bags with what you really need to make it a go. But that’s a topic for another blog post. I want to talk about the perfert bag. First off, it does not exist. I have been on a quest since the start of my biking life and while there are certainly some that come close there’s almost always something that sours me on one bag and gets me fired up for yet another bag to add to the research project. Our needs change and as a result what we might be hauling with us for a ride to the store is different than the day to day commute.

Pockets, pockets, and more pockets are an essential ingredient to the right bag. However it can’t be just any ol’ pocket. Too small and you’re forever struggling to get the key or wallet or pen out of the pocket. A pocket that’s too big is equally useless because you lose the same stuff and maybe it’s too small for the bigger items.

U-Locks are like the elephant in the bag. No one wants to talk about how much room that take up or how heay they are because they are necessary mitigation to bike theft. I’m not a fan of the U-lock on the bike. It’s like a roof rack on a Porsche. The bike it a beautiful machine and throwing that lock holder is not for me. But that means I need a bag that can accomodate the heft of a U-lock.

I’ve been bothered by this whole perfect bag issue for awhile. I realize that the aethsetic of the bike is important to me. The cuteness of a bike reflect on me and the bike. I want the bag to accessorize the bike. However it also needs to hold all the stuff.

A year ago I found this adorable bag with a sweet bike print and I wished for it to be a pannier. Wishing does not make it so. It’s not a pannier but I thought maybe I could covert it to a bike bag if I could find the right hardware. A few weeks ago I was motivated to try.

The bag has an exterior pocket sleeve for stuff you need quick access to like the garage door opener, phone, keys and snack. Interior pocket is also a sleeve so I don’t have to fuss with a zipper.Then the main compartment is ample and deep but not cavernous like the Ortlieb bucket. I always think about the rain pants first. If those can fit in the bottom then that leaves plenty of room for stashing the other stuff.

Truth is the bag has been hanging in the garage for too long. Something had to be done. But I needed hardware which is neither cheap or easy to find. Time to make a sacrifice. A bagrifice. I needed the hardware from another bag to see if I could turn my nonbike bag into a pannier. I chose one that I ruled out of the day-to-day commute because while it cute it fell short in providing what I needed. Also it cheap so I was willing to offer it the the bag muse.

A trip to the hardware store did not prove helpful. I did enjoy the suggestion of velcro, however, that wouldn’t work. I commissioned my husband to see how to get the rivets out of the old hardware to then use the hardware in the tote. He’s very good at listening to my “this thingy should go into this doodad and then there’s these brad deals (rivets) that attach to the rack.”

We opened up the bag and started to work on the rivets.

The hardware was attached with rivets that took about an hour to pound out of the bag. I’ve never done anything like this before so I struggled with how to get under the flat bit and leverage enough to pop it out. Also the hardware is made of plastic and I didn’t want to damage them.

Once the hardware was liberated from the old bag I was free to start considering what we needed to make the “tote-al” conversion. Back to the hardware store to find a rivet gun. The tools necessary amounted to $35. It’s starting to make sense why panniers cost so much. The hardware alone can cost upwards of $35, but then you have to actually attach it to the bag somehow.

Spiked bag. Rivet didn’t break off. Truth is that it needs a little help.

We did several trials with the rivets to be sure it all worked. Using a rivet gun is like holding your breath for 20 seconds and then having someone punch you in the gut. Freaky tool and not a sure thing. Sometimes the shaft of the rivet doesn’t break off and then you’re looking at it like vampire looks at a stake, until it breaks off and then you’re considering opening a bag business because you’re getting pretty good at the whole thing.

That looks good! The five to follow were work times ten.

I’m pretty excited to share my enthusiasm for the perfect bag!

All in all this project was fun. I’d try it again with another bag and if you’re ever in a situation where you think about converting a tote or favorite bag to a pannier I think it would be worth trying out. If it wasn’t for quarantine I probably wouldn’t have bothered, but I’m glad I gave it a go.

Remember Mary Poppins and her carpet bag that she pulls out bottle of perfume, a folding armchair, a packet of lozenges, a large bottle of dark red medicine, seven flannel nightgowns, one pair of boots, a set of dominoes, two bathing caps, one postcard album, one folding camp bedstead, blankets and an quilt? That’s how I approach a bike pannier. It should be able to hold nearly everything you need, still look classy and most of all, compliment the bike.

The TOTE-al makeover. Tote made into a pannier.

That’s a tall order for any bag, but now that I have a rivet gun, well, let’s just say, I feel like it’s all in the bag.

I do have some favorite panniers. I bought a set of Ortleb bags in Germany and I do love them because they say “der Aussteiger” on the side. Also, a great souvenir from a trip.

I also think that Po Campo bags are amazing. They are like the Coach bag of bike bags. Super classy and you want them all. If someone you know loves bags, you should get them a Po Campo. Pretty and practical is always a great combination. I also have a Timbuk2 bag that converts to a backpack and their hardware is indestructable. In the video I show a Timbuk2 tote that converts to a backpack and the hardware is not where the backpack is so kudos on that design. Generally, I’m a fan of a bag that converts to a crossbody or a backpack. The messenger style bag is another favorite however, I’m not big on carrying it, so the two I own I often strap to my front rack. I tend to use the messenger style more in the winter for some reason. Arkel is another spanking good bag brand. Their hardware system is available to purchase too.

The very best bag I ever bought was an Abus bag. I bought it at a bike shop in Potsdam, Germany back in 2009. That bag was about 99% perfect. Pockets in all the right places for me. Not too much of anything and just the right amount of what I need. I wore that bag out. It actually crumbles in my hands. I can’t use it, but I keep it because maybe someday it will be the template for a bag I design.

As long as there is stuff there will be a need to carry it. You have to figure out what works for you. Bags come it all shapes and sizes. Baskets are also an option! Yeah, I have some of those too. Always ask about return policies or start your own bag wall.

I’m happy that I gave this old bag a new life and it’s pretty adorable.

The goal is to ride and making sure you have what you need for each and every mile.

Thanks for reading. What’s in your bag? What are some of your favorite bags? Tell me about them.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Bike Goddess

How Time Zwifts

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Posted on July 7, 2020 by bikegoddess

Would you rather ride outside or inside? Pre-corona virus I would have opted for outisde all the time. My commute was perfect and I rarely used my indoor setup. Outside riding for the win. Now I’ve changed my tune. It’s about being active enough that I can close in my rings everyday. Exercise enough, stand enough and move enough to close those rings. When I do close my rings I feel like doing a little dance, a high five, a jig, a chest bump. You get this idea. I accomplished something.

My commute is a memory. Maybe it will return, maybe it won’t. I’m living one day at a time and I know that the fall will mean more changes so I’m focusing on one issue at a time. In my last post I talked about just riding around for the joy of riding and I defiitetly enjoy the random spin. I have even done some errands that involve gardening so I’m outside browsing at plants or buying something for my salad garden. It’s fine. Summer in the Northwest is dreary right now. Clouds dominate the weather forecast and I haven’t been as motivated to ride outside when it’s cool, cloudy and overcast. Zwift to the rescue.

Why does Zwifting feel like I’m somehow cheating on my other bikes? Is it because I sweat a bucket of water or melt like snow in a sauna? Is it because it’s wicked fun and I feel compelled to yell at other riders, “Oh, no you are NOT going to pass me you sly weasel!” Recently while Zwifting I was in the cat and mouse chase with another rider. He’d get ahead and then I was speeding by. We did that for about 15 minutes. Massive fun! I wanted to use wave feature on Zwift Companion to push him off the road. You can’t, of course, but the race was on! Yeah, I was in the zone alright. Mean zone.

My cousin met up with me for a little Zwift time in the Watopia lands and it was a blast. Using the Request Meet Up feature was a little challenging but we got it figured out. However, I felt the same competitve beast rise up and I had to have a little talk with myself about my behavior. The interesting thing is that the competition aspect of it means I was working hard. On Strava after a ride you can rate your “perceived exertion” on a scale of 1 to 10 and I notice that I deflinitely push myself to a level I don’t always get in my daily commute or in my spins around the city. I was expending myself and loving it.

The first 5 miles seem like such an effort it’s any wonder I keep going. I’m bored and I’m fighting that part of my brain that just wants to read a book or do something else more interesting. Then I’m suddening moving at a good pace and it feels like I’m a professional racer. Suddenly I’m seeing speeds of 18, 20, 25 mph and I see a group up ahead or someone tries to overtake me and BAM! another 5 miles are done. Okay, I’ll go another couple miles but suddenly I think maybe I can do 14, 15, 20 miles. It’s not like I have plans to do anything so I can keep going. Outside I never go that fast nor do I have that sort of focus. I’m taking in the sights and sounds and enjoying the ride in a different way. I’m in my head and thinking, planning, reviewing whereas in the Zwift lands you’re on a ride to increase your XP, the experience points and level up. I started in March at Level 9 and up to 12 now. I don’t understand it all but I’m getting better with every ride.

Above you can see my set up. The picture on the left was when I first set up the Kickr and my 2006 Trek Portland. Our basement is in a state of s l o w remodel but this room on the right has a nice view. I put my road bike on the stand and all-in-all the set up is more than adequate. I switched bikes. I wasn’t using the lovely carbon fiber bike, so she’s on the stand now. The next thing I need is a fan because of all the sweating.

I bought a Wahoo Kickr to have a bike set up in case I couldn’t ride due to weather. It was my backup riding plan. Zwifting was essential to getting my weekly mileage. Since the start of the pandemic I have been trying to continue getting my weekly mileage, however, some days I go toe-to-toe with the blahs and I don’t feel like going outside. It’s easier to put on my kit and Zwift inside.

My commute is on hiatus and my Zwifting has taken center stage.This development is surprising to me. I wouldn’t have expected my Zwift road bike set up to replace my commute. I clip in and go, go, go. I escape the heaviness of the coronavirus unknown by cycling into the depths of a virtual world and I love it. I’m not spinning my wheels. On the contrary, I’m energized, inspired and restored by the experience. That’s helping my XP both on and off the bike.

There’s this quotation from an enlightened character named Socrates who was a gas-station attendant in a book published in the 1980s by Dan Millman entitled, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. It goes something like this, “You have many habits that weaken you. The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” It often gets attributed to the Greek philosopher, Socrates.

Thanks for reading. Take care of yourself.

Be well.

-BG

One is the Loneliest Number

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Posted on May 18, 2020 by bikegoddess

Just me and my shadow on most rides anyway.

When the song opens I think it’s in C Minor and the repeating chords halt as the vocal comes in which is pleading, resigned and sort of begs for attention:

One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It’s the loneliest number since the number one…Three Dog Night,

Three Dog Night had a number 1 hit. That song pops into my head when I read #soloriding. It’s one of many trending hashtags and when I saw it I thought of music.

Is riding solo riding a cappella? Imagine if we used musical terms for bike riding. Instead of a peloton it would be an orchestra or ensemble or band of riders. Personally, I am most in harmony with the universe on a solo ride. I don’t need people to accompany me. I’m a sole rider. Sole and solo are similiar and yet sole and the homophone soul are more in tune.

Other expessions I’ve heard in this quarantine period is “companionless” or “solitary riding.” Again, it sounds like a rider was given a timeout in a padded garage. Stag riding could work if it didn’t sound so raunchy.

Sole riding is the way I prefer to ride. I don’t like how I am in a group ride. It’s not as though I’m hyper competitive but I am competitive enough that I start to compare myself to everyone else and then I start to feel inferior. The “leader” of the ride is checking in with everyone every 2 seconds or they are the type of leader who is a virtuoso rider and you feel like you’re an appendage holding everyone back.

Friendly ride with a family on a tour with Sarah.

The social dynamics of a group ride can preesnt challenges. Some people are really amazing group riders. I’m jealous that I am not one. Like watching a Rapha video and the group is synchronized like a Swiss watch and they’re all keeping a 22 mph pace with the wind on their handlebars. I’m the one that stays at the coffee shop.

Should you be trying out a group ride for the first time then be preparted to be the new kid in class and you have to show ’em what ya got. The group is trying not to watching you, but they see everything you do. “Hey, looks like your back tire is embracing the road too closely.” In group rides men talk way too much about technique as though they are professional racers and taking some time out to ride with the mortals. Unless you are Mark Cavendish, please just ride your bike and talk about something else. You’d think I could find a gal pal on a ride, but the women if there are any ignore me despite my repeated attempts at conversation. I’ve tried and tried and tried some more.

The only group rides that I have moderate success with are epic group rides, like the Seattle to Portland or charity rides. Those events have a vibe of something bigger. The steady stream of people in front and behind keep a sort of pulse to the affair so you are in awe of it all. The energy of the group and event supercedes the social awkwardness.

Tour with Sarah and a group, Spring 2019.

My favorite type of group ride is a tour. Either I pay or they pay or I’m shadowing a great tour leader. If I’m leading a tour I can point out features of my city which keeps me busy in a constructive way. “On the left there’s this 100 year old tree and on the right is the site of Fort Vancouver and Pearson Airport where the Chkalov flight landed.” Last summer I started shadowing tours by my friend Sarah Bott and it was amazing. My title (given by me) was TourRookie. The people on the tours paid for the tour and they seemed genuinely interested. “The city of Portland has 279 parks. There are distinct personalities to neighborhoods, sometime called quadrants…but it’s all Portland.” There was a ride to the Portland Rose Gardens that was a symphony of experiences that made me happy to be alive. The ideal group ride for me is a tour because they are there to learn and I’m there to help them explore and provide and experience.

Taking a break while the group checks out the Portland Rose Garden.

Quaratine for me while bike riding hasn’t been all that different from my usual sole riding. Since my rigorous commute is only about 10 feet into my study at the present time I miss seeing the butterscotch poodle, who always looks at me as though I’m her kin, walking with her human first thing in the morning. I miss the man speed walking in his Blazers puffy coat. I miss seeing snow capped Mount Hood and the baby pink and blue skies. I miss the weather ups and downs of the day to day bike commute. I miss stopping for groceries and lugging stuff to and from home. I pine for shopping stops at my local Trader Joe’s. Everytime I peddle past there’s a line from the entrance past The Party City and weaving around the side of Petco. Under normal circumstances, I would park my bike at Petco. Now, there’s really no way to keep a distance so I just keep moving. I’ve done that now about a half dozen times at diffent junctures of the day hoping for a lull. I have my mask and hand sanitizer ready just in case a opportunity presents itself. Still looks like an Apple iPhone release.

Petco, Party City and then Trader Joe’s. The line goes around Petco.

The miles are no longer commuting miles, but miles in front of me and behind me. It’s liberating and exciting to just go.

One might be the loneliest number for some but for me it’s the way I prefer to roll.

One is not the loneliest number. You know that kiddie joke about Why was 10 afraid of 7? Because 7 eight/ate 9. So that makes 7 the lonliest number. That doesn’t work with the song. Sole riding is what I have done for many years and will continue to embrace because I just ride.

What about you? Do you like sole riding or are you missing your band?

Thanks for reading and have a great week! Stay safe out there!
Be well everyone! Go listen to the song. You know you want to.

🚲 Bike Goddess

Quarantine Made Me Do It!

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Posted on April 3, 2020 by bikegoddess

What has quarantine made you do?

History is being made all the time but we’re too busy to notice. I remember asking my grandparents about The Great Depression or rationing during World War II and they said it was hard but you get through. “We were busy raising a family. What did we know?” They came from the Old Country, Thessaloniki, Greece, and anything was better than that. The hardships they knew are why they came to America. “You’ll never know such hardships,” was a common thread. My middle school closed at the end of the day on Friday, March 13th and we’re set to be closed until May 4th. That’s all I know right now.

We’re just getting started and I don’t have any answers but I am noticing some patterns in my own behavior. If my kitchen could text me if would say something like… “WHAT has gotten into you! I’m here all the time and now you’re noticing!” I slow cooked four pounds chicken and shredded it for meals in the coming weeks. I even made my own broth! I have made cookies on a day that was neither Saturday or Sunday. I’ve also made my own bread and I’m not talking banana bread but a yeast rising artisan bread. Yes, a loaf of Honey Oat, no-knead bread from this man, Steve, on YouTube and I will make more of his spectacular recipes because that’s what I do now. Now granted, this week I have been on Spring Break and it has been raining and cold so baking seems like a good option.

In the basement I started to create a studio space for video production. My husband and I painted and spruced it up and I have no more excuses for not diving into the deep end and giving it a shot.

I’ve read several books and listened to a couple more audio books. Speaking of books, the first week we were out of school I rode my bike to a dozen of the Little Lending Libraries within a 10 mile radius and restocked them with some books from my collection. Truth is I was going to take the books to school (I’m a middle school librarian) but I decided that they should go to the Little Lending libraries instead. Now I am taking from one and moving the collections around. Call it cirulation. I am using gloves and hand sanitizer, but I have opted to hold off on that and just donate.

I watched a squirrel watch me while I was Zwifting and despite my efforts to photograph the blur I can’t help but ponder ways I can get better shots in the future. I started by cleaning the windows.

I practiced piano… (for the first time in 5 years) for about 15 minutes just to see what I could remember. I’m not ready to release anything on YouTube, but I remembered more that I thought. Muscle memory even applies to playing the piano.

It’s not my nature to cut my hair. I’ve heard of people who have cut their bangs. I have very curly hair and I have learned to let my hair enjoy its wild ways.

I have ridden my bike not to fetch groceries, do errands or commute to and from work, but just to ride. I’ve never Zwifted more in my whole life than I have since the quaranatine. Last week with all the rain I opted to spin indoors. Accorting to the Zwift report in my email I set a record last week of 3.5 hours. The whole Watopia worlds and even NYC are vast and untapped territory and I like the virtual riding more than I thought. I don’t know what everything means on the Zwift side, but given that I’m not commuting, it has been refreshing, to find people and territory out there that I haven’t wholly embraced before. Also I didn’t know there was a different app for your phone which allows you to give kudos and adjust your ride.

That’s just it isn’t it? Before Coronavirus (heretofore known as BCV) we didn’t have time to engage in all these activities. I would come home from school exhausted from the day and I’d be happy if I could figure out dinner and get the script done for the next day’s school news program. Everything is slowing down.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m scared and generally freaked out every single day. It’s frightening and sad and I feel vulnerable and like I’m walking on a tightrope with nothing but darkness beneath me. The pandemic continues to spread and we really don’t know what to expect next. I’m grateful to so many for carrying the load right now and putting themselves out there while I stay home and try to be well. All we can do is find something extraordinary that grounds us to the task at hand. Staying at home. Maybe the extraordinary is the ordinary. Being healthy and living through another day. Helping the small businesses and supporting one another from a distance.

In the days and weeks to come quarantine will force our hand. It might lure us like the Greek sirens. It will get harder to stay at home. We will be drawn to the false song of safety and it’ll be okay since we’re going to mingle among our personal groups and friends. There’s no harm in that?

Yes, there is. Stay the course and don’t endanger yourself or others. I was reminded of this E.L. Doctorow quote about writing and think it is an encouraging sentiment in difficult times. “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Reminds me of bike lights too.

Be smart. Be strong. Stay home and take care of yourself. Get on Zwift and find me and we can “ride on” together until this whole pandemic is history.

Stay safe and be well!

Thanks for reading.

Bike Goddess

In the comments below tell me what grounds you? What helps you focus on staying home? Oh, and if you use Zwift, give me a tip.

Bike It Out

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Posted on March 9, 2020 by bikegoddess

You know the saying, especially if you are a cyclist, “When in doubt, bike it out.” I hit a rough patch of road on life’s journey and it has been challenging to find time to write. Yet every morning come rain or shine I get in the saddle and bike to and from work. The motion of my legs and the energy they’re pumping here and there, up and down, to and fro, hither and yon reminds me that I am alive and it’s all going to be okay.

I have been spending some time in a period called then. We while away time in the now but then is something else entirely. Collins Dictionary says, “Then is used when you refer to something which was true at a particular time in the past but is not true now.”

There is comfort in then because if you’re like me and you have good memories it only stands to reason that then can provide calm in the storm and a sense of self. You can’t live in the past and there is no future in then. So I bike it out and think about now and then almost simultaneously and that motion of brain and body is good therapy.

But what about a antiques show? Those are all about then. Why antique shows are the very life blood of then! Plus there are bikes! I went to an antique show and spotted this Schwinn Corvette.

The Schwinn Corvette was made between 1954 to 1964. In 2010, it was reintroduced as an entirely different bike. This one was 1959 and the man selling it used it as a boy doing his paper route in Sacremento, California. Check out the baskets on the back. He said he’d load up his papers and do his delivery route. He told me his wife put new tires on it and added some things that weren’t bonafide Schwinn but tried to make the bike more comfortable for him.

He printed out a manual for the bike and the plastic bag in the left side of the basket had the old parts. He was selling it for $675 and he was firm on the price. It’s his then and you can’t always put a price on that, right? But it turns out he wasn’t too far off the mark on price. This site has some great details and insight into Schwinn bikes and the price was comparable to what I saw on eBay.

I was very interested. I could give it a new home and bring in up to speed in the here and now. Or I could enjoy a little glimpse at then and keep on walking. Which is what I did.

But then after looking at old phones, books, denture molds, cash registers and all the Pyrex on the planet I saw this piece of the past. A Gendron bicycle for $600. There was no one around to talk to about its acquisition but take a gander at the pictures. Gendron is from 1872 and initially produced baby carriages. The bike was interesting times five. I couldn’t stop looking at all the odd little details. Check out the light or should I say lantern! Note the port and starboard, red and green domes aside the lantern. What about that pump? The foot rests on the front fork are pretty large and the swoop to the frame is bewitching. What a machine! The Brooks saddle looks like the newest thing besides the tyres. The booklet was on a table and I leafed through it and saw the wide array of products Gendron offered.

Very interesting to look at and if someone had been present I would have at least asked about a test ride but maybe it’s just as well. Bikes then had a sort of utility that we want our bikes to echo now. Now bikes have modern conveniences and joyous things like belt drives and an array of saddles to fit our bits just right. All the enhancements and advances from then allow us to focus on the journey as well as pick up groceries. It’s fun to think about then but enjoy the here and now.

Have you ever been in the presence of some bikes from back then or are you a collector? What are your impressions of these machines?

Thanks for reading,

Get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

The 2019 Climb

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Posted on December 31, 2019 by bikegoddess

A clear NW sky with the majesty of Mt. Hood in the background.

Climbing hills are an inevitable part of cycling. They are challenging because of the obvious reasons; keeping oxygen in your lungs and the struggle of the getting over the hill to the next part of the route. You are required to do more than just pedal. You probably have to alter your pace and push yourself to do more. As they say, Hill, Get Over It! Life too, is full of hills, climbs that are exhausting and take everything you have without the benefit of a vista to Instagram your accomplishment. In the cycling world, races are often won on the climbs. That said, 2019 was a climb. My year was a 16 percent grade hill.

The hardest part of 2019 was the death of my dad on September 1st. That said, I can’t let the sun go down on the year without talking about Anderson, Indiana where my dad was a history professor at Anderson College (now University) and I learned to ride.

My dad did not teach me how to ride a bike. He tried repeatedly to help me, but I couldn’t master balance. I hated training wheels and even when I tried to use them I’d still manage to fall. It had to be hard to watch. I’m sure he was frustrated and scared watching me flail about and then careen into a curb. One spill resulted in a massive gash on my right kneecap. I remember the blood and the crying. That episode sidelined him from the process. All his efforts and mine were finally rewarded when my mom took me out to ride on a deadend road across the street from where we lived on Myers.

I recall the moment of zen when balance was achieved and I could ride without falling. What an accomplishment! A cyclist was born! I like to say my mom taught me to ride and my father taught me how to adventure. Both are essential ingredients to all that I am.

My mom and I went back to Anderson, Indiana for a memorial service for my dad. There’s a challenge to returning to a place from your past. I was worried about the time that had passed. We left before I started high school so everything about my start in life is in Anderson. It was homecoming week at the University and the planets aligned and for a few days I was a Hoosier kid again remembering not only my dad but how Anderson was the perfect place for a kid to grow up.

My parents and I left Anderson in 1976 when my father took a different job, leaving Anderson University and moving to the Pacific Northwest. We left at a time that was a perfect bridge to my future. I say that because hindsight is 20/20 and I remember wanting the move desperately. I was ready for something new. Anderson was the perfect place to grow up. It was my Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls) or Mayberry (Andy Griffith) or Narnia. I had nothing but time on my hands, air in my tires and places to bike. I biked everywhere and I did, sorry Mom. I biked places I probably shouldn’t have and I fibbed about having done so. But in my defense, Anderson was my adventure. I went everywhere.

Going back to Anderson was a trip. I could see myself across the great chasm of time and very little was changed. Once our travel plans were set I knew I needed a bike. As I often find myself researching the local bike shops, this one, Buckskin Bikes caught my eye. First, the name and then the location; my hometown, Anderson, Indiana. I thought I’d text the store and reserve a bike for the weekend of my trip. I heard back right away. I don’t know why, but I was over the moon when my phone exclaimed an answer. I was asked about my bike preference. Did I want a cruiser or a mountain bike? My first thought was a banana seat BMX, but I opted for the next best thing, a mountain bike.

I found the shop on 11th Street and met Ben. He went to Anderson U and one of his profs, Dr. Strege was a former student of my father, so honestly, he felt like kin. We spent time chatting about Anderson and politics and the need for better bike lanes and I felt like I could run for City Council (as my dad did) and win on the bike platform alone.

Ben, Thank you for your kindness and a bike.

You

Sweet ride, indeed! You had me at the Kona Bikes Welcome mat.

Quick check on the bike before I took off.

Once I had the bike, a helmet and a lock I took off. I rented the bike for a couple of days and I let the bike and a few basic directions be my guide.

The White River Trail did not exist when I was growing up. Not in any formal sense. I rode my banana seat bike everywhere and I’d like to say I helped pave the way for the trail, however, now, what a great addition. I hope the city of Anderson continues to build it beyond what it is right now. Finish off some of the spots that dead end in a ditch or the mud forcing you to turn around instead of going forward. It’s picturesque and worthy of more attention.

Also, while I’m on the rant, there’s no reason that Scatterfield Road needs to be so hostile to anything besides a four wheeled vehicle. I thought I could handle it but I was scared for my life. The auto traffic rivals the Indy 500! I wish I was joking, but I’m not. Peds can hardly cross the street with a light. It’s wretched and if one of the guys at the bike shop hadn’t mentioned Columbus Avenue, I might still be trying to cross Scatterfield Street. Even the idea of staying on it to get to our hotel was dashed when someone yelled at me to “get off the road, stupid.” I pulled over in the Mounds Mall parking lot to see if I could figure out a way to get around it.

Columbus has less traffic and eventually there’s a bike lane, but there’s not much road to share.

Anderson made me a cyclist and also made me fearless about exploring on my own. I always felt safe in Anderson and I still do with the exception of the aforementioned road. It’s mostly flat too. I rode 18 miles on the first day with my Buckskin Bike rental. Then we got busy with dad’s service.

I wanted to shared all this with my father, of course. He would have thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane. We tried to visit all the old haunts, but I’m sure we missed a few, including Steak ‘n’ Shake.

Anderson University is an exceptional ecosystem for learning and my father is remembered as an exceptional professor. While he was growing his career, I was growing. I loved riding my bike to the campus and seeing him consort with his students and hold court telling stories of his adventures. I made daily trips to the campus on my banana seat bike to go up and down the little hills of the campus. I didn’t know at the time what an unique opportunity I had growing up in a small town where everyone knew my parents and I could roam around for hours just being a kid.

He made trails with his teaching methods and I just made trails. He was always one to use all tools at his disposal to make a point or drive an idea into the minds of his students. He taught like a conductor leads an orchestra. I felt like I was bundled up in love and I seriously considered what it would take to move back to Anderson. But it’s funny because I missed my Northwest life. I missed my routes and my home. One does not have to exist without the other though. Anderson is in me and it helps me climb the real hills and the ones that life puts in front of me in the metaphoral sense of the word.