About bikegoddess

I love to ride bikes. Commuting is great and I just ride. I think we can save the planet through biking. It's an elegant solution to most of the world's energy problems. I also just love the ride.

Ahead of Pace, mostly

Posted on December 1, 2019 by bikegoddess

Hot tea in the thermos was the best idea I’ve had in awhile!

On Strava, if you are doing well and meeting or exceeding your goals, I like the way it says “Ahead of pace.” It makes me feel good. My only competitor is myself so I am passing my goals and ahead of pace. Such a simple thing, but it fills me with glee.

I set my Strava mileage goal to 4K this year and I’m hoping if everything continues as planned, if I can keep my current mileage pace, I’ll see 5K or more by year’s end. That too, will fill me with glee and ready to start 2020 fresh with some new mileage goals.

Do you follow many vlogs? I don’t, but lately I’ve been getting into a few that are interesting. A few of them inspired me to give it a try. I’m not ahead of pace on vlogging since it was something I wanted to start a few years ago but didn’t carve out the time. There’s that quote about it’s never too late to be what you might have been, or something like that. I decided to stop making excuses and get on with it.

Over the long weekend there was an event that is one of my favorite ways to kick off the holiday season and I thought, why not. Get ‘er done. The weather was very cooperative and the time seemed right to give it a shot. The event is a drive thru light show at the Portland International Raceway. I’ve been in attendance at least five times and once I went by car! The auto experience sucked. Really gross. Cars moving like molasses on a raceway with people honking to go faster or slower. The fumes from gasoline gave me a headache as I recall. Totally gross. I never, ever thought I’d go again. But then I heard about the bike option called Bike the Lights. Instead of drive thru, it’s bike thru! Yahssss! It’s $7 per person and it’s perfect. Yes, it’s cold but the ebony sky backdrop and the twinking lights and stars (if it’s a clear night) are brilliant.

The eBike Store had an event to meet up at the store and then ride the 2.2 miles from the store to PIR and so I did it. I usually go on my own, but this just seemed perfect.

It also gave me the perfect topic for my first ever vlog.

I was reminded of the joys of riding with people and gawking at lights. Your pace isn’t about competition or commuting, it’s about being together and enjoying the ride. Hearing children bellow carols like the Twelve Days of Christmas or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and listening to parents reminding their children to stay to the right was also part of the chorus. Hearing converations about which display was the best or most creative. No one had their phones on for any other reason that capturing the moment. Sweet! There was one sound that I didn’t quite recognize, but when the kid passed me wobbling left and right on his training wheels, I smiled and remembered the triumph of learning how to balance and ride my bike. I also saw a man on a pennyfarthing bike. Watch the video if you want the details. Wonderful night and an event that makes you simultaneously shiver from the cold and smile at the communion of the crowd.

Bike the Lights is a tradition that gets me in gear for the holiday season. It’s the one thing I must do. How about you? Any bike events that are a must on your schedule for the season? Leave me a comment. I’d love to know more.

Happy December eve.

Stay warm and get out there and ride!

Bike Goddess

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Gobble ’til you Wobble

Posted on November 28, 2019 by bikegoddess

What a beautiful day for a bike ride! It was cold but clear with the sun making an appearance now and again. I enjoyed a ride around my neighborhood and noticed these two birds. If these two were my yard, they’d be on a tandem bike. Oh… maybe next year.

I was busy getting supplies for an upcoing bikey event. It’s on Friday evening and I’ll give you a sneak peek. I do like decorating my bike for Christmas so today I spent some time checking on lights and other accessories.

A quick trip to the hardware store for some lights and zip ties and then over to the grocery store for some Thanksgiving Day supplies, such as wine. Then as I was organizing my basket a woman walked toward me and smiled. She doubled back and complimented me on the back of the bike. I confessed that I had more decorations on my bike than my home. “Well, it’s very cute,” she cooed.

“Thanks,” I said. “That’s exactly what I’m going for.” And there’s more to come.

Readers, thank you for checking in and liking my posts. I wish I had more time to blog. I think I see a New Year’s resolution in my future. I do very much appreciate your time and “likes” and on the eve of Thanksgiving I wanted you to know it makes my day.

Check back on Friday for a bit of an unveiling. Who needs a tree when you can decorate your bike!

Until then. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Cheers!

Bike Goddess

TuesDivvy Last Week

Posted on October 27, 2019 by bikegoddess

Last week I was in Chicago and I had a moment to Divvy my way along Lake Michigan. The Divvy app is the best it has ever been and I lucked out and found a bike at a Divvy station close to where my cousin lives. I rode around for about 45 minutes and six miles. The fact that Chicago has such a great bike share is one of the reasons I could easily see myself living there and never owning a car. A well-placed, well-run bike share is a thing of beauty.

I don’t know why I had a head wind both ways, but I do know that if you ever find yourself in the windy city, you should Divvy yourself around the neighborhoods and enjoy the day on two wheels. It’s easy and the app is better than ever.

Thanks to my cousin for the hat that saved my ears. It was Chi-lly.

Divvy now has an option where you “rent” for the day instead of 30 minutes at a time. I suggest you take the day price. A full day for $15 is a great price. You could check in once you get to a destination, like Lakeside to Lincoln Park, then part the bike and get another when you’re ready to head back. You won’t find that a better price anywhere else. I’ve asked. I love the day-long option. I recall sharing feedback about how I ended up paying upwards of $20 for a day of riding which should have been $3, because I didn’t check it in on time, or within the window because I wasn’t close to a Divvy station. Single trip far is still $3, but the day pass is $15 and an annual membership is $99.

Having it for the whole day for $15 is perfect and for someone like me who just wants to ride around the city, it’s outstanding.

There were more geese out than people, and the wind was fierce. However, I was not going to let anything interfere with my time on two wheels. The skies were threatening but there wasn’t so much as a drop.

Way to roll, Chicago!

Have you ever used a bike share system? Tell me about it. I’m a fangirl when it comes to BiketownPDX (Portland, Oregon) and Divvy.

Thanks for reading.

Get out there and ride!

Bike Goddess

Miles To Go

Posted on October 1, 2019 by bikegoddess

Fall is glorious. It’s prime time for riding because the temperatures aren’t too hot or too cold yet. It’s that golden time of the year when it seems like every sunrise and sunset is Mother Nature’s attempt at showing off.

The skies have these marvelous mood swings and a ride that starts out sunny could end up in a ferocious storm. Every moment seems more impressive than the last.

I keep my rain gear close at hand and just go. I enjoy the seasons changing it up and skies spreading their wonder and I pedal on breathing in and out and in and out. Thrilled to ride.

Do you have a favorite season? Mine is everyday.

Happy October eve.

Get out there and ride.

Bike Goddess

Flatitudes

Posted on September 15, 2019 by bikegoddess

The day is dawning and you’re feeling invincible. You race the birds and you tell the squirrels to scoot and shoo and get up the trees and it seems like you’re the only one on the roads. Two miles, three, five… then you get your sixth flat.

Six flats in five months and two of them were in the garage when the bike was parked. Not a good way to start any day. It’s one of the top three reasons people stop riding a bike. That’s based on pure opinion and informal chitchat with people who claim they stopped riding a bike years ago because they could get a flat. When people start talking about what they hate about bike riding, flat tires are in close proximity to the other classic reason, “Because it makes my butt hurt.” For me, this summer was all about getting under the rim of the whole issue of my flat tires.

I’ve biked for as long as I can recall and I have commuted for 20 years. I ride all the time. What’s the “normal” amount of flats a rider might get? I have no idea. My normal was about twice a year. Usually there was a giant nail involved. Sometimes a staple that didn’t look like much but ends up being a slow leak. Nothing too extreme. I’m a fanatic about checking my tires, so for me this flat issue is out of the ordinary.

Over the summer that changed significantly. Let’s say that I was thinking by the time I had my third flat that I should learn the fine art of fixing a tire. In July, that’s what I did. Good for me, right? I learned and when I had my fourth flat, I fixed it and thought that was it. The bike gods were testing me.

I was gone for three weeks and did not ride the bike experiencing all the flats. Then I started to analyze the number of flats. Six flats in 13 weeks seems out of the norm. Seems extreme and even careless, as if I’m intentionally riding in glass or looking for contruction sites and purposely riding in lanes made of tacks or something. I was flummuxed. Was it the tire? I was thinking my bike hated me and I needed some sort of tire-exorcism. Did someone have a voodoo bike and puncturing the tires?

Two weeks ago, I went on a 30 mile ride and I came home and parked my bike in the garage just like always. I looked over the tires and everything seemed fine. They were inflated. Then it happened again. I went to the garage the next morning and I had another flat. Can you imagine my utter shock and dismay at the whole situation?

Later in the day I drove my bike to the bike shop because something bigger had to be going on. Owning the bike for only 13 weeks, maybe I used the wrong tube or didn’t pay attention to some detail. Let’s go over it all again. We did. The owner, Wake was very helpful and we went through the tire with a little vacuum and he did give me some great tips on getting the tire back on the rim. I was a sponge soaking up all the technical details and thinking I would like to be a bike mechanic. It was very satisfying. He lubed up the chain and I was feeling great about it. I concluded that yes, it was me. I had missed a step and this would be the end of the cycle of flats.

I came home and went for a ride to clear out the funky feelings I was having about a variety of issues not related to biking. What a great ride. I had a renewed sense of joy. The chain was lubed and not squeaking like a broken swing, and after 10 miles I felt like my bike was healed.

The next morning… yep, flat as a pancake. Again.

At this juncture, I’m done. I’m want my money back. My bike is clearly defective. I couldn’t deliver the bike back to the shop. I had to be somewhere else, so my husband offered to help me out. He took the bike back and this time the tire and rim were replaced on the back and the front tire was also changed. I was happy that the shop could see what I’d been dealing with over the last several weeks. My husband texted me he was on his way home and the bike was in great shape.

I was home when he pulled the car into the garage. I was thrilled to see my bike and filled with certainty that this was the end of the flat period. I’m looking at the bike on the rack and guess what? Another flat! The bike was on the rack and this time the front tire was flat. The flat disease was spreading! I was shocked and dismayed and so frustrated. My husband pulled right out of the garage anddrove back to the bike shop. Come to find out, they were out of the Shrader valve tubes in the size needed, so they resued one of my old tubes with the intent of replacing it when they got more tubes. The old tube split during the drive home. They did have some new Presta valve tubes, so one of those replaced the one in the front tire. My husband reported that there might be some concerns about two different valves on the same bike, but someone said, “This is Bike Goddess you’re talking about.” I love that and I really like that I have two different valves. How cool am I?

It has been two weeks since my last flat. Flat tires can deflate a person’s confidence about riding a bike. I still go out to the garage just to see with my own eyes that the tires on the bike are fine and fully inflated. It’s reassuring. There could have been something on the rim that was not sitting right with the whole tube and when I think about the slow leaks and the types of flats my bike was getting it does seem like something was happening that was harder to diagnose. I’m grateful that the bike shop techs were asking questions and trying get me to articulate exactly what was happening.

Flats make even the most experienced rider apprehensive about riding. Have you ever had so many episodes of flats? How did you handle it?

Thanks for reading! Get out there and ride!

Bike Goddess

Bike Noodle, not only for Pools

Posted on July 22, 2019 by bikegoddess

A few months back I read this article about how this person used a pool noodle for keeping cars a safe distance away while touring. I thought it was a clever idea and vowed to give it a try. I was at my local Walgreens last weekend and picked up one on sale for $2.29 and immediately added it my bike.

Traffic in the summer is frenetic and out of control. People in their convertibles and jeeps all seem to think speed limits don’t apply. The zoom effect is the one that always scares me out of my mind. Vehicles are a close shave away and despite lights, mirrors and signals, no one seems to give notice.

Not only does it put a smile on your face, but others enjoy it too.

My experiment was a success. The pool noodle is clearly a biker’s best friend. What a great idea and even if it looks a bit silly it keeps me safe. No one yelled, honked, glared, zoomed by or even flipped me off. Frankly it was shocking how calm drivers seemed around me and my noodle.

Pool noodles keep you afloat even on roads.

Pick one up, especially if you’re touring around, but I do feel like they improve visibility better than a neon jacket. Good for any season. A commuter’s best tool outside of a patch kit and hex wrench.

Thanks for reading,

Get out there and ride!

Bike Goddess

Going Flat

Posted on July 18, 2019 by bikegoddess

In music a sharp rasies the pitch while a flat lowers it. On a piano keyboard you learn in one of your first lessons that sharps are up and flats are d-o-w-n. When someone sings off key they are flat. When you hear them sing you often make a face to show disdain for what you heard. When pop has “gone flat” it has lost it’s fizz. Being stretched out, outstretched, spreadeagled, prone, reclining, sprawling, supine, prostrate, or recumbent is to lay flat. Lacking interest, being dull, lifeless and level is also uh, flat.

One of the top five reasons people don’t ride their bikes is they could get a flat. I hear that excuse anytime someone talks about riding their bike to work. “Are you afraid of getting a flat tire?” Well, yes, I am. But it really hasn’t been an issue for me until this year. Actually until about May. Since May I have had three flat tires. All on the back tire.

After my second flat tire I decided to take matters into my own hands. I wanted to be less dependent on others to get me back on the road. My family is not handy. I don’t recall my father ever changing a tire on a car. I never learned how to change a car tire and usually any flats I would have on my bike happened on a group ride and there were resources around to change a tire. You know, bike mechanic people who race against eachother to see how fast they can change a tire and get you back out there.

All in all, after 30 some years of riding, it hasn’t been a big deal until now. I went to a bike shop near me, Bad Boyz Bikes and Larry helped me out. Larry is not the cat. Larry isn’t pictured. Larry is the owner and he’s a great guy. He helped me out with flat #1 and that’s when I thought about learning how to do this for real but decided to get a mani instead and leave it to the experts.

But when I had the second flat I was on my way to co-lead a bike tour and my husband had to come rescue me and deliver me to the bike shop and they fixed the tire. At that time I had an Armidillo tire put on the back. I thought that would be the end of it but I knew it was time to step up and put on the mechanic’s apron and learn how to be self sufficient.

Before another flat would sideline my bike adventures, I went to visit Larry, the tire whisperer. Beforehand I popped in on him to see if he’d help me get over my fear of flats. He said yes, and we set up a day. He doesn’t drink coffee but a smoothie any my gratitude would be his only payment. In about a hour he taught me how to get the tire off the rim and break the bead and check the inside of the tire for debris and get the new tube on the rim and inflate it and get going. He had me flip over my bike and do everything as if I was out on the road. I did mention how much I despise getting grease under my nails and he gave me a pair of shop gloves. He admitted he didn’t like that either. Well, alright then! We did this on the front tire and he took some time to show me how to handle my back tire. He didn’t just talk through it with me, he let me work it out and learn. I felt like I was in 8th grade shop but instead of talking to my friends I was paying attention.

Cute, but doesn’t hold everything I need. Plus it’s less likely that I’ll patch while on the road. Better to replace the tube and patch at home.

I left Larry’s armed with new skills and ready to fix a flat. I looked for bikers in distress and in need of my skills. That’s how confident I was feeling. I worked out all the bits that are needed in my flat repair kit: hex key, patch kit, tire levers, CO2, gloves, mints, Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer. I’d rather not carry a pump even though mine is one of those Lezyne mini pumps, but I’m still not adept at using CO2 so for now I’ll keep the bike pump. It’s great for building upper body strength.

After flat #2 I had Armidillo tires put on the back in the hope that those would help. I prefer Continental tires, but sure, I’ll give those Armidillos a try. That was about a month ago.

Flat #3 happened today. I was at mile 16 and I stopped for awhile and when I returned to my bike I had my third flat. I was weirdly ready to fix that flat. Except in all my arranging and rearranging of my flat repair kit and bags I didn’t have my hex wrench. Texted my guy and he came to the parking lot and we loaded up my bike and in the safety of my own driveway I took my time and fixed my first flat.

There’s the culprit. Looks like a white hair. Slow leak from a staple puncture.

The first hardest part was breaking that bead. Once I got the tube out I inflated to twices it’s size to find the puncture.

Breaking the bead.
Tube off.
Inflated to find the pin hole.
Lip shimmer to mark the hole.
And you thought it was just for lips.

It took me and hour and 45 minutes and that includes watching a couple of YouTube videos to get some help with the bead bond. My husband helped me a little when he came to see what was taking me so long. Getting the tire on and off the rim really requires some finesse. I had it on one side but not the other. I was waiting for that satisfying PHEW it makes and I really couldn’t see that it needed to happen on both sides.

Now the last part was the most frustrating was getting the tire back into place. I felt like it was an archery contest trying to pull the derailleur back and the chain out of the way so the wheel wouldn’t hang up on anything. It should be as easy as putting bread into the toaster, but instead it’s like putting a toaster into a piece of bread. Larry said the secret was to have the bike in its lowest gear, so I played with that for another 30 minutes but at last it came together.

I haven’t patched the tube yet. I think I’ll go visit Larry and buy a new one for my flat repair kit and have him show me the finer points of patching. I think I’m ready.

Flats aren’t fun. They are flats after all, but I feel better about fixing them. I don’t fear them. No bike is flat proof.

Flats happen. Bottom line, I’m rolling again and that’s what important. I learned a lot and I’m more confident about what to do the next time.

Any advice for me on fixing a flat? How long should it take to fix a flat? What’s in your patch kit?

Thanks for reading.

Get out there and ride your bike!
Bike Goddess