The 2014 Moonlight Ramble

Before I review the ride, a note:
Three weeks ago today, I participated in the Moonlight Ramble, St. Louis' annual midnight bicycle ride through the City streets. Three weeks ago, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed teen, was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson in the City of Ferguson, Missouri, just a couple of miles West of the city in the heart of inner-ring St. Louis County. The past three weeks have seen the heart and soul of this community rent wide as we face questions and issues that have been deeply buried for a very long time. I have been simply unable to post here about the event because of the magnitude of pain and uncertainty in our metropolitan area - pain and uncertainty that has touched people nation- and even world-wide. Stability is returning to the community, but we have a long road ahead of us yet, and a great need for healing and change. In light of the stabilization, I am now comfortable posting my review of the ride, but I want to name what happened the same day as the ride, and in the days and weeks that have followed, and which will likely be part of our story for a very, very long time.

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First and foremost, this event was huge! If there were around 1,500 riders at the World Naked Bike Ride-St. Louis, there were easily three times as many at the 51st annual MR. 

The MR is a charity event that takes place at midnight around the full moon in August. The cost is $25 and nets you a participation number, tee shirt, and benefits Hostelling International. You can choose routes of varying lengths; our group choose the 19-mile route. You can read more about it here and here.

In our group, we had Jim, Mary, Monica, me, and Mike (below, L to R). We met up at Monica's home, about 5 miles from the race start, where we decorated our bicycles before heading to the race start (below). We then took off. The first couple of miles were so closely-packed that we went pretty slowly, but things spread out a bit as we progressed over the course. We rode through downtown, and into South City, through neighborhoods and Carondelet Park, and back through Soulard. Afterward, we rode to Uncle Bill's Pancake House, where we refueled while the sun started to peek above the horizon.

Honestly? This ride was on the short list of my favorite things I've ever done and I really hope to ride again next year and in future years. It was long, but I wasn't tired while riding - it was simply too exciting. That said, it took me about 36 hours to fully recover from it - I was exhausted both Sunday and Monday.

Here are some photos taken by my friends:

Also: You can read Mike's review of the ride here! 

Share the Road

One of the craziest things about cycling as a community is how unified and how diverse we are, all at once. You can have the most buttoned-up professional next to the most counter-culture free spirit, and they will bond over the shared love of bicycles. We may quibble over the need for infrastructure or whether single-speed/fixie is superior to gearing that exceeds available digits, but generally, it's pretty exciting to get the reminder that there are other bike people out there, cycling on the same roads.

And yet...

Source

As I've gained friends and found kindred spirits in my own little cycling circles, I'm also growing increasingly aware of just how much vitriol exists toward cyclists who dare to ride in the traffic lane. It's not a large portion of the motorist community, but some of these folks are pretty intense. Take, for example, the story of Keith Maddox, or this (now-defunct) Tumblr (archived records from the web, because it's apparently gone). 

There have been studies to show that as a nation, Americans are becoming more polarized and acrimonious. Is this because we're getting more informed about our positions? (The internet!) or because we can find our tribes so much more easily and convince ourselves that our position is not only right, but that it is absolute? (The internet!) I have opinions. Sometimes I have OPINIONS (all-caps opinions are louder, dontcha know) and I have made and strained friendships by sharing these on social media (THE INTERNET!). 

I definitely feel this way about the "who can use public roadways" debate that is pretty intense right now. I know I'm more keyed into it because, dangit, those roads go where I need to go, and all things being equal, I'd really rather take my bike to get there. But I don't really want to get honked at, yelled at, swerved at, or otherwise harassed along the way (that means you, hooters and whistlers...it's a little distracting when I'm also trying to make sure you're giving me my full lane, or at least 3' of space as you're passing me). It seems like people fall into a handful of camps:

(1) The roads are for everyone. Oh hey, because they are public. Also, Missouri law provides for the manner in which cyclists can use the roads, which begins with yes, they can use the roads. And no, they are never required to ride in a gutter or shoulder (though they may if they so choose). They only have to ride to the right when a lane is large enough to share with a vehicle who wants to pass them, and when the right of the roadway is free from debris, parked cars, or other defect that could pose a danger to the cyclist. So basically? They have every right to be right in the middle of the lane, just like the motorized traffic. 

Source

This is actually the safest way to ride. You are visible and you are relevant to the other travelers around you, whether on bike or foot, or in or on motorized vehicles. You are more predictable because you can handle intersections and obstacles the same way that motorists do, which means they don't have to guess whether you are turning across lanes, or going straight through their right turn, and, if you are obeying stop signs and lights (which you absolutely should because that's also the law), then everyone moves together. For more information, check out this website, and maybe take a local class -- whether or not you personally ride. I'd love to see this education made available to every road user, regardless of their preferred transportation mode.

(2) I'd prefer the bikes didn't slow me down, or rode to the right or on the sidewalk, but otherwise I'm okay to share the road with them. I think a lot of riders who are hugging the right edge of the roadway must at least hope that most drivers feel this way, judging by their behavior. If I just make myself irrelevant enough, I won't upset anyone... 

For so many reasons, this is understandable behavior, but it actually makes everyone less safe as a result. Motorists pass too closely, leaving little or no margin for error, and the risk of conflicts at intersections skyrockets (cyclist continuing straight while a vehicle to its left is turning, pedestrian conflicts, unpredictable behavior by the cyclist), and really, you're not slowing anyone down much at all... most reports suggest that it takes approximately 10 seconds to pass a cyclist when you practice safe and predictable riding techniques. Are we really getting this upset about a ten-second delay?

(3) Yay, bikes, but you don't belong on the roads at all. That's what sidewalks and bike trails are for. My taxes pay for the roads for cars. Law, practice, and reality disagree with just about everything in this position. The practices that marginalize your presence and relevance in #2? All the worse when you're on a sidewalk, because then motorists don't look for you at all at intersections or driveways. You're practically invisible here. Also, riding on sidewalks is generally illegal in city centers, so it may not even be an option. Finally, you're a risk to those who are walking on the sidewalk. Also, fuel and other taxes dedicated to motorist infrastructure: (a) don't pay but a sliver of the gargantuan costs of road construction and maintenance and (b) most cyclists pay some taxes and are at least part-time motorists, so they are likely contributing as much as any non-rider. Which is all to say: not enough, but all the while creating significantly less wear and tear on the road than heavier motorized vehicles. So they are actually helping by not being a car. But whatever. 

I have no beef with multi-user paths. In fact, I love them (yay, Grant's Trail!), but too often, they don't really go anywhere, or you need roads to get between them or to access them. So yay, please DO build more, and I'll use them, but suggesting they should be used exclusively would be like saying cars should only be allowed to operate on freeways. How do you get to the freeway? What if you need to go someplace the freeway doesn't go? Roads. The answer for both of us.

(4) I hate bikes and we all secretly want to hit them. See the Keith Maddox link, above, and maybe take a second to question whether it's worth the energy to maintain this ire and frustration. If you say something like this publicly and then hit a rider, it could be seen as motive or premeditation. Even if you think it, what is it that so disconnects that human and his or her preferred mode of transportation from being a human worthy of compassion, or at least his or her safety or life? You're not threatening a bike (two wheels, some rubber, maybe a little carbon and steel, but no heartbeat), but the rider (heart, brain, goals, family, just like you). And then, okay, let's say that you really would prefer to ride, free from interference from anything slower. Okay. Get involved and do something positive about it. I may not be a champion of all bike lanes, but I'd much rather see you advocate for every road to have a dedicated space for cyclists (even if it's only used to get out of your way from time to time) or meaningfully-connected multi-use paths, than to encourage or threaten violence.

At any rate, this is all especially relevant to me right now. Last week, a story blew up in the area about an altercation between the Mayor of Sunset Hills and a Fenton-area triathlete who was riding his bike and was injured. You can read more about it here, here, and here.

I am saddened, again, as support for running cyclists off the road reaches higher decibels so close to home. But I'm also hopeful. To return to the very first sentence in my post, the cycling community, however diverse its individual members may be, is capable of coming together and doing really lovely things, like riding around naked for fun. Or learning about this amazing city and it's neat little neighborhoods. Or celebrating birthdays. 

Or standing up for the local cyclist and the local cycling community. This morning, about two hundred local cyclists gathered to support the cyclist and to demand better from the motorists with whom they share the road. Because we all have the right and the responsibility to use them safely, and the obligation to share them with one another. And we all deserve a little peace. And, as Mother Teresa and this lovely rider's jersey note: 

"Peace begins with a smile." Photo credit: Wes Ridgeway

Peace.

PS:
Interesting discussion about my CyclingSavvy course review here.
(Link contains repost of my review.)

Post by Trailnet.

Bare As You Dare: WNBR-STL

Last Saturday was the World Naked Bike Ride-St. Louis, and I participated! This blog post is totally SFW, but the links may not be. Click through at your own risk.

The ride was a blast. I had so much fun. My friend Jules and I connected with friends Melissa, Matthew, Mary, and Steven, and we met up with friends Harold, Karen, and their son Eli, after the race, too. Beyond that, I saw just two or three people I recognized at the event, which suggests to me that:
(1) this was one of those times when St. Louis was being all "big city" instead of "small town" (it vacillates wildly between the two) and
(2) more of my friends should ride bicycles. ;)

For Jules and me, "bare as you dare" = "not any barer than we'd otherwise be in public", so we opted for bikinis for the ride, and I wore a dress over my bikini to dinner and shorts over the bikini bottoms for the after-party. The WNBR stands for a number of great things:

• Awareness and promotion of decreasing dependency on oil-guzzling transport ("burn carbohydrates, not hydrocarbons")
• Increasing cyclist awareness and visibility
  ("now that you see me, pay attention to me when I ride with clothes on")
• Positive body image reinforcement
  ("every body is beautiful")

I decided to play up the environmental aspects of riding, since those, together with increasing my fitness through easy and fun (not gym-specific) activity are my favorite reasons for riding, and "tattooed" burn carbs not hydrocarbons on my arm and leg in permanent marker (I'm much better at writing on my leg than my arm - the arm bit was pretty comically awful). 

By far, the highlight was the ride - over 1,500 (est.) cyclists from all economic and social backgrounds coming together. I love that bikes are a great leveler when it comes to other dividing lines to make a big and unified "us" group. When "we" take off our clothes and ride together, the effect is certainly amplified! I enjoyed all twelve miles - the camraderie and support from bystanders (and the hilarity of the occasional oh heeeellllll no) and was very happy to be at least partially-dressed, as not only did almost everyone have a cell phone, but almost all seemed to be set to video capture, judging by the way the bystanders were holding their gadgets. I was also perfectly happy to realize I was missing from all of the photos posted by the RFT (nsfw) Post-Dispatch (nsfw) and KSDK (mostly sfw). Ha! 

I also loved the creativity exhibited by the riders (in their various states of undress or dress). Our group really enjoyed City in a Jar Jess's "Starry Night" body paint (#64 of the RFT photos), and I was really inspired by a 1920s-flavor outfit featuring a pale peach slip that I might incorporate into a future costume. My rule is that if I am photographed, I have to be cool with my employer seeing it, so I'll never be very bare. Not that there is any shortage of folks who were willing to bare it all, though.

The afterparty was kind of a let-down for me, honestly, but I'm glad they have it. We just milled about for a bit, and then rode back to our dinner/parking spot in the Hill. Mostly, it was a celebration of gawkers and people who really like to be naked and/or drunk, but lost much of the context of the ride, and so lost the appeal for me. The only real downside, though, was that my rear light wasn't as charged as I'd believed, and died during the ride. In the future, I'll make sure the lights are fully charged the night before and leave them off for the ride - the sun didn't set until after our return, and in the middle of the pack, I had no need for lights to see or be seen during the group ride. Also, pack back-up lights.

Photo credit: My Hubs. S is drawing fabulous lightning bolts on M's arm.

Photo credit: Karen K.

In future bikey news, the Moonlight Ramble-STL is coming up on August 9, 2014. Unlike the Naked Bike Ride, where you can just show up, the MR requires preregistration and the deadline is this Friday, August 1, 2014. So sign up soon! I can't wait. It's a lot later (Midnight start) which might do me in, but I so enjoyed the big-bike-group dynamic on Saturday, that I'm looking forward to it. I may just sleep through church that Sunday...

If you prefer daytime riding, here are some upcoming group rides  in August hosted through B*Works and Trailnet:

Saturday, August 2, 2014 9:30am - B*Works Automobile Row Tour. From the event link: This tour visits several of the buildings from “Automobile Row” as well as other sites  of historic importance, including both the sole survivor of St. Louis’ first “private place” and perhaps the most overlooked literary landmark in the entire country. Free. Just show up!

Saturday, August 16, 2014, 10:30am - Trailnet I Love STL Bicrobrews Microbrewery Tour. From the event link: Several urban microbreweries are featured on this tour. Learn what it takes to craft a great brwe from some of St. Louis' finest microbreweries. Tastings and tours will be provided at many of the stops. Must be 21 to drink. $8 if you preregister online; $10 day of tour.

Saturday, August 23, 2014, 9:00am - Trailnet Old Frenchtown Bicycle Tour. From the event link: This ride explores two of St. Louis' most fascinating and historic neighborhoods, LaSalle Park and Soulard. Home to some of the Midwest's most interesting architecture, both of these 19th century neighborhoods retian the imprint of the various ethnic and religious groups that have lived and worked there. Both are also case studies in the effects of highway construction on the traditional city as well as models of late 20th century historic preservation and urban redevlopment. Preregister online or in person; $5 for adults and $3 for kids. 

Saturday, August 30, 2014, 9:30am - B*Works Old North St. Louis Tour. From the event link: Known for years almost exclusively as the “Crown Candy Kitchen neighborhood,” Old North St. Louis has experienced a remarkable renaissance in the past decade. This tour begins and ends at Crown but explores the entirety of a neighborhood that began its existence as an independent city with an unusual and  visionary urban plan. Free. Just show up! 

Personally? I am most interested in the Microbrewery and Frenchtown tour - I lived in Soulard for a bit while I was in law school and before the Hubs and I bought in the county. I was thrilled the WNBR tour cut through my old neighborhood, and went right by our old apartment near Broadway (7th) and Geyer. I would love to participate in the Old North Tour, too, but I'm not sure that will jive with some scheduling things for me. I love CCK, though, and would love to go!

These city tours are such a fantastic way to see parts of St. Louis you didn't know much about or maybe were reluctant to travel through alone or in an automobile. In particular, the Calvary Cemetery Tour (and its complementary second half, which will be hosted through B*Works in October) offered the great opportunity to ride to the cemetery through neighborhoods north of the CWE, which I haven't spent any time in during my 13 years in St. Louis. I so enjoyed the architecture and the positive interactions with the people who live there on our routes to and from the Calvary Tour. Cycling really erases so many of our differences and brings us together. It's another reason I love my bicycle.

If you have been thinking of joining us on one of these rides, I hope you'll jump right in (to reference the local music scene) at one of the August events. 

Cheers, and happy riding!

R

Calvary Cemetery Tour and Imaginary Infrastructure (If I Were King of the Forest....)

I have been meaning to post here since so very shortly after my last post! As I seem to mention often these days, I always think summer will be a time to slow down and appreciate simpler things and longer days. In my case? I tend to cram them chock full and wonder why I'm so exhausted! Melissa mentioned in her blog this week that the disruption to routine is really difficult for her, and I am inclined to agree. While I tend to be pretty fully-scheduled during the "school year" (I still think of my life in semesters, even though I haven't attended school in nearly a decade), I know exactly where the spaces are, and I can fill them or guard them as I need to. In summer, everything is so dang inviting, and it's far too easy to say yes! I want to do that! and here I sit at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning in early July and it's all catching up with me. I fell into bed last night, and despite sleeping nearly eight hours both nights, I feel as though I've been beat about the head and neck with an exhaustion stick. Eep. A good warning to slow down, for sure, if only I can heed it!

So, what have I been doing since June 20th? 

Calvary Bike Ride, June 21, 2014, St. Louis. Here's a little photo tour of a ride through Calvary Cemetery, one of the oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in the area. Many, many famous (locally famous and nationally famous alike) people are buried here, many associated with the Civil War, slavery and emancipation, the founding of St. Louis, and many of the industries that helped the city grow back when rivers were the nation's highways.

Beyond that, I haven't been riding a lot. It seems when the weather has been ideal (like preceding the July 4th weekend, when it was actually in the 70s for highs? Unbelievable), my schedule has been crammed. And when the weather in summer in St. Louis isn't ideal? I can barely handle being in an air-conditioned car. Yesterday, it was stormy and the high peaked around 97 or so, with humidity so thick the air was like soup. Erm, I sweat just existing when the weather is like that. 

I'm also figuring out quickly that I prefer to ride with traffic, but I don't like to ride very far by myself when I'm being traffic. I think there is added safety and visibility in numbers, and the ride is more fun when you have someone to share the experience with. This is a stark contrast to the joy I have riding Grant's Trail alone, where I don't have to worry as much about interacting with motorists (most intersections are signaled nor next-to-defunct and the trail is off-limits to cars). I haven't been riding to work much - I simply exert too much effort trying to keep up with motorists and it utterly ruins the experience for me. When I have the option to mosey, I ride happily. When I'm pushing myself, I end up hot and sweaty and stressed, and it undoes the benefits. A lot of this is truly about finding my limits, and for me, some type of well-designed infrastructure, a better network of multi-use paths, or at least designated bike highways would make travel between home and work much more pleasant. These, together with better education for all road users, would help to get to the shared-road, pleasant culture that we all want. 

From an ideal infrastructure standpoint, I don't know how to make things perfect any more than the next guy, but here are some things I'd do if I were in charge. And had an unlimited budget.

• 1" of sidewalk per traffic lane. 3" buffer/curb per traffic lane (between sidewalk and traffic lane). (A 2-lane road would have a 2' sidewalk on each side with 3" of curb and 3" of grass or plants on each side; a 4-lane road would have a 4' sidewalk on each side with 9" of grass and 3" of curb between sidewalk and street.) 
• No bike lanes between parked cars and traffic lanes; use a properly-placed sharrow
• Residential street speed limits not to exceed 20mph, residential "arterials" (2-3 lanes) not to exceed 25mph.
• Residential "arterials" to offer 5.5' bike lane, not overlapping gutter, no parked cars, along outside of traffic lanes with a 6" painted buffer. Lanes to end (force merge) at intersections.
• Major arterials (4+ lanes) to have 6' bike lane with 6" buffer zone (paint only) on either side, between lanes of traffic, to allow faster traffic to flow around bicycles. A turning bicycle would have to merge with the appropriate traffic lane in order to complete the turn, but would be able to stay in the designated lane to continue straight. Within the bike lanes, slower bicycle traffic would stay on the right, just like in normal traffic conditions. 

As an example, let's consider a bike commute from downtown Kirkwood (Kirkwood Road and Adams Road) to downtown Clayton (the courthouse) using a direct route when it makes sense (a "car" or "arterial" route) and the scenic route when it makes sense (multi-use paths, for example, through a neighborhood or park). The total route is about 8 miles each way and takes us North on Kirkwood/Lindbergh to Clayton, where we would head East on Clayton Road before going left across the mall into the Francis Place neighborhood to cut under the highway and connect with Shaw Park to get to downtown Clayton. Under my plan above, the cyclist would have a dedicated place on the road (around which heavier and faster vehicles may travel) until merging into the right turn lane at Clayton Road.There, the cyclist would have similar infrastructure until they merged into the left-turn pocket at Francis Place. Francis Place is 2-lane traffic with on-street parking, so the cyclist would ride down the middle of the lane until reaching the bike path that cuts under Highway 170, which connects to the bike paths in Shaw Park. Take that to Parkside Drive on the NW edge of the park, which is again 2-lanes with on-street parking and you'd have the same rules (ride in the middle of the travel lane) until reaching Forsyth, which is 2-4 lanes with on-street parking. So here, we'd again find a middle bike lane to allow cars to pass us in multi-use lanes and to turn when we're going straight. When we get to the side of the courthouse we want (East or West), we'd signal to merge into the right multi-use travel lane and make our turn, etc. 

I'd do this. I don't mind the travel differential so much when I have a place to allow my speed to be comfortable and allow faster folks to go around me. You'd certainly have to watch out for cars changing lanes, but for those merging left, you're on the driver's side and pretty visible, and for those merging right, they are already looking for traffic on their right to avoid. You'd never have to worry about getting doored, and I think access to/from the bike lane would be pretty easy, since you'd almost certainly be coming at it from a signaled intersection, or a road that is slow enough that traffic is easily avoided. It might take some getting used to to get passed on the right by faster traffic, which is the only real issue I'd have with this sort of plan. But the increased visibility and access to all multi-use traffic lanes is appealing and offsets that downside. 

What do you think? If you ride with kids, would you be comfortable in a dedicated lane between two travel lanes of faster-moving traffic? What if you're older, or ride a recumbent? Would you prefer this to a door-zone travel lane, or no designated lane at all? I suspect the answers will vary widely. My only rules for comments: please do not disparage those with a different viewpoint from you. Whether the idea of riding in and as traffic appeals or repulses, your feelings are valid here and should be respected and respectful of those who disagree with you.

Semi-Bike-Related Miscellany for Summerrrrrr

New to biking? Awesome-sauce (if profanity-laden) tips for new cyclists for commuting harmony by Lorena Cupcake at TinyFix.

Language(!), but great tips for new cyclists. "Absolutely zero [ppl] say 'Whatever, Safety Ranger, what a nerd'." http://t.co/OtIRxWRQnf
— Rebecca B. (@seven2seven8) June 19, 2014

Earth-Friendliness. Do you ride because you want to be healthy and minimize your consumption/impact on the environment? Hey, me too, though I still rely on my car more than I'd like. (Womp.) Some other random things I do (hold on; it's about to get crunchy up in here):

• Compost
• Wash my hair with baking soda / rinse with vinegar
• Make my own deodorant 
• Buy second-hand clothing

Compost.  I compost for two reasons: (1) it means we send fewer refuse items to the landfill and (2) it's a cheap and easy way to feed my garden. I have a three-step system: counter-top container, back-stoop bucket, and a big container by the garden (on the other side of the yard). This makes composting easy; it's become second-nature. In the spring, when I'm ready to plant, I simply dump the contents of the bin in the garden, return the still-breaking down-bits to the bin (with a big shovel), and then mix the compost in with the soil. Et, voila. 

Countertop Compost

No 'Poo. I started this in March 2012 and haven't looked back since, because it works well for me, reduces my environmental footprint (fewer disposable containers), and reduces my exposure to chemicals like "fragrance" (often petroleum-based) and sulfates, which create the lather in your soaps, and suck the natural oils and life out of your skin and hair. Short version of the story: I wash my hair with 1 tbsp baking soda in 8 ozs hot water (shaken in a bottle, applied to wet scalp, massaged in with fingertips, left to sit for 2 minutes, and thoroughly rinsed), then condition it with 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar to 6 ozs cold water (in a spray bottle; applied mostly ears-to-ends, massaged or combed through, rinsed, and then a cold-water rinse of my head only under the bath tap to close my hair cuticles). The result, for me, is hair that is soft, manageable, and happy. Below is blow-dried straight with no additional product from December 2012, about 9 months after I gave up traditional shampoos.

This hair was washed with baking soda. No, really.

Homemade Deodorant. If you'll permit me to be human for a second, I sweat, and I'll bet you do, too. Antiperspirants helped a little, but I don't like the (petro-based) fragrance and aluminum in most commercial deodorants, and I was still sweating if I was really hot or nervous, so I thought I'd give natural deodorant a go. I could handle a little more sweating, and I liked the smell of the deodorant when first applied (like a field of lavender, I tell ya'), but the smell would morph into something really... off by the end of the day, so I looked up homemade recipes and in July 2012, made a batch with equal parts baking soda and starch (I used arrowroot powder, but organic corn starch works, too), mixed with enough coconut oil (unrefined, please - you can get it online or at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods) to make a thick paste. Through experimenting, I've decided I like to make about 8ozs at a time; I drizzle in a little olive oil to condition the skin and keep the stick from being too solid when it's cold, and I like a ratio of about ten drops of lavender oil, five of tea tree oil, and 2 of peppermint oil, though the plain mix smells nice on its own, if you like the smell of coconut (I do). I apply a pea-sized amount in the morning; it lasts all day, handles bike-to-work commutes and work-outs, and strong cases of the nerves (public speaking, anyone?) like a champ. 

Second-hand Shopping. I can afford "new" clothes just fine, but honestly? I often prefer to shop second-hand, for myriad reasons. Jeans are already broken in or hemmed. Retro florals are abundant (and those are fabulous for bike commuting, let me tell you). You can find items that don't look like what everyone else is wearing. And, after reading Elizabeth Cline's Overdressed, most of the manufacturing practices (ethical and environmental) of those big brands I'd come to rely on started to really bug me. Buying second-hand allows me to make someone else's shopping habits less disposable, and also saves money, because thrifty finds are a lot cheaper than what you'll get at the mall (and sometimes still have tags on). In 2014 so far (almost halfway through), a full third of my purchases have been second-hand items; another third of the items purchased have been through companies who practice ethical and/or environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices. My goal is to increase the percentage of my wardrobe that is purchased ethically (new through good practice or second-hand) and reduce my shopping in general. If thrift/charity shops aren't your thing, there are a number of for-profit resale shops focusing on youthful trends or high-end designers popping up throughout St. Louis (check out the shops on South Brentwood and in Warson Woods along Manchester, the designer section of Scholarshop, or Plato's Closet, or Rung in Rock Hill) that feel more like shopping at a boutique, but better for the earth and your wallet.

Bike Events. This weekend (weather-permitting, and with SO MUCH WATER), I'm going on the B Works tour of Calvary Cemetery. Links to other event calendars can be found here (including a link to Trailnet's bakery bike tour, also this Saturday).

As for future plans: 

• I still need to pick up my two-footed kickstand for the Linus and have it installed, and I'm thinking about removing my Delano front basket (heavy; not as useful as I'd have thought, I lost a nut and bolt on a recent ride, and it scratches my car when it's on a car rack).
• I'm thinking about swapping my drop bars on the ten-speed for swept ones, and getting a new saddle, but I may focus first on getting it professionally fitted to see if the shoulder/back pain I experience is avoidable with the present set-up.
• I still need to have my MTB worked on, but the other two bikes have been good about meeting my needs. 
• I kind of want to get an old-style bike rack for my basement. I kind of also want a walk-out (instead of up) basement. Right now, when bikes are downstairs, they are just leaned against the wall, which makes retrieving them difficult. Plus, if we someday do have a walk-out level or larger garage, it could be great there, too. I've thought about screwing hooks into our rafters, but lifting Fleur...sucks. (She's a heavy girl.) This appeals much more.
• I'm planning to visit my hometown (Topeka, Kansas) for July 4th, and I hope to explore a bit by bicycle. I follow some of the folks there on Twitter, and it's my understanding that they've installed some infrastructure (lanes, etc), and it'd be fun to just explore my hometown in a way I haven't done for nearly two decades. I expect it will surprise me how small it is; I mapped my childhood home to the mall (because the mall was the commercial edge of the western side of town for all intents and purposes when I was growing up), and it was a little more than half the distance of my (comparatively-short by St. Louis standards) work commute (3.7 mi vs 6.5 mi one way).

Any fun plans for you? Questions now that you know I'm a secret hippie?
Share or ask in the comments!

Cheers, and happy riding!

Grants Trail / Bike Links / Upcoming Events

We finally have a had a break in the humidity and we're getting our May weather in mid-June instead. Sure. Why not? It's been in the 60s in the morning and upper 70s most afternoons. We've had a little daily rain or the odd thunderstorm or downpour, but the humidity is much more manageable (either lower, or less oppressive due to the lower temps). It was still pretty muggy last Sunday, though, but I decided to ride the entirety of Grant's Trail, plus the trip to/from my house, which totals a little over 21 miles for me (the trail proper is around 16 miles round-trip, or about 8 miles start-to-finish). Every time I ride the trail, I am struck by how much I like it, and would love a connected network of trails like this to make covering large areas more pleasant. 

From the Kirkwood end, the trail starts out feeling suburban, with open, fairly-flat land, signaled crossing points where it intersects streets and arteries, and views of the backs of stripmalls. From there, it gets better, unfolding at Grant's Farm, which houses petting zoos, a train, and Clydesdales!

After Grant's Farm, you pass ball fields and a few more businesses.

But it's the other stuff that I find most interesting. You alternate between open fields and far-off backs of houses, to practically being in people's actual back yards, to railroad and highway overpasses and lush, overgrown vines and trees. With the humidity Sunday, it got downright tropical. And then it just ends, in the middle-of-nowhere (no disrespect to Affton/Mehlville intended) South County, with no indication that you're near anything at all (because other than a few homes, you aren't). You turn around and ride back to "civilization". 

In one open field, I saw a deer grazing contentedly.

On my return trip, a hummingbird hovered in front of me for several seconds.

The trail is remarkably flat (a nearly-imperceptible decline heading SE; a slightly-more-noticeable incline heading NW), can be busy (Grant's Farm users, other cyclists, joggers, rollerbladers, and the like), and  has parking at either end, plus a couple of lots in between. There's also a separate Clydesdale path marked, though I haven't tried it yet; I think it's a short loop?

I love this trail. I can relax and enjoy the ride, my thoughts, or music (I allow myself to do the one-ear-bud-only-low-volume ride-thing here, then remove them when I'm back on streets), and it reinforces all the things I loved about riding when I was a kid. I also love that animals don't skitter away (as quickly, if at all) when you're on a bike. It reinforces that this mode of transportation is earth-friendly, and people-and-creature-friendly, too. Bike-riding: Just a big ol' batch of awesomesauce.

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Upcoming St. Louis Bikey Events:

• Trailnet hosts a lot of rides throughout the week and on weekends for various speeds and styles of riding. You can check their entire calendar here. 
• In particular, for "ladies of the lane", there is an Arch Women event next week on Wednesday, June 18th - bikey crafts and beer at Perennial. More info here; preregistration is requested. It's free, but they are asking for a $5 donation to cover costs.
• A week from Saturday, on June 21, Trailnet is also hosting a bikey bakery tour ("Bakeries on the Rise"). Info here. Cost is $5.
• BWorks is a local organization that refurbishes and sells donated (to them) bicycles to raise money for bike training and donation to get children riding. How fantastic is that? They are hosting bike drives (to receive donated bicycles) at Weldon Spring on Saturday, June 21, and at Webster Groves on Tuesday, June 24. They are also hosting a family-friendly bicycle ride on Saturday, June 21, at Calvary Cemetery in North St. Louis. Info here. The Calvary ride is free.
• You can also check out Bike St. Louis for events and advocacy!

Gone Ridin'? Mostly.

I did not mean to take a three-week posting break! But here I am, so let's get caught up, shall we? 

The most glaring reason for the break was general busy-ness, exacerbated by lovely opportunities to go for nice weekend rides. On top of that, I had to make the very sudden and difficult decision to put my lovely Charlie-cat to sleep on May 23rd, which was very sad and left our home cat-free, a status change I found nearly as upsetting as losing my best boy-cat in the first place. The impact of that loss and the hole it created in our household meant that The Husband and I ended up interviewing a number of kitties for adoption, and ended up being selected by two year-old ginger boys, who are crazy and affectionate, and now named Calvin and Hobbes.

And so, between socializing the new kitties, introducing them to The Corgi, and general craziness associated with human bikey-socializing and the holiday weekend and LIFE, here we are. Back to the bikes.

Due to the above-mentioned events, I didn't ride to work as planned on Friday the 23rd. That weekend I had a house-guest, and last week was pretty stormy. ('Tis that time of year.) I did ride Thursday May 22 (to try to get a new kickstand fitted for the Linus at a local bike shop), which didn't work out and ended up with a fun, if very wet, ride home in a sudden downpour. Then, last Saturday, I drove the bike to the city and met up with bike friends to do a Tour of Old Carondelet, which is a neighborhood in extreme South St. Louis that used to be its own town separate and apart from STL and is FULL of stories and history and just beginning to come back to life as interest in walkable, bikeable, liveable neighborhoods renews. Some of my favorite photos from the tour:

The next day, I had another bikey-lovely day. In the morning, I rode to church, then I made a pit stop at a local grocer and headed to our "all-church picnic". It was warm both days (and so humid), but there is always a breeze when you're on a moving bicycle.

This weekend, I plan to mostly stay in, but I may squeeze in a trail ride or two, and if we find ourselves with another not-too-hot/not-too-stormy day, I may try riding to work again, but perhaps with another route. 

Cheers, and happy riding!

R