Bicycling Events
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The 50 States Ride, 2020 Edition
The ultimate concept ride, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) put their creativity to work and pulled off a socially distanced edition of the 50 States Ride – a here, there, and everywhere course that traverses all four D.C. quadrants and covers all streets named after states (except D.C., that’s a pending addition). Despite having… Continue reading
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A Fraidy Cat’s Tale of the Monster Cross 50 Miler
Everybody, I met someone. It happened last week at the Monster Cross 50 Miler in Pocahontas State Park, Virginia (route here). I’m still reeling from our interaction. This person is daring. Roots and gravel roll under her wheels and her face is unruffled. Bring it, her expression seems to say. She has no qualms about… Continue reading
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Why Bike to Work Day Matters
I used to grumble about Bike to Work Day. “People don’t need a special day to ride their bikes. Every day you work could be bike to work day,” I would self-righteously think. “Bike to Work Day? You mean, Friday?” My feelings about bike commuting were somewhat in the realm of “Back in my day, I walked… Continue reading
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Kidical Riding All Year Long: Freezing Saddles with Justin and Kid-D
I love showing KidD the sights, sounds, smells, and richness of the city by bike – and winter is no different. We see the huge Christmas wreaths at Union Station, we watch the daffodils come up by the Senate Park, and we see the water freeze “into ice!” at the Capitol Grounds. We learn to… Continue reading
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On Beer Can Koozie Ear Warmers and Other Freezing Saddles Secrets: Winter Cycling with Kate
It is our secret that riding is so much more fun, and probably faster and less stressful than the alternatives! And that doesn’t even account for all the great winter days, when the sun is shining on the sparkly snow, or there is a fabulous sunset over the river, or a big moon rises as… Continue reading
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Peaceful, Meditative, Beautiful: Freezing Saddles with Ian
The colder it gets means fewer people are out on the paths and it can be incredibly peaceful. Imagine riding an empty bike trail on a cold morning as the sun rises right behind you. How can you have a bad day, when your days starts out like that? –Ian Freezing Saddles rider and fellow… Continue reading
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Ready for Spring, But In the Meantime: A Freezing Saddles Chat With Lisa S.
Snow falls outside my window, coinciding perfectly with another Freezing Saddles & Winter Cycling talk with my friend Lisa S. I met Lisa many years ago now, through randonneuring. We also used to be neighbors in the city for a time, but Lisa relocated so that she could have a longer commute. Okay, not for… Continue reading
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From BikeDC to Missoula, MT: Freezing Saddles with Emma W.
One of the reasons I became interested in Freezing Saddles was thanks to all the posts of support made by Emma W. – who I interviewed this summer for my Women BikeDC series – on the Women & Bicycles Facebook group. She first exposed me to the idea that Freezing Saddles might embrace a larger group… Continue reading
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Easier Than You Think! Freezing Saddles & Winter Cycling with Eric B.
The Freezing Saddles series rolls on with Eric – an astrophysicist, creator of 3-D-printer prosthetic hands, and of course, cyclist. A fellow teammate of mine in the Bike Arlington Freezing Saddles competition, Eric says one of the keys to winter riding success is in keeping the hands and toes toasty. (He’s still working on a system… Continue reading
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Winter Riding? Just Do It! A Freezing Saddles Talk with Caleb
As roads in the area continue to clear and forecasts indicate even more melting in the coming days, we’re back with another Freezing Saddles talk. Today’s edition features Caleb, a Friday Coffee Club regular who lives in Maryland and rides daily into the District– all year round. Caleb is a proponent of the Keep It Simple… Continue reading
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What’s Stopping You? A Freezing Saddles Talk with Carol C.
As Washington, D.C. continues its major dig out from the weekend Snowzilla/MakeWinterGreatAgain storm (yeah, I know it’s not like this other places, believe me I know), I’m kicking off a new interview series about winter riding and the D.C.-area’s Freezing Saddles competition. I’m participating for the first time, and I wrote about that here. My… Continue reading
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New Year, New Me: Freezing Saddles
At the encouragement of my randonneur and real life spouse, I signed up for a D.C.-area winter cycling challenge called Freezing Saddles. Now in its fourth or fifth year, Freezing Saddles has woven itself into the fabric of the local cycling community, such that it feels like it has always been here. The challenge began on… Continue reading
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Hilly Billy Roubaix 2015 on Tandem: Operation Lump of Coal
Over the last three years, I have developed a hopeless crush on the Hilly Billy Roubaix. This 72-mile ride over unpaved state roads out of Morgantown, West Virginia, raises my heart rate and heightens my senses. Despite muddy roads and unrelenting steep gravel climbs and descents, I can’t stay away. Continue reading
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Training for a Century Ride
Gear Prudence reached out to me this week about a question he received about training for a century. The person writing in wondered if it was truly necessary to train for a century. The question surprised me somewhat because I am a big believer in preparing for things and avoiding problems when I can. I’m not… Continue reading
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Final Week of 30 Days of Biking (and Poetry) in Washington, D.C.
Over the past month, I engaged in a personal challenge to ride my bike each day, take at least one picture during my ride, and find a poem that somehow encapsulated the day. Poetry has always held a special place for me, but over the years our relationship became distant. I saw it as extra, even… Continue reading
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Week Three of 30 Days of Biking (and Poetry) in Washington, D.C.
Bicycling is one of the best ways to fully immerse yourself in a city. As riders, we easily exchange hellos with others on our route. We feel the bumps of the road, see flowers bloom and fall, and watch the waves of people (and buses, did I mention buses?) come and go through the District. Thanks to… Continue reading
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Week Two of 30 Days of Biking (and Poetry) in Washington, D.C.
Day 8 How it is fickle, leaving one alone to wander the halls of the skull with the fluorescents softly flickering. It rests on the head like a bird nest, woven of twigs and tinsel and awkward as soon as one stops to look. That pile of fallen leaves drifting from the brain to the… Continue reading
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Week One of 30 Days of Biking in Washington, D.C.
Day 1 When I was just as far as I could walk From here today, There was an hour All still When leaning with my head against a flower I heard you talk. —Robert Frost, The Telephone Continue reading
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April is for 30 Days of Biking. And Poetry
“How many miles to the sun?” He smiled In answer to my “Where are you going?” Lilacs were caught in his handle bars, His pedals were mud, his eyes were stars, His hair was blowing. —Marion Strobel, “Man and Bike” Today kicks off 30 Days of Biking, where people far and wide commit to getting… Continue reading
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Rounding Out 2014 With The Hains Point 100
For the third consecutive year, Felkerino and I pedaled around with our #BikeDC peeps to support the Hains Point 100, an event hosted by Megan (and friends) to raise money and awareness for WABA’s Women & Bicycles program. Continue reading
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Flat, Fast, & Camaraderie-Filled: My First Time at the Sea Gull Century
Crowded and flat. Windy. Dangerous. The words often used to describe the Sea Gull Century out of Salisbury, Maryland, did not endear me to it. For more than 10 years I had avoided the Sea Gull, telling people that I wasn’t sure if it was the ride for me. This year two registrations fell into Felkerino’s… Continue reading
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Hilly Billy Roubaix: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
This is not a joke so please stop smiling What was I thinking when I said it didn’t hurt –Wilco, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart“ After an exhilarating experience at the 2013 edition of the Hilly Billy Roubaix, Ed Felkerino and I returned to Morgantown this past weekend for another opportunity to ride our Lead Sled tandem… Continue reading
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Bike to Work Day is Every Day
Today, many places are celebrating Bike to Work Day in an effort to inspire more people to ride bikes. Unfortunately for those who may have planned to try out bike commuting and enjoy one of the many pit stops scattered throughout the city, today was a true commuter test. It poured cats and dogs all… Continue reading
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Present
Present is a space I don’t occupy well, especially in the city. My bike takes me places while my mind calculates where I’m going and where I’ll head next. Work. Appointment. Grocery store. Repeat. I ponder the past. How did it go? What could have gone differently? The ride is a pass-through as my thoughts bounce… Continue reading
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Sick of Cycling? Try 30 Days of Biking
We’re eight days into April, a month that has become known to many in the Twitterverse as 30 Days of Biking, where riders pledge to ride every day of the month and document their efforts via social media. I did not plan to sign up for 30 Days of Biking, but officially registered last week because… Continue reading
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100 Miles: D.C. to North Beach
During the winter months I like rides that start from home. I wake up, put on my cycling clothes, drink an espresso, and wait for the sun to take the chill out of the day before heading out. No car needed, just the way I like my bike riding, especially during the winter. This past… Continue reading
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Megan, #BikeDC, and the Hains Point 100
For the second consecutive year Megan, an active member of the #BikeDC community, hosted the Hains Point 100 to raise money and awareness for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s (WABA) Women & Bicycles Program. What is the Hains Point 100? It’s a 100-mile bike ride on the 3.2-mile flat loop of land that is Hains Point. I don’t… Continue reading
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100 Rainy Miles for Coffeeneuring and an 87-Mile Sunny Fun-Odyssey Follow-Up
We sort of interrupt the Coffeeneuring Challenge for a couple of ride reports. I say sort of because Sunday’s ride included coffeeneuring. My 87-mile Tuesday Fun-Odyssey also included coffeeneuring, but my documentation is questionable thus, did the coffeeneuring even happen? You tell me. 100 Rainy Miles for Coffeeneuring This weekend Felkerino and I craved an… Continue reading
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Shutdown Century on the Excepted Intermittent Bike Friday Tikit
Having designated all of my bicycles “Excepted Intermittent,” they are all required to help me with any “excepted” rides I might perform. Today, I called on my Bike Friday Tikit to assist me with such a ride. I departed my house around 10:30, figuring that my Tikit and I would ride out a ways on… Continue reading
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WABA 50 States Ride 2013: 45 States, Fueled by Espresso
In my very first ride report about the WABA 50 States Ride I described it as a 65-mile ride that feels like a daily commute that keeps on giving. At the end of my summary I expressed my doubts about ever doing the ride again. That was 2010, and every year since I have participated in… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 