Indoor Trainer

It finally got cold enough that I had to come in from the bike. My brother got me this cool pizza cutter, so we amused ourselves with all the things for which it is not intended. Well. We also ate pizza.

The Skies are Crying

I am maybe a little spoiled. The winter is warm, and I'm not having to dress very carefully for the weather. I put a pair of leggings on under a dress and roll with it. Today, I added my Joan of Arc boots... just because. Well, more than because.

I maybe needed an emo boost. When I wear my boots, I feel a little less vulnerable and a little more prepared for what's coming at me. I've been sad, and I've been crying.

I maybe underestimated the weather. I heard rain, and saw rain. I knew there was rain. I noticed the rain as it poured down on me in buckets. My socks are wet to the toes, you can wring water out of my gloves, and my base layer is drenched. Even the skies are crying. I still feel better than if I hadn't ridden in to work.

Street Cleaner!

The ride home was muddy. Roads were grimy and all that is now all over me. This is all fine until I approach this truck running sprinklers on the front, back and sides of his truck. Thankfully, traffic picked up both directions. I'm not typically thankful for cars.

Church on Sunday.

Spirograph Lights

Maybe the flash against my reflective tires messed up the photo, maybe it made it better. I just love riding at night.

No Accidents

I was feeling particularly constricted by life's obstacles last Saturday. Rather than stay stuck in that place, I got out on my bike.

I adorned the spoke with lights that make them look like a spirograph art project when they spin. We all know headphones are bad when you ride in traffic, so I cranked up the bluetooth speaker. Oh yes. I was *that* girl.

Dusk started to settle as I crossed into Umstead. The fog poured into the valleys like some kind of molasses into a bowl. The leaves blew like confetti.

I felt better when I realized I didn't need to know where the road was going.

Golden Modes

This afternoon I'm receiving an Honorable Mention for a Golden Spoke award. While that is a super-great esteem from my peers, I'm motivated to do more in the next year.  Here are my next set of goals.

1 - Start more conversations with people about why and how they can get around in a smarter way.

2 - Attend the Bike Summit in DC in March.

3 - Go to more BPAC meetings.

4 - Organize a bike safety event for at least one school.

5 - Don't fall over in carpool... or maybe just don't blog about it.

Fall Colors

This morning I got up and realized that I could wear whatever I wanted on the bike. It was going to be that perfect temperature where you didn't have to wear any kind of special gear to manage the sweat or freeze.

It was so beautiful. The conversation with myself went, "You know, I really prefer these flips flops when I ride these pedals. I'll change to them."

Carpooling

Grandma and I carpooled the kids to school and her to work with my bike on the back. I have a cold and it is cold, but I love biking. I'm not thrilled and I'm not mad either. 

But then I see a bus! Like a beacon of light! A heated bus with a bike rack! And now I realize how bad I feel.

And it was driving right past me in the other direction -- I missed it.

It gets better. I ride up and take some guesses about turns on this route, when the bus pulls up right behind me with the stop right in front of me. I got it this time!

I don't know the exact route I'm on, but $1 will get me in the general direction I'm going. I can sit in this chair and write to you guys. All day winning right here.

Express Routes

I'm sitting here with anxiety on the bus. Usually I relax and sleep on the bus. Is it the new seats? Is it the work stress? I look around and think about how well prepared I am for the day, but I just can't settle. I keep checking the LCD screen announcing the date and time.

Oh! They took the route indicator off the screen! It only takes one express route to Chapel Hill instead of Durham to make sure you get on the right route.

Should I ask the driver? Getting sleepy... Never mind. I'll get there. Eventually.

BikeMS

I spent two day riding a long, slow, many miles. I changed tubes and sat with fallen riders. I pulled when single riders wanted to join groups. I thanked volunteers and policeman. I love meeting riders who have ridden every year for 27 years next to the newbies. You get a pass if you're on a bike. Further, a bike in a charity event gets you double miles with me.

The most humbling part of riding in a charity event is to be served by those you intend to serve. After all, I was the volunteer.

I was not prepared for some conversations.  I met a woman in a wheelchair who controlled her movements by a joystick near her mouth. I was not prepared for a dad with teenaged twin daughters checking to make sure I had sunscreen ... from his wheelchair. I was not prepared to accept more fritos from somebody suffering from more pain than me. I was in the middle of my second century ride in as many days, but I couldn't imagine their suffering.

http://ift.tt/1FQiw0p

In-fighting

I had an interaction with a retired military person of unknown rank this weekend. I was riding the right tire marking of the lane. He let me know that "somebody" called the cops on him for riding the lane, just as I was doing. One would think he was worried about me!

While seemingly concerned for the safety of himself and our group, he was blowing red lights. On this self-described casual ride, he pushed the pace to 23-25mph. He told me about how the two guys riding with him were also former military down there on vacation. I told him how I'm a single mom of 3 and when his guys stopped with me at the lights, I would catch him again. I can sometimes read a room, so I ditched them for my pretty sunrise pictures...

And then weirdly "somebody" called the cops.

The cop told me to ride the bike lane. He told me that outside the solid white line without any markings is the bike lane. We agreed at least that neither of us wants me to get hit by a car. This is a picture of that bike lane.

Why do you think we fight each other like this?

A1A on a Sunday Morning

http://ift.tt/1PUjRZr

Win. I love this day.

How the honor system wins!

http://ift.tt/1KSSP5u

Vacation

Today is not about the bike. It's about the ride. And maybe a little bit about that bird, and this big banyan tree. It's a good day.

I (heart) the bus

Maybe you remember my story about the stupid bag. It was a day I tried to make my life easier by hopping the bus to the airport. It didn't work out. Today is better.

http://ift.tt/1NfRwiI

Bike Marshals

It's getting closer!

Easy like Sunday morning

I totally took some of that jasmine to my desk

Jasmine v barbed wire fence

I see metaphor. The barbed wire fence didn't stand a chance to this bloom of jasmine.

Then I leaned my bike against it. Just because.

Multi mode road...

The boundaries are created in your mind, whether car to train, bike to train, or bike to car.

On the ride home, I tried to capture the huge red sunset

First Tri

The shirts say, "I TRI therefore I AM."

I like it.

MS 150 Solicitation

Hey Party People! Support me! Here's how:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/NCTBikeEvents?px=14565496&pg=personal&fr_id=25674

With Regard to Acting Badly

I saw a woman in a waiting room breastfeeding today. This is another one of my strong beliefs: I believe in breastfeeding. I think it is essential and wonderful. I wanted to let this mom know, if only because I'm certain she's been shamed by other people. Turns out, our daughters were in kindergarten together. Small world! She says to me, "are you still riding your bike around everywhere?"

This is a fun game for me. People tell me stories about where they saw me. My friends are usually the suburban mom variety who drive minivans. I like this too. They're awesome people, for sure. But suburban moms like me are not the traditional bike commuter. It opens the dimensions of the conversation.

Except this reminder came with another memory. My daughter loves to torture me with it, so I'm a little less sensitive after some laughter about it. When she was in kindergarten, I regularly dropped my kids off at school, parked my car, and biked to work from there. I'd return at the end of the day, re-rack my bike, and hop in carpool. Oh man does the application of that word make me mad. There is no pooling of cars when it comes to delivering children to school.

In the first week, I swooped through carpool on my bike. I'm thinking I'm going to send some positive message and maybe start a conversation! (that's intentionally awkward excitement)

My daughter sees me and smiles. The vision in my head is the cargo bike in Africa. She's ridden from the bike from the pool to the house, so it isn't her first rack ride. She's a little shy, 'mmooo-ooommm really?'-style. Whatever, I'm going to make a statement! (intentionally awkward excitement) She gets on the bike and accepts my helmet. We're off to the car on the other side of the parking lot. No big deal.

Except, her lunch box was hanging off of her bag. It got caught in the wheel and took us both down. Thankfully she took the helmet. My big moment. We were splayed out on the parking lot blocking carpool. Everyone is unsure how to act when a mom cyclist falls in carpool.** Got a call from the principal the next day. Yea. It was ugly.

Yesterday I learned about a guy who sits on street corners with a video camera watching for people to do bad things. He calls it People Behaving Badly. Cyclists are mad at him.  

So, I give you my story. This is the day I behaved badly. I messed up.

There have been lots of other days when I messed up in my car too. I don't have to hear about those mistakes all the time from my daughter because they're harder to discern from a car seat in the back. My kids still brag about me and my biking. I'm still riding my bike to work.

Can we move on from this conversation about how cyclists don't stop at stop signs? There is so much more to the story of legitimate modes of transportation. Carpool means to pool the resource of a car. Cyclists are able to assess stop signs without coming to a full stop. Elementary students should be able to walk to school. It should be normal.

** {We know how to act about it later. We laugh.}

You not gonna make my car wait

I'm riding back to my office about 6:30pm on an unusual route for me. As I stop for a light, I hear a loud male voice, "You not gonna make my car wait."

An older male passenger in a pick up truck passed me. He repeated this in his low, loud voice several more times. His truck stopped at the next light too, this time in my lane. I stayed back. What do I need with trouble?

I don't even know what he means. Was he being supportive? Was I in the way? Was he trying to be creepy? I felt creeped out. Why do you think this happened? Would he have said anything if I was a pedestrian?

Beware the Minivan

I'm riding my regular route approaching a stop sign. The road ends. I have to turn right. As I approach, maybe within 15 ft, Lady Minivan passes me and slants back into the lane to stop in front of me. I have to escape the lane because she's cutting it so close - and what do I care about riding on the grass? As we clear the intersection, she pulls up next to me again, rolls down her window, and intensely tells me how I have to obey all the traffic rules of the road. I gave her fantastic retort! I was so ON!

"You're driving a car! Please don't kill me!"

I mean, I think she needed the reminder.

MS150 - New Bern

I signed up to marshal the MS150 in New Bern this year. The organizer of the marshals asked me how MS has touched my life. The simple answer is: I don't know anybody with MS. I have several friends with moms who have MS. But no, I've not met them.

There was a day that I collapsed at work. My knees left me, and I couldn't get up. I had sheering, paralyzing pain through my shoulders. My family came to get me from work and took me to the doctor. The symptoms had abated, and the guy offered me a bunch of muscle relaxers. That's not my bag, so I went to get another opinion.

This new doctor interviewed me for almost an hour. She asked me about my life, my habits, my family. She listened. I cried. At the end, she had some ideas. First step was blood work. My blood work came back perfect - healthy liver function, good iron, great cholesterol levels. This is when she suggested that I start the tests to rule out MS.

This is the scary part. Things were bad at home. My husband was having an affair and not working at the time. I asked him how we could find the $1k to meet my insurance deductible. I was scared, and I needed not just his financial support but some emotional support. He laughed at me.

What could have happened if different parts of this nightmare had been true? Let's not think too far down that story because it isn't mine. I'm divorced, and I'm healthy. MS didn't touch my life, and I am so thankful.

I ride charity rides because I can. I love the sport of cycling. I know the importance of spirit, attitude, and ambition. If you're not riding, please support the riders who are. If you're riding, I'll see you there.

Those Bees!

I'm out mowing my lawn because I live in a typical suburban neighborhood with an HOA. They insist on it. When I planted a garden in my front yard, they told me I wasn't allowed to have a fence. Well, you can't have a garden in North Carolina without a fence. Bambi likes veggies even if your suburban children don't. You can't have a lawn at home with an HOA without mowing it. So, back to the lawn mowing.

I'm mowing my lawn with my self-propelled, gas-powered mower because I have an acre to mow. Can I say I was wearing a bathing suit because the neighbors like it and still be a feminist? No? Well, it was easily above 95 degrees. I was wearing attire to match the weather. Right as the mower crossed a hole, I thought to myself, "that looks like a bee's n... OH MY GOD THAT HURTS! RUN, FEET! SWING HEAD SIDE TO SIDE! OWWWWCHCHCHCH"

These thoughts were quickly followed by, "I'm going to get back at those bees. They can't still be there tomorrow. My kids play there! My hammock is there! I'm getting the gasoline."

I'd like to tell you it took less than overnight for those thoughts to sink in. But anyway - the next day, I was overwhelmed with the guilt of destroying the natural habitat of possible honey-producing bees. Google taught me that 70% of the 20,000 species of bees are ground-nesting. Most of them produce honey. And their population numbers are devastated because of oil and gas.

Oh. I'm a bad person.

I'm going to get a push mower and wear more clothes. Dear bees, I'm sorry.

Rainbow People

I brought these people to the parade.

The New Girl

A little while back, Megan hit me up on facebook. Remember the day with the shovel? She was the inspiration for that one. She has these bright eyes that light up the world. Every time I ran into her was at a bike or environmental awareness event.

When she said she wanted to hear more about being a car traitor, I was thrilled! She's fantastic. I hope you love her as much as I do!

I present to you, Megan!

Easy like Sunday morning

Jolene and I stopped for coffee on our morning ride. Climbed some rocks. Did some yoga. Mostly did Sunday like Sunday should be done.

This is either a terrible idea or an amazing one

I'm happy to report there were no moments of watermelon splatter ala Galager on my trip to work. Watermelon was enjoyed and shared. A belt was given a good purpose in life.

#dontbesucharoadie ... Wait no. Do it. Long road rides with amazing people. Do that.

I wasn't looking and my cohort in course marshal tied a balloon to my bike. Was my favorite part of the day. She was the prettiest bike out there.

Riding cowboy style, guns up. This guy look familiar?

Bemusement -- Battle of the Bands

Last night was filled with pre-gaming for the Tour de Fat with the Battle of the Bands. This morning I woke up reading stories about how unsuccessful quiet protests are, and the irony of expecting a repressed society to adhere to quiet protests. Then it hit me, Tour de Fat is my quiet protest. I know that my rights and privileges are not comparable to the victims of hate crimes. I do know that people hate me for simply riding my bike on the road. I have been slushied, threatened with guns, and verbally abused & accosted. Generally, my mode of transportation doesn't align with the 99%. I see the bemusement and antics around the Tour de Fat is my victory over hatred.

Also, I got a new bike.

This guy had rings - one for each of his marriages.

Dark Water Rising tried to get in on the bike riding, but they took away a chance to perform instead.

Off the Chain

On my way to work I pass this house with a very large Doberman Pinscher chained to the roof. This dog scares me. I guess by chaining him to the roof, the owners are doing him the favor of keeping him from getting tangled around a tree. Each day I pass this dog I put up a little prayer for that rope. I also wince as the rope grabs him back at the perimeter.

My typical defense from a dog is a stern "GET OFF THE COUCH" command. Typically, this works well. Most dogs know this one. I don't know if this dog has been allowed inside his house. He didn't know the command. Still, there's a couch on the porch. I thought he might get it.

Anyways, I'm riding the SevenStarsSecondSundaySpin and we go down my route. This is so fun, guys! I'm looking around at these great people on bikes, and I think they should always be with me on this road. Super fun to have buddies on a ride. We get to the part with the dog, and I tell them about my fear, my prayer, and my wince. We all chuckle. We travel on safely.

Of course, they didn't all come meet me and ride home with me from work the next day. I'm cruising down on this beautiful day when I get close. I start tensing up and prepping my routine of prayer and wince. Except this day, when I get to the wince part... the dog breaks the chain.

No, for serious. He breaks the *&^%* chain. The dog is now chasing me down the street. I'm instantly sprinting, thankful for the downhill slope. Holy Moly. Only Magnum knows this fear.

I've learned since telling this story a couple of times about something called Unchain Your Dog. http://www.unchaindogs.net/ Please protect your dog. Help other people care for their dogs. Nobody's trying to be mad. We're all just trying to get to work or home from work.

I also put together a little treat bag that I can rip off my handlebars and throw at him for next time. I'm relieved but also sad to report that I haven't seen him since that day.

When Good Gear Fails

I love a quality set of flip flops. The quality of a flip flop is determined by a sub $3 price tag. Such a drag when they bust in the middle of a ride.

I love this day. #commuter #spring #surlybikes

Trust the Rope

I do this to myself. I get into these situations thinking, it can't be all that hard. And then it is.

For example, one night I decided to walk up to the drugstore to get medicine for my daughter. She had gone to bed and my mom was reading on the couch. It was a warm night and the store was only a mile or maybe a little more. I decided to walk and take my dog for company. I get to the end of the street and she busts out of her leash and TAKES THE HELL OFF. In the dark. On a 45mph street. Man, that dog pisses me off when she endangers her own stupid life. It takes about 20 minutes to convince her back onto the leash, and we keep on for the store. At some point, it strikes me how dark it is on this night. I can't even see my feet. Wait. I really can't see my feet. There's no sidewalk or shoulder, and these cars are going really fast. How did this seemingly simple walk turn into a life threatening ordeal TWICE? I made it there and back, but I sure did get spooked.

Fast forward. Last Thursday, I'm on the bus headed to the airport. I got a bike flat on the way to work this morning. My friend has my luggage so I'm using this terrible, old bag. I worked all day. I have a moment where I have to complain loudly about the cost of airline baggage. Then I hauled thestupidbag across town to the bus station. I rode the bus and got sick from the fumes and heat. I get to the airport, and my flight has been cancelled. This seems like a pretty normal thing that happens to people because she got me on a different flight to someplace else. It means my best friend is going to have to pick me up earlier and drive farther, but I'm going to get there. I'm just really unamused.

This particular journey is topical because of the reason for the trip. I've decided this year to take on my fear of heights and learn to climb mountains. This is a metaphor for life of course. I've climbed so many mountains. I'm going to climb actual mountains now. This weekend I'm going to climb ice.

In typical fashion, I said yes to this trip before I'd ever actually climbed rocks, walls, or mountains. I can climb a tree. Not the same. The first day on the ice, I was enraptured by the beauty of the thing with the hiking and the snow and the FROZEN WATERFALL. The shoes and ice axes didn't phase me a bit. I felt empowered. The second day? I got about  8' from the top and said um. no. I'm coming down. Now. I'm scared.

But they wouldn't let me down. My friends simply said No. We won't let you down. Get to the top and enjoy the view.

I've climbed a few times now, and that plunging feeling hasn't begun to suck less. I've fallen and gotten caught. I've gotten to the top and enjoyed the view. I'm not on this journey alone. My friends have my rope.

See more on flickr. Go do it for yourself at Northeast Mountaineering.

Weatherman Lied

Things I pulled out of my bag to pay the bus driver included...

• peanuts (from the menagerie of things-that-grow at Stone Bros
• a tea light (for the convection warmer I made for under my desk)
• quarter-sized batteries

All the things you can take on a bike

I read about a guy getting a DUI on a bike. The outstanding piece of the story is that he had a chainsaw attached to his bike. I'm thinking to myself, if this is a regular day and a regular dude... But the chainsaw. What do you do with that?

Maybe he just went to help a friend or earn some money. After doing hard labor all day, he had some beer and bobbled on home. Would he have gotten stopped if he had driven and the chainsaw hadn't been visible? Or maybe it was a chainsaw powered bike? I could see that getting loud and messy with and without the beers.

Anyhows. He's on my mind today as I strap a shovel to my bike. I'm going to plant some trees.

Morning commute win.

My ride to work rocked yesterday. Get it? Rocks, rocked...

Nature happening this morning. Some people have a nature channel, I have this. One vulture was pinning the dead squirrel's foot down tugging out the fleshy bits with his beak. #biketowork #commuter #tourdefat #vultures

Traffic over I-40

I love crossing over an interstate on my bike. Gives me a chance to pompously and actually look down at cars. This day came with the benefit of a sunset ride through Umstead forest.

Two Rules.

Having been nearly killed twice last week, I wanted to identify some guidelines for how to communicate and navigate around a cyclist.

1 - Use blinkers. (This lets me know where you're going!)

2 - Be patient. (Hanging out behind me lets me know you're there. Your horn is SO loud. Your car is really loud too... that's why you keep the windows up. When its safe to pass, have at it. Shouldn't be long.)

That's it! Thanks for not threatening my life. (smiley face)

Further objections to bike lanes.

This is another beautiful coloration of why I kind of object to bike lanes. There's no way I'm going to clear that tree if I stay outside the solid white line.

 Trying to come up with a clothesline/tree line pun.

Last minutes of warmth...

12F is a new record low for me. I do not like to be cold, so I loaded up... Ski goggles, hooded base layer, thermal layer, fleece gaiter, ski jacket, bike shorts, silk thermal leggings, pants, wool socks, and my favorite new waterproof & insulated snow boots.

After riding, the shower water was hot on my face, but felt cold by the time it passed my legs and hit my toes. Brrrrr.....

Resolution Ride

The ADA does a couple of training rides throughout the year to prep for the annual Tour de Cure. Louis Shackleton photographed the event. There's a funny difference between how you see yourself and how the camera sees you.

Check out his work -- http://louisshackletonphotography.com/events/2015-resolution-ride/

Any time!

This was my New Year's Eve ride through Umstead. Something ironic about fencing off a forest or a lake. I decided that it meant "ANY TIME!" in a good way.

I'm a Safety Girl

The current working theory is that people will be more concerned with my safety if I appear concerned with my safety. At the very least, this thing is bright and reflective and reminds me of all the pie on GRABAAWR.

I can't find the source, so maybe I'm creating a memory. I would love to find the study around Amish triangles and slow moving vehicle safety.

"I'm a safety girl" ~Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

Which way?

I am committed to warmth this winter, ergo new boots. They are heavy as sin, but they're warm and waterproof and came at a deal to me.

I present to you... my new boots.