Randonneuring: From Doing to Being
I started riding with the D.C. Randonneurs in 2005 when I was invited to participate on a flèche team. At that time, I had never ridden farther than a century […]
The Dogs I’ve Met Through Randonneuring
A Terrifying Beginning When I was a kid, I developed a serious apprehension about dogs. This feeling was exacerbated when I rode my bike, largely because one of the rural roads I often traveled was also home to Snoopy, the big mean biting dog. Snoopy was always in her yard, […]
Comparing a Marathon to Randonneuring
Every once in a while, someone asks me how a marathon compares to randonneuring. Running versus randonneuring was also a recent topic on the “randon” list, one of the main […]
A Case of the Rando-Blearies
Every year around this time, I experience the rando-blearies. Despite commuting and riding centuries-plus year round, when the temperatures rise and the sun lingers longer in the sky, I want to be out there even more. It doesn’t help that I’m married to Felkerino, my partner in all things bicycling […]
Pre-Ride Ruminations on the Flèche: A Social, Yet Serious, Bike Ride
This week, 13 teams (65 randonneurs) in the D.C. metropolitan area are in the throes of final preparations for the weekend’s flèche. Felkerino and I are participating as part of […]
The New Old Feelings of Randonneuring Rides
Now that spring is here, the longer rides have begun for Felkerino and me. This weekend, we packed in a 155-mile ride on Saturday (Felkerino wrote an excellent post about […]
The Wheel of Influence
Why did you start riding a bicycle? Who are the people that influenced you? I’ve been giving these questions heavy consideration as I think about the reasons that I started […]
Looking Ahead Without a Spreadsheet
As mentioned in a previous post, I track the miles I run and ride. I keep tabs on the number of days I do each activity. Bike ride? Check. Trip […]
2012 in Review: Variety is the Spice of Life
Another December passes, the sun sets on 2012, and I find myself reflecting about the activities of the past year. While Felkerino and I focused on preparing for and completing […]
A Return to the Single Bike Lifestyle
This past year, we retired our custom-fit Co-Motion tandem. It wasn’t by choice. Over the six years we had owned it and an estimated 25,000 miles, it gradually developed a crack in the area near the stoker seat tube. Felkerino wrote a post about it complete with a photo of […]
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 […]
Grant Petersen’s Just Ride, the Rivendell Reader & an E-Less Stanza of “The Raven”
Grant Petersen, of Rivendell Bicycle Works, appeared at College Park Bicycles last night to talk about his book, Just Ride. I had a great time seeing familiar faces of the #BikeDC community AND meeting the man behind Rivendell Bicycles. Woo! I won’t rehash the evening too much, as I think he […]
The Bicycle Cycle
Given this week’s temperate weather, I’ve heaved a big sigh of relief and welcomed the idea that fall will soon be (if it is not already) here. Fall is my […]
On Bicycling and Other Pursuits: How Much is Enough?
The past couple of weeks I have not spent much time on the bike. Rather I’ve been catching up on things that went neglected while Felkerino and I focused on […]
Pre-Ride Jitters: High Country 1200K
I regularly get some form of the pre-ride jitters before intense multi-day cycling events. I don’t sleep well. I keep thinking I’m forgetting something. The longer the event and the […]
Ride Organizing: Why We Care About Tweets and Facebook Updates
On longer brevets, riders tend to get pretty spread out. During the recent D.C. Randonneurs 400K, the first finisher arrived at 7:30 p.m., and the lanterne rouge ended its journey at 5:50 a.m. Other rider arrivals were interspersed throughout the evening. The 17 finishers spanned more than 10 hours (and […]
