Just a few things that I like:
Seeing the Jolly Roger flying outside our house
The imprint on my finger from my wedding ring
Seeing old photos of great friends
Fresh eggs on a Saturday am
Riding my bike on sunny summer days
Taking adventurers with my husband
My sister told me that my brother-in-law was interested in having a bike in his truck (he’s a long haul trucker, sucks whether he drives or not, diesel gas is so ridiculous in price) so I went on a quest to find an affordable folding bike. I sent her links to GoBikes, BikeFriday, and Citizen Bike as well as a link to the Dahon site. I also found a review of some other very cool folding bikes on the EcoGeek site. She wound up getting him a Tokyo which is a full folding bike that has 16″ wheels. I’m pretty excited for him since he says he wants to be able to park the truck and get out and bike a bit to get some much needed exercise. I’m always glad to help someone get a bike that fits their needs. It seems that next week is the end of June and then the beginning of July. What happened? I suppose the travels and races gobbled up a bunch of the month but there are only 6 weeks until Barb’s Race and then the fun begins!
Our trip to San Francisco was a huge success and a great time all around. The anxiety surrounding the race was understandable since neither of us have done the race but the actual experience far exceeded expectations. Believe me when I say that the swim was the easiest part.
A whirlwind day between trips had us getting blood and urine drawn (is that accurate?) for life insurance purposes, getting a back splash installed in the kitchen, registering the truck, and putting our bikes back together as well as going for a 1 hr ride at Hains Point. Oh, yea, and packing.
J had a brilliant idea to go have dinner at Sticky Rice (still very good, working out the kinks) and then pop in for a drink at the Palace of Wonders where we proceeded to bond with the bartenders, one of whom I can’t remember his name, but the other is Bernie, like Weekend at Bernie’s (the only way I can remember it now). This excursion ranks among the “what not to do before you head out for a long road trip to Boston to do an epic bike ride”. 4 or 5 shots of Powers whiskey and 4 beers later, we stumbled home (after closing the place down) and I awoke to street sweepers and realized the truck was parked on the wrong side of the street…went down and moved it and tottered back to bed. Bits and pieces of the evening are floating back to me, like sleeping on the floor (not sure why) and J hiding from me to freak me out…and me looking for him like we were playing hide and seek. My favorite phrase now is “What rock star did I think I was and how did he manage to inhabit my body without my permission?” I suppose the upside is that we now have friends for life at the Palace and we rocked an otherwise boring Wednesday night. But now its 11:30 a.m. and we were supposed to leave by 9…already off schedule.
On occasion when there’s a conversation going on about “bikes” I usually assume the two wheel self pedaling kind. However, there’s another interpretation which is motorcycles or bikes. Biker Chicks, Biker Babes or Babes on Bikes are usually the motorcycle kind and they wear leather halter tops, have tattoos, and don’t take any nonsense no how. Although from my brief brush with the motor crowd, there’s also a division between the chicks who ride their own bike and those that are afixed to the back of a bike as decor. I think cycling chicks are similar in their sass and resolve. Most of the women I know who are serious cyclists, cycle enthusiasts, or otherwise enamored with bicycles are strong, independent, self sufficient, cool chicks. They push the speed, can change their own tire when its flat, perform all sorts of maintenance, pace a group ride and look pretty cool while doing it all. I would consider myself almost there in terms of being all of the above. I can change my own tire, perform simple maintenance (I did spend the time and money on the Park Tool School), not so adept at leading a pace group but I’m learning, and I’ve gotten much faster than I was when I started biking. So, while the machine may be different, and the wardrobe is more spandex than leather, there are some similarities between the groups. I think we could get a group together and wind up with a great mix of cool chicks.
At least one photo of Chicks on Bikes. The photos at the header is from the 2007 St. Paul Crit, part of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The one below is from the 2004 T-Mobile International race.
So two of my favorite bicycle dudes, Chris Davidson (CD) and Chris Militello (Mort) launch a labor of love, blood, sweat and tears, Arrow Bicycles located in Hyattsville, MD. The WashCycle has a blurb and the agenda for the events this weekend.
There is a scavenger hunt!! How fun!
The address is:
5108 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
Can’t wait to see the shop!
No matter how much they frighten you. We’ve been talking on and off about owning our own business but could never seem to nail down exactly what type of business it would be. We both love cycling but neither have much experience in the retail industry. Frankly, having overhead scares the beegezus out of me not to mention hiring and retaining staff, managing growth, and, oh yea, actually making money.
However, I happen to have a friend who is an expert in the retail industry and at his suggestion, I am taking a stab at writing my first business plan. Seems kind of odd since I do “own” an MBA that I’ve never written a business proposal. You’d think that like a master’s thesis, MBA graduates should write (and get funding for) a new business idea before they’re able to get their degree. But I digress. I’m putting thoughts on paper, quantifying what’s been up ’till now only ideas and conjecture. Visualizing it makes it a bit easier but there’s a book called “Do What You Love, and the Money Will Follow“. I like the concept, I own the book but I can’t say I’ve ever read it…I just like the title.
This is sort of what I’m looking for but not for the $1,800 price tag. This has the built in front wheel lock, the pedal generated front light, a kick stand, and a built in basket. Its a Skeppshult Ladies Nature and you can find them at www.skeppshultbikes.com 
Its certainly become an obsession of mine to find this cycle manufacturer. A neighbor, who is of Swedish heritage, once showed me his bike, solid steel frame, bought it direct from the manufacturer for about $300. Granted this was probably at least 8 years ago but I have hope that I’ll find what I’m looking for. If anyone out there knows what I’m looking for, please let me know.
No photos of me…just the bikes:
This is the fun fixie that my sweetie bought for me. I named her Veronique.
This is the work horse; most ridden, most raced, lighter than air.
Similar to the bike sharing program launched in Paris, DC will soon have a bike program similar to the current and very popular ZipCar. World Watch Institute has a story (I’m sure there are others)
Smartbike DC will allow members to rent bikes from various points around the city and return them to several locations.
