#BBFF Date - The Forest Park Balloon Glow & Fireworks

My riding has been really sporadic this summer and fall, hence the (also) sporadic posts. However, I had a great ride on Friday night that I wanted to share with you, as well as some upcoming rides that should be a lot of fun, and some great bike links.

The Balloon Glow
On Friday, St. Louis held its annual Balloon Glow in Forest Park. I met up with several of my #bbff (that's "best bike friends forever" because bike friendships are fantastic things) at a coffee shop several blocks south of the park, and we rode over to the park together, avoiding all of the parking issues inherent in such a popular event. Bonus: unlike taking public transit (my other preferred method of travel to and from busy events or places with tricky parking), our bikes could go anywhere, so we could take them right to where we wanted to picnic, lock them together, then pack up the picnic and walk around and take photos of the race. (Trust me, ten bikes locked together in haphazard fashion will neither be lifted nor rolled away by anyone without a helicopter.)

Photo by M. Staublin

Photo by M. Llorian

Photo by M. Staublin 

When the ambient light is FIRE, you glow red, too. Photo by M. Llorian

After nibbling on our pot-luck picnic and exploring the Balloon Glow, we hopped back on the bikes and rode over to one of the cyclists' apartments in a high-rise in the Central West End, just East of the park. From there, we took in three amazing views from the apartment rooftop: (1) Fireworks post-glow; (2) great view of downtown at night; and (3) terrible motorist traffic on Kingshighway that we didn't have to deal with at all thanks to two-wheeled transportation. (We rode into the park on Macklind and out of the park through the Central West End into the Grove.)

It was a fantastic evening! I always love my #BBFF Dates.

Bike Events & Bike Links

Here are some fabulous upcoming bike events and links you should know about:

In Praise of the Upright Bike by Brent Toderian
As you know, I have an upright bike (Fleur), a ten-speed (The Radish), and a mountain bike (Julek). I vastly prefer rides on the 3-speed upright to the other two bicycles, so this article speaks to my style of riding (and my beloved "slow bike" movement).

Close to home: on September 27, 2014 at 8:30 am, Trailnet is hosting the Bike-Walk Kirkwood Education and Tour. You can register at the link; $5 for adults and $3 for children under the age of ten years. This tour will highlight the work Trailnet is doing to make Kirkwood more bikeable and walkable (I live just a few miles from Kirkwood, and often ride there).

Cycling Savvy is offering their Truth & Techniques classes in October and early November - these will probably be the last classes of the year (due to light and weather problems that generally come at the end of the year). The classroom session will be October 8 or October 26, followed by a "train your bike" session on October 11 or November 1, and a "road tour" to implement the new techniques on October 11 or November 2, 2014. You can register here. Cost is $30 per session, or $75 if you register for all three sessions ($15 discount). This is a great way to improve your comfort riding on streets. The earlier sessions will be based in the city; the later ones in Clayton and along the city/county border if either geographical area is more appealing. I recommend them highly!

BWorks Bellefontaine Cemetery Ride, October 18, 2014 at 9:30

This is a family-friendly ride through one of the City's largest and most historic cemeteries. It is the companion to June's Calvary Cemetery Tour and should be fabulous. I'm really excited to see the cemetery with the fall colors, too. This event is free. 

Finally, it's time for the Fourth Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge! I found out about the challenge too late last year to "win" but tried a couple rides and really liked it. It can be a fun way to challenge the places to and ways in which you ride. I'm planning to participate this year! Here are the rules:

• Goal: Seven coffee shops in seven weeks (10-4 to 11-16-2014)
  (As in, ride your bike to a coffee shop, have a hot beverage, ride home)
• Subject to limited exceptions, only weekend trips count (see main link for details)
• Max of one coffee shop per day (two per weekend)
• Take a photo of the coffee stop, and log your miles and the address of your destination as proof of the ride
• The point isn't coffee, or even hot. It's about a nice ride to a nice place to relax and enjoy the moment. Cocoa, tea, or a smoothie are all legit drinks.
• You cannot combine the coffeeneur ride with a major event ride, but you can combine it with errands (eg, to the grocery store, cleaners, gym, or going to another destination as part of a transportation ride, etc). 
• You must visit seven different locations, though they can be the same chain (multiple Starbucks or Bread Cos, if you will). You can also do a "coffee shop without walls" wherein you pack your coffee, ride to a campsite or other scenic spot, and enjoy your beverage there. It's about exploring.
• Deadline for submission: midnight 11-24-14 to gersemalina (at) gmail (dot) com. Send all proof in a single email (word, etc), not seven separate emails.
• If you win, and pay $4 (competing is free, the prize is not), you get a coffeeneuring patch to display proudly. This is awesome.
• Americans may use Columbus holiday as one of your rides per the "Tara" rule; Canadians may use Canadian Thanksgiving as an extra day.
• If you are on vacation, you may coffeeneur any two days of the week, but only two days of the week.
• If you want to use one trip to buy beans instead of drinking a coffeeneur-approved beverage, that's cool. 
• You may ride on Veterans Day instead of a weekend day, unless you are an actual veteran, in which case you rock and get a bonus coffeeneur day in recognition of your service. Go you!
• If you want to share your escapades on social media:
  Twitter: #coffeeneuring
  Flickr: Coffeeneur group
  Facebook: Coffeeneur Group
  Share your blog posts on any platform.

Sartorial Cycling: Dressing for Transitional Temps

Happy Friday night, Fiets-Friends!

Today, let's talk about layering for riding. On Sunday, I decided to ride Fleur to church, which is about two miles each way from my home. It was in the low-40s when I left, but was supposed to be near 60 for my ride home. HEY, those temps require different outerwear, y'all.

So what to wear to ride?

As always, start with what you want to wear. It's a bicycle ride, not an ice-climbing expedition. {The dog is optional; mine isn't a fan of baskets, for the record.}

Consider that you will be INCREASING wind exposure (by moving through the air, sometimes quickly), while WARMING your core through physical activity. So really, you'll warm yourself up once you're going for a few minutes, but the air will feel colder -- especially on your arms (which aren't moving as much as your legs), hands, and face/ears. 

Personally? I don't mind a brisk breeze on my face, but cold ears give me a wicked headache. 

Early in the blog, I suggested wearing a handkerchief in your forehead to prevent helmet-forehead. For cool, but not yet cold, weather, try binding the bandanna over your ears. It will block the wind but let most of the sound through. 

I also recommend a scarf; err on the warm side (they are easy to loosen or ditch). The other form of cold that gets to me is a cold neck and chest. I like winters so much more since scarves really caught on a few years ago!

Finally, if you have a jacket that is primarily wind-proof, or at least wind-resistant, grab that one. I was far chillier on my "coffeeneuring" ride when it was in the 50s in a wool tee and polyester fleece jacket than in my sleeveless shell, light cardi, and ancient raincoat (this jacket's at least ten years old; serves me well in a number of circumstances).

A lot of smaller layers allow you to tailor your outerwear during the ride and to adjust as necessary for the ride home, when temps have shifted. I ditched everything but the jacket and helmet for my ride home two hours later. 

Finally, a note on hair: with long tresses, I often like a braid or braids, because of the ease, but a low bun also plays nicely with a helmet. It also, if anything, creates a soft "o" or  "s"-type wave instead of crimpy-type "z" waves. I just twist my hair onto itself and secure ends with an elastic or small hair clip.

As the daylight wanes, and the temperatures continue to drop, I will likely be focusing my transport rides on these shorter jaunts within my more immediate neighborhoods. I do plan to continue Sunday church rides into and through the winter as long as the streets are clear.  I look forward to the experience and sharing what I'm learning with you here! I'd also like to lobby for the workday to shorten to from no earlier than an hour after sunrise to no later than an hour before sunset -- just to have a fighting shot at some daylight for part of my commute -- however I'm commuting. 9-3 from November to March, anyone?

Cheers, and happy riding!

x

The World Looks Different When You Ride

This past week has been a mixed bag, as far as bicycling goes. 

The Good:

I mentioned my "stable" post in and by Bikes for the Rest of Us, and got some great feedback from the post's authors about how to adjust my hub gearing on Fleur (Linus Dutchi) in order to fit my riding needs better.

I've been in touch with my LBS about making this change, and about the work needed to Julek (90's Trek 8000) and The Radish (70's Motobecane 10-speed).

Here's the starting plan for the bikes:

• Adjust the ring from 22 to 18-tooth to adjust second gear on Fleur.
• Give The Radish the attention it needs - new brake hoods, a once-over.
• Julek needs to have a crack in the shock looked at; not sure yet if I'll keep the shock or return to the original fork (I still have it).
• Julek needs some smooth tires.
• The Radish and Julek need fenders and small rear racks.
• The Radish needs serious wheel love. The spokes are loose and wheels are out of true.
• The Radish needs some reflectors, too, to be compliant with current law.
• Kickstand upgrades for everyone.

I will start with The Radish, then Julek, then Fleur, since that's the order in which they are rideable. Which brings us to...

The Bad:

Can we talk about daylight savings time? I have never been profoundly affected by daylight per se. I love rainy days, and as long as things are green and lush and moist, I'm happy. I get far more bummed out by days when it's miserable to be outside - freezing and grey, or hot and brown. Truly, I blame Portland for ruining things with evergreens and mild temps year round.

This year, the end of Daylight Savings Time hit me like a ton of bricks, because it effectively meant that, even with mild weather, to commute to and from the office, I'd have to commit to riding 6(+) miles in rush hour traffic in the dark. And, at least at my current comfort level, I can't.  I struggle with the ride home during rush hour in the best of circumstances, and I need more than a blinking red light and an awesome headlight to get me over this. Like a body-suit made of reflective-coated titanium or something, I don't know. That said, sometimes on Fridays I can scoot a little early, and that may buy enough daylight to make the occasional winter ride possible. So don't totally give up on me. Plus, riding to and from church and local businesses is still very much a possibility, because those are often daylight-hour activities, even as the Winter Solstice approaches. 

The Ugly:

If I am often busy, November presents a special challenge, due to NaNoWriMo, in which I have participated most years (and I am determined to win this year; I won in 2009). Nano collided with an already-busy schedule last weekend and I basically spent Saturday and Sunday running around like a crazy person. The chief (or at least, most relevant to this blog) implication of this is that I have officially "failed" coffeeneuring, in that I could not find time for a challenge-worthy bike ride at any time during Saturday or Sunday. However, I've been assured that continuing without winning is still grounds for submission and cheers, so I will try to coffeeneur this weekend and on future weekends. I do so like the this is not about speed or distance or getting somewhere; it's about biking leisurely to a leisure activity vibe of the thing. I want to celebrate that, especially since it is so much more accessible to me right now than  distance rides, night rides, and commuting to work.

The Game-Plan:

I will use these long, dark nights to provide the incentive to get the remaining bicycles up to speed, to seize the opportunity to ride on weekend days, and to find space an time in my schedule to breathe... and ride.

The Silver Lining:

Out of frustration comes (if you're looking for it) insight. 

On a practical level, I've determined that I need a paper calendar. I love my phone's calendar for its ability to remind me of things with alarms, but I have the terrible habit of checking only to see if I am free for the specific window requested of me, and not considering the larger picture (what the rest of the day, weekend, or week holds for me). I'm a visual person, so this isn't really a surprise, but I hadn't thought about it until my overbooked calendar caused me to miss out on something I really enjoyed and wanted to do (ride my bike to a coffee shop without feeling awful and rushed).

On a philosophical level, my feelings about my car are changing. I don't know if it was the recent hybrid eclipse, but people have been driving so recklessly that I've come to resent my car commute something fierce.  I'm paying much closer attention to how I feel when I'm driving, versus how I feel on the bicycle. And it's marked. My stress levels, so long as I permit myself to have adequate time to reach my destination without rushing, are low-to-nonexistent on the bike. But in the car, I can't control that nearly as easily, because I am a driver, and can't just choose side streets to interact with pedestrians or the sounds of nature instead of stop-and-go arterial or inner-belt nonsense. I'm paying attention to these things.

If I can't ride consistently, at least I can share.

Here are some great bike links I stumbled across this week:

If I ever think something "bikey", Commute by Bike posts about it shortly thereafter.
Tips from the cycling sloth... 

And, thanks to Melissa @ Her Green Life, I've been thinking a little extra about what I want in bike infrastructure lately, which has resulted in some very interesting ready about old freeways and bike lanes.

Are you in St. Louis? Are you interested in bike infrastructure in the community? If so, please make note of an upcoming event by Great Rivers Greenway in which the Bike Plans from three bike-friendly communities will be presented. It's an all-morning event next Wednesday, 11-20-2013 from 830pm-130pm. Admission is $15. I hope to go, but it will truly depend on my work schedule that day. 

Finally, who doesn't love a little Bikeyface? Let's look at her new posters. I am such a fan of the top poster with the three different bicycles.

That's all from me this week. 
Here's to riding - whenever and however it suits us, so long as we ride!

What the heck is #Coffeeneuring??

I freaking love Twitter.

I love all social media, to be honest. I'm a talky person (I am sure you're shocked to learn this) and I love projects and sharing information with people who think about the same kinds of things. My Facebook group of friends is diverse and wonderful, but it's through Twitter that I can really explore my feelings and experiences with money management, simple living, decluttering, and bicycles.

And so, through Twitter, I found Mary G. of @coffeeneur. I mentioned her in last week's post. She started this fantastic DC-based project called "coffeeneuring" after reading about it online (another person started the term; but it is my understanding that Mary is the one who really ran with it). There are something like 19 rules, but they boil down to these essentials:

1. Within a fairly short period of time (around 8 weeks?), visit 7 coffee shops.
2. They must be different coffee shops.
3. You must ride your bicycle.
4. The total (round-trip) ride must exceed 2 miles.
5. You must take a photo of your drink, which must be coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or cider.
6. The rides must take place on a Saturday or Sunday, some holidays, or your days off, but shall not exceed two per week.

Here are all the rules.

She sets it up as a challenge, and if you send photographic evidence and a brief description of your experience and the length of your route, you get something as a prize. I don't know what the something is, but I seized upon this as an opportunity to keep riding as the days shorten and as I evaluate my bike commute's place in shorter, colder days (remember, I'm pretty new to this, and still figuring all of this out).

I joined halfway through the challenge, and so must ride every single available weekend day between now and Sunday, November 17, in order to complete the challenge and win. So as soon as we returned from a family trip to the Lake of the Ozarks, I hopped on Fleur, and we moseyed to St. Louis Bread Co (mostly because I was sure it would be open on a Sunday evening), arriving home just as the light had started to fade. 

 It was a great experience! I timed myself through MapMyRide, which is one of my favorite apps. The time shown includes my time at the coffee shop. 

Shop 1 of 7.

Total (round-trip) route: 5.3 miles. 

My drink was a venti chai tea latte.

The best part about my ride was: powering up a hill I had to walk up last time. Also, this tiny older gentleman spent about 45 seconds ogling my bike when he left the shop, and Fleur was totally flattered.

The worst part about my ride was: powering up a hill I had to walk up last time. I also forgot to get one of those stick-in-the-coffee-hole plastic doohickeys, and my yellow purse is now pretty dirty. My suede wedges also need to be clean, and so does Fleur's front basket. Will have to address these things before Saturday's ride...

I sure hope to complete the challenge. I am a total project-addict (did I mention that already?) and next month will be a busy one. I've just come off a minimalist game, where I decluttered one thing for each day # of the month (1 thing day 1, 31 things day 31) for a total of 496 items purged. I need to get the donate-able/sellable/specially-recyclable stuff to the right places and reclaim my dining room because tomorrow is also the start of NaNoWriMo! This writing project will be eating my life alive for the next 30 days so my posting and riding will probably reflect it, though I picked up coffeeneuring specifically with the idea that I could ride to a coffee shop with the computer and write for a nice block of time while maintaining interests outside of crazy-frantic-novel-writing.

If this intrigues you , by all means try it out, just for fun, and if you're on Twitter, follow Mary and "compete" the next time there's a challenge! 

Cheers and happy riding!

Random Thoughts and Busy Days

Holy busy days, Batman.

I have a million things I could have written for this post, but no time in which to write. Weekend travel, Thursday rehearsals, and busy-ness at work are conspiring against me, but such is the slide into the holidays -- somehow it affects everything, n'est-ce pas?

Light riding week for me, but big week for bike news. This past weekend I went to Kansas City to visit family and had the chance to get back on the mountain bike, on which I did a nice little 5mi street-and-trail ride that made me think more favorably about the suburbs than I usually do. My brother lives about as close to a lovely little trail as I do to Grant's trail, but his trail was empty. Seriously, in five miles, I think we saw four people. For better or worse, I can hardly get over 5mph on some stretches of Grant's (especially by the farm) because people love to use the trails and parks in St. Louis. To be clear, I'm not complaining. Use means we're more likely to get MORE TRAILS, rather than face resistance to our requests for this sort of infrastructure.

I also picked up my mom's old 1970s Motobecane 10-speed, which is in surprisingly good shape for a bicycle that has been hanging out in a garage attic for decades. No rust, some scratches and missing paint (my brother and I are almost certainly responsible for this during our adolescence), gorgeous brazed joints and badging, and new tubes, tires, and brake pads thanks to my handy brother. I love the look of the gumwalls he picked. Good brother. :)

So, here's my complete stable:

I have names for each of them.
UPPER: The Radish
MIDDLE: Julek
BOTTOM: Fleur

Julek is a dude. Mostly because he told me so.

Ten-speed derailleur (2+5) w/downtube shifting
21-speed derailleur (3+7) w/thumb shifter
Three-speed internal (1+3) w/grip shifter

The 10-speed needs: wheel to be trued, spokes to be tightened, brackets to be checked. 

The MTB needs - surprisingly little, but I found a tiny crack in in one the mounting spots on the Rock Shox. Does anyone know if this is a big deal? My brother didn't think so. I know I have the original fork if they are shot, but would probably need to repurchase the appropriate headset to swap them. 

The Linus might benefit from different or additional gears. I'm totally on the fence about whether to mess with her at this point.

I plan to add, at a minimum, kickstands to The Radish and Julek, and to swap a single-footed kickstand to a double-footed one for Fleur, since she's my basketed friend. I'd like to get fenders and small rear racks for the 10-speed and MTB; the 10speed has an eyelet on her rear-wheel that makes me think this was contemplated from the start. KISMET, I TELL YOU.

In stable news, Bikes For the Rest of Us, a great bicycle resource blog with numerous reviews and multiple contributors, featured my stable on its website. They are looking for stories about your bike(s) and why you chose it/them. Please find them if you wish to contribute. 

Out of town this weekend, but I'll end this on a caffeinated note: I recently started following @coffeeneur (Chasing Mailboxes, otherwise known as Mary G) on Twitter, and she (of the DC area) talked me into participating in a "coffeeneuring" challenge, which at this point, boils down to riding my bike at least 2mi round trip to get a cup of coffee and nibble at a local coffee shop SEVEN distinct times on SEVEN distinct weekend (non-work) days before 11/17. Which means, coffee Sunday, Nov 2, Nov 3, Nov 9, Nov 10, Nov 16, and Nov 17 to "win". More info here if you'd like to join up, but with one of the few remaining weekends upon us, time is of the essence. 

Finally, I just received this AMAZING bumper sticker for my car (designed by Elly Blue, of Everyday Bicycling, Bikenomics, and Taking the Lane). If I can find 32 seconds, it's so going on that 4-wheeled thingamajig I also use to get around.

Cheers and happy riding! xx