You may not have noticed, but the time I’ve spent in this space has reduced over the last year. Several factors contributed to this, but the most dominant was the belief that my energy needed to be spent understanding the state of current affairs in the U.S. For much of 2017, I took a deep dive on various topics of the day, and used bike … Continue reading Peaceful Everyday Actions
Over the years that I’ve lived in the District, Ohio Drive has become one of my favorite city streets, especially around this time of year – the non-tourist season. Compared to many other routes, the car traffic is relatively light. The road follows the bends of the Potomac, offering up rare views of open space in the urban environment. Cherry trees, willows, and elms line … Continue reading Landscape Adjustments on Ohio Drive
While winter is not my most preferred cycling season, it does have its perks. Fewer people are out, making the city a more contemplative place, and non-cycling friends and colleagues regularly give me props for riding in less-than-inviting pedaling conditions. (“You’re so tough, MG.” Ha ha ha ha, we know the truth.) In exchange, I go through lengthy preparations for the outdoors – donning multiple … Continue reading Winter Commute Days
I’ve been meaning to write you about my new daily escape through the city – from the lowest part of D.C. to the top of the town. It’s a 7.5-mile contraflow endeavor that takes me out of the heart of the city to a residential tentacle. Since beginning this commute, I’ve felt a novel joy about morning city riding. On occasion, I’ll spontaneously start singing … Continue reading Top of the Town
Heavy hearts are the worst. A heavy heart burrows into your stomach and crowds other organs, causing discomfort. A heavy heart – being so burdened – needs extra oxygen to function, which can leave a person deflated and lethargic. It takes a lot of energy to endure a heavy heart. While it seems counterintuitive, a bicycle breeze may help temporarily lighten a heavy heart. Especially an autumn bicycle breeze. Unlike a … Continue reading Heavy Hearts and Bicycle Breezes
I’m fond of my active commute routine. My regular commute to work is predictable, pleasant. Over the years I’ve devised a sweet route that minimizes high-volume car traffic, and I store a nice selection of seasonal work clothes in my office. This week I’ve been thrust outside of my routine, which is pretty much a theme of 2016. Who needs routine? Routines are boring! Due … Continue reading Ride Your Bikes, People
Lately it feels like life is running on ahead of me at a pace I cannot match. I try to catch up, and my life skips easily away. Just as my life reaches the other side of the street, the stoplight turns red and halts me. Life ambles forward. Optimal velocity is difficult to achieve and sustain. Rather, it happens for me sporadically, and the … Continue reading Area Woman Stops Blogging for One Month. Here’s What Happened…
I kicked off 2016 with cycling and running foremost in my mind. I participated in the area’s Freezing Saddles challenge – to ride as many days as possible from January through March – and signed on to ride the best flèche ever with our friend Jerry. From the beginning of the year through April, I enthusiastically pursued daily riding and weekly mileage goals. At some point, though, other activities … Continue reading Bicycle Estrangement
I suspected that I’d experience post-flèche fallout, and over the last two weeks I’ve been proven right. The energy expended from 24 straight hours without sleep, 232 miles of pedaling over sawtooth terrain from Pittsburgh to D.C., and rough overnight conditions complete with snow squalls took their toll on my body. Continue reading “Tulipmania”
One of the most referenced posts on this blog is about naming one’s bike. I never thought much of calling my bike by anything but the name the maker gave it. Then I received this beautiful post from BikeDC’s own Liz MacGregor.
In her writing, Liz shows how a bicycle can be an intimate companion that also represents a new lease on life. And when that happens, how can you not give your bike a name?
Thank you, Liz, for sharing the story of you and your bike, Exu. Continue reading “Ride Like Your Life Depends On It: Liz and Exu”
After months of unseasonably warm temperatures and thoughts that winter might pass us by, mother nature treated the D.C. area (or punished, depending on who you ask) to record-setting snowfall.
Exactly how much snow is still somewhat in dispute, since weather officials at National Airport failed to follow the recommended snow measuring technique. Continue reading “Blizzard Weekend in Washington, D.C.”
The virtual world of Strava always struck me as a dangerous place. A place where people competed for the fastest times on arbitrary segments of road, sometimes at their own peril– or worse, by risking the safety of others.
Strava was a world for spirited, competitive roadies. Transportation and touring cyclists like me need not join. That suited me fine. My private Excel spreadsheet was all I needed. Continue reading “Will Ride (or Run) for Kudos. Joining Strava”
Annual mileage goals– I never set them, preferring to focus on the events or plans I make in any given year. And yet, when the twilight of any given year is upon me I find myself inventing, and then fervently striving, for an arbitrary finish line. My accumulated miles for 2015 are not really remarkable, but I’ll share them anyway. Bicycle miles: 5,975 6,000 miles … Continue reading Last Ditch Efforts
Like many women, I struggle with notions of beauty and self-acceptance, especially when it comes to physical appearance. I look in the mirror and immediately see all the ways I’m lacking. If I shaved off a few pounds, and toned up this area here, and then put on a little makeup, I’d look so much better. Continue reading “Beauty Through Motion”
Almost two weeks have passed since Felkerino and I were last turning our tandem wheels through Idaho and Montana. This bike tour, combined with my recent work travels, really helped me appreciate my Washington, D.C., home. Continue reading “Unexpected Letdown”
