February 2012
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Space Issues and Ugly Ducklings
Growing up, I lived in a small town of about 500 people. Our back yard abutted an expansive cornfield. Neighbors lived across the street and behind their yard stood another cornfield. Streets were tranquil and what little traffic there was plodded along. Stoplights? None. My sisters and I could ride our bikes from one end… Continue reading
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Randonneur Q&A for Beginners
Over the past few months, people interested in dabbling in the randonneur lifestyle have asked me various questions about getting into randonneuring. After answering them, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you. Since I started doing brevets in 2005, I’ve realized that randonneurs vary widely in their approach to training and riding… Continue reading
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Utilitaire 12 Roundup, Week 4
Utilitaires are a great way for me to get out the door when I might be swayed to stay inside otherwise. This Saturday the winds were howling in the D.C. area, but I had a baby shower utilitaire to attend. I pedaled my way diligently to the shower, totally focused on my destination and blocking… Continue reading
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Link Love: Another Day in Paradise Edition
What fantastic weather this week. Made for some lovely night riding. The sliver of moon illuminated while you could still see its fullness in shadow, suspended over the Lincoln Memorial on a clear night? Stunning. I only took a photo with my mind cam so you’ll have to trust me on how gorgeous the scene… Continue reading
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Guest Blog Post by Me
I’m totally copying this post title from Bicycle Bug. Earlier this week, the man behind the D.C. bicycling blog Tales from the Sharrows put out the call for a guest post. Both Bicycle Bug and I drafted up the happenings from one of our commutes as potential posts. However, another local commuter rose to the… Continue reading
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Utilitaire Curiosities: How We Light Up the Night
In order to officially complete the Utilitaire 12, at least two rides must be completed in the dark and thus, require lights. What do people use to ride in the dark? Some people, not part of this challenge, use nothing. Boo. Bike ninjas are all over. At least, I think they are. I have a… Continue reading
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Weekend Training Ride: 112 Miles of Dogs, Hills, Sun, and Dogs
This past Saturday, Felkerino and I met up with a couple of riding friends to take on some challenging terrain near Skyline Drive. Starting in Marshall, Virginia, we scaled Massanutten via Chester Gap, rolled our way over to Edith Gap, descended into Luray, and climbed back over Thornton Gap under Skyline Drive before biting off… Continue reading
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Utilitaire 12, Week 3 Roundup: Wheels Keep Turning
Friends of the spoked wheel, I am having the best time reading about all the utilitaires people are doing. I’ve found that it’s the everyday adventures that give life its spice, and that’s what I see in the utilitaire posts, tweets, and photos. In daytime, darkness, weekdays, sick days, and all kinds of weather people… Continue reading
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Link Love: To Be Inspired Edition
I blinked my eyes and the now the weekend is upon us. I like weeks like that. Hope all is well with all of you. I’ve been spending some evening hours perusing the utilitaire posts. Thanks to everybody who is taking the time to write up and tweet their trips. They make for such fun… Continue reading
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Bikes To Like: Pedro Gringo’s Surly Troll
Avid cyclist and stalwart commuter Pedro Gringo is one of my favorite people from the flickrverse. I regularly check in on his two-wheeled activities, which range from power naps and puppy rescues to mountain biking and gear tests. When I saw his fat bike (see how hip I am saying fat bike?), I knew it… Continue reading
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Utilitaire Curiosities: How We Carry What We Do
Boop bee doop. Reading through the utilitaire posts and tweets got me thinking about the various “bike and haul” setups people have chosen, and also prompted me to analyze my own. I have two primary systems and bikes I use for hauling stuff around. For riding in the city, I generally use one of two… Continue reading
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Utilitaire Rules Update: Pedestrian Allowance
Hi, blog readers! I’ve added an additional provision in the Utilitaire Rules. While the name of the game in the Utilitaire 12 is ride your bike, I also recognize the following things: It’s winter so there may be inclement weather that prevents a person from riding; Some people have jobs that require them to travel and… Continue reading
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Utilitaire 12, Week Two Roundup
That was a chilly weekend! Wouldn’t want the Utilitaire 12 to be too easy. Good to have a little winter weather (at least for the D.C. area) to spice it up. Two updates to the rules. They are listed below and I also added them to the Utilitaire Q&A. Continue reading
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Link Love: History Lesson Edition
How was your week? Did you get in some good riding? I mixed life up by throwing in some run-commutes. It made for a nice change of pace. Also, my perspective is lower to the ground when I run, which makes me feel like I’m in a booster seat when I transition back to the… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Dan’s 1987 Trek 330 Elance
I recently met Dan during a lunch stop on a 200K permanent that Felkerino and I were doing. Dan was riding a populaire with some friends out of Frederick, Maryland, and his group had stopped for lunch at the same establishment. Everyone had placed their bikes wherever space allowed alongside the restaurant. Amid the menagerie… Continue reading
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Weekend “Training” Ride: 80 miles
I like labelling my weekend rides as “training rides.” It’s like having a Get out of Jail Free card. No, sorry, I can’t do my household chores. Rather, I must train. Instead of reading tea leaves, Felkerino and I examined the weekend weather radar and decided that, with a 40 percent chance of precip, Saturday… Continue reading
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Utilitaire 12 Roundup
Utilitairing Week two of the Utilitaire 12. Already? Yes, already, so if you’re thinking about jumping in on the fun, now’s the perfect time! While some football game played, I surfed around to see what kind of utilitairing the tweeps and peeps have been doing. Here is a litle rundown of what I unearthed: Continue reading
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Link Love: Six More Weeks of Winter Edition
Life’s been pretty good in this neck of the woods lately. I even had some time to do a little blogosphere reading. Here are the highlights: Local Blogger Turns One! Tales from the Sharrows, who regularly taps out two posts a day– one to document his commute in to work and another to capture the… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Bob W.’s Kogswell Porteur Randonneur
Bob W. is one of the people who regularly organizes longer rides (centuries) up in the Baltimore area. I have not ridden with Bob (yet!), but regularly follow his travels through flickr. One of his randonneur bikes caught my eye, as he had recently put it through its paces on the well-known and challenging Deerfield… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 