October 2012
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Happy Halloween from @ZombiesDC
Those who don’t follow me on Twitter may not know about some new companions who came into my life earlier this year. One day, without warning, four green creatures showed up at my doorstep. Their intentions were clear. They wanted my BRAINS and they wanted to live in Washington, D.C. I said no to the… Continue reading
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My Washington D.C. Neighborhood, Post-Sandy
It’s been a dramatic couple of days here. High winds, rain, and perpetual monitoring of the Weather Channel with one eye while looking apprehensively out the window with the other as tropical storm Sandy pelted our region. Fortunately, the area where I reside did not lose power and damage to our immediate area does not… Continue reading
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Running Away from Sandy: 2012 Marine Corps Marathon
Yesterday I lined up with more than 23,500 people to participate in my last big event for 2012: the Marine Corps Marathon. Continue reading
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Bikes + Coffee = True Love = Coffeeneuring: Blog Roundup
As I’ve been reading through the tweets and blogs, I see that even though everybody has to follow the same 15 rules to be an official finisher, people have still customized the challenge and their coffeeneuring rides. Continue reading
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Commute Trade-Offs: Safety
Seldom does a commute not involve some kind of trade-off. Bike commuters are often dealing with compromises, and my sense of safety is often one of those. Take yesterday, for example. I had to run an errand out in Bethesda. The first half of it had to be via car (Booooo. That’s a compromise already!).… Continue reading
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Mandatory Fall Foliage Dirt Road Ride
With the shades of fall intensely pulsing through our area, Felkerino and I decided we better get out for a good autumn ride before showers or windy days wrested the brilliant leaves from the trees. We looked at the Saturday forecast, which indicated overnight temperatures would not be bitingly cold. Sun was also predicted, with… Continue reading
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Get On the Sidewalk!
Most days, riding my bike is one of the most pleasurable activities of my day. Fresh air, exercise, breeze on my face, and pride in my mode of transport abound. Every once in a while, though, something happens to disrupt these moments of reverie. Like yesterday, for example, when I was riding to dinner with… Continue reading
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Bike Commute Guide: The Essentials
Today I’m talking commute basics, as somebody recently asked me what to keep in mind when making the transition to bike commuting. It took me back to when I dusted off my old Ross mountain bike and said to myself, “Metro no more. I’m going to make this bike commute thing happen.” Happily, it wasn’t a tough transition to… Continue reading
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What Makes Coffeeneuring Special, via the Coffeeneur Blogosphere
Ride your bike to coffee. The premise of the Coffeeneuring Challenge is a pretty simple one. Yet, the writing from the coffeeneuring blogs suggests there’s something about the two-wheeled journey to a coffee shop and the subsequent consumption of a hot beverage. Something worth writing about and sharing. As I read through the posts, that vague something evolved… Continue reading
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Baseball Will Break Your Heart, but Coffeeneuring Won’t
What a weekend! The Nationals came so close, but could not eek out a place in the next round of post-season play. What’s a coffeeneur to do but shed a few tears, get on the bike, and go for a latte? That’s what I did. Felkerino, Ultrarunnergirl, and Mr. Ultrarunnergirl coaxed me out the door. The sunny… Continue reading
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#Coffeeneuring Tweeps: the Unofficial Preliminary and Most Probably Incomplete List
Happy 10-11-12, everyone. As promised, I said I’d be back with a list of those I know using Twitter while engaged in their coffeeneuring pursuits. By combing through the tweets marked with the #coffeeneuring hashtag, I assembled a list of coffeeneuring tweeps. I’ve also included the Twitter bios. I love reading those things, people describe… Continue reading
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You Wear a Helmet, Don’t You?
Helmet use is an evergreen topic widely debated by cyclists and non-cyclists everywhere. Conclusion? No one agrees and this debate will rage until the end of days. I decided to jot down a post about helmet use yesterday, when talking to a friend as I prepared to leave my building on my bike. Somebody walked by and… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Week 1 Roundup: Let’s Get it Started
Week 1 of the 2nd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge has already come and gone, with lots of people taking time out of their weekend for a bike ride and a tasty beverage. In the D.C. area, temperatures dropped significantly over the weekend, making the urge to coffeeneur to a toasty spot for an equally toasty beverage quite… Continue reading
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BikeWrappers: Review and Giveaway
With the arrival of fall, night creeps in a little earlier to push out the daylight. Time to think about nighttime riding and making yourself even more visible to traffic. While a head- and tail-light are critical for rides after dark, there are other accessories worth considering for your bike, too. A couple of months… Continue reading
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Look Mom! Re-Learning to Ride No-Handed
Sometimes I like to see myself as a “serious” bike rider. I ride in the rain and cold, maneuver adeptly in urban traffic, and participate in the occasional brevet. That’s right, people. Serious. Another part of bicycling that I take seriously is riding no-handed. Ironically, riding no-hands evokes images that to me are far from… Continue reading
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Bicycles are Not Cars: Girl on a Bike on #BikeDC Speaks
We’re back for the final installment of the #BikeDC Speaks series. If you ride in the D.C. area and do any blog reading or tweeting, you have probably heard of Girl on a Bike, aka Kate. A regular commuter and excellent blogger, Kate regularly participates in a lot of local #BikeDC events. I’m thrilled that… Continue reading
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Benefits of Tracking the Miles
I grew up watching my dad, a runner, track his miles. He always took the time to note how far he ran, the day’s temperature, wind direction, and a few other details about his run. It seemed only natural, then, when I started running (and later riding) to keep a mileage log. I recently read… Continue reading
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2nd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge: 7 Cups, 6 Weekends
That’s right, people. Coffeeneuring Challenge time. Another six weeks of rule-based biking and imbibing is here! Yeah! Some of you may recall that coffeeneuring is based on an idea developed by Joe Platzner, a member of the Seattle Randonneurs, as he discussed life after last year’s Paris-Brest-Paris. He noted: A bunch of us have trained pretty hard for PBP.… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 