reflections
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Landscape Adjustments on Ohio Drive
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… Continue reading
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Winter Commute Days
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… Continue reading
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Top of the Town
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… Continue reading
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Heavy Hearts and Bicycle Breezes
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… Continue reading
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Remembering Michael Prater: Cycling Fed His Soul, Coffee Fueled His Ride
The Coffeeneuring Challenge allows for an appreciation of cycling different from the oftentimes more active spring and summer months. Slow down. Relax. Spend time with a friend and drink a cup of coffee (or similar). Such was the case with Michael and Chauncey – best friends and riding buddies – who took on last year’s challenge… Continue reading
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Ride Your Bikes, People
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… Continue reading
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Area Woman Stops Blogging for One Month. Here’s What Happened…
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… Continue reading
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Making the Experience Yours: Randonneuring
A while back, I wrote a post called Randonneur- and Real-Life Spouse, which attempted to articulate my frustration about feelings of exclusion from a particular brevet experience (the #randbro adventure). This piece also discussed some of the demeaning comments we have received over the years from men who think that my willingness to stoke a tandem was my partner’s… Continue reading
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Bicycle Estrangement
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… Continue reading
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Real Life Lessons From Randonneuring
I started randonneuring because I wanted to see what the distances beyond 100 miles held for me. I hoped randonneuring would make me fitter and stronger, and help me see new places. What I did not realize, though, is that randonneuring was stealthily strengthening me in other ways, too. Over the past two years, other life… Continue reading
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Randonneur- and Real-Life Spouse
As one of a small group of women who likes to ride long distances, I’m often exposed to conversations about “the wife.” I almost hate to write “the wife,” since I feel so strongly about it, but I’m writing what I hear and there you are. Sometimes “the wife” is referred to in other ways,… Continue reading
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Tulipmania
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
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Riding in Search of Brevet Legs
In an attempt to avoid gutting it out like it seemed we too often did on many of last year’s brevets, Felkerino and I have been taking advantage of snow-free roads to build our endurance for the upcoming randonneuring events. While it gave me confidence to know that Felkerino and I had the experience to successfully complete brevets on less-than-ideal… Continue reading
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Strava For the Unracer (and Randonneur)
As I recently wrote, I began using Strava this year as part of the Freezing Saddles challenge. So far, I have really enjoyed using it as a training log. I know Strava can do more than serve as a virtual log and space for kudos (although I will never tire of kudos!), but those other features… Continue reading
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Ride Like Your Life Depends On It: Liz and Exu
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… Continue reading
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Blizzard Weekend in Washington, D.C.
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
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Will Ride (or Run) for Kudos. Joining Strava
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… Continue reading
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Last Ditch Efforts
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,… Continue reading
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John and Lynne
When I began riding bikes with the D.C. Randonneurs, I didn’t imagine the significant role this activity, as well as the people involved in it, would have on my life. But the randonneuring community is small and the rides are long. Preparation for events leads to pick-up rides through the countryside with other randonneurs. Continue reading
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For the Love of It
Not one to let the end of summer pass by while we sip iced tea and laze on our balcony, Felkerino has been unstoppably enthusiastic about weekend rides in the country. His love affair with summer is certainly infectious, and I’ve been happily coming along for the ride. (See what I did there?) Bicycling in the countryside… Continue reading
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Beauty Through Motion
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
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Unexpected Letdown
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
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Training for Randonneuring Rides on a Tandem
Those of you who receive American Randonneur– a quarterly publication of Randonneurs USA– may find this article about randonneuring tandem basics familiar, as it is a piece that was recently published in the Summer edition. I’m reprinting it here. Thanks to Mike Wali for the pics in this piece. Continue reading
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BikeDC Homebody
Over the last month, I spent many days traveling outside of D.C.– away from Felkerino, the office, and the daily bike commute. I suppose a change of scenery is a good thing. It’s always interesting to have a brief window into life outside the city. Continue reading
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PBP Qualified…
Our recent finish of the D.C. Randonneurs 600K brevet means that Felkerino and I have now qualified for Paris-Brest-Paris. Continue reading
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Finding Your Randonneur Superpower
When you begin to dabble in the randonneuring arts, you may have an inkling of what your cycling strengths are. You may develop additional skills for riding long-distance. However, it is only through doing brevets over time that your randonneur superpower will reveal itself to you. Continue reading
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Living On In Memories
This past weekend I had one of the best rides of my life on the D.C. Randonneurs 600K brevet, and that’s not the randonnesia talking. The course layout, weather, and randonneur fellowship combined to set up a practically perfect 375 miles. Continue reading
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600K Brevet Packing List
I’ve been readying for the weekend’s big ride– the D.C. Randonneurs 600K. I stew in my nervousness and look frequently at regional weather forecasts. I burn off steam with short runs and rides, during which I consider and reconsider all I need for two days of pedaling. Continue reading
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Transformation and Inspiration
It’s surreal to recall it now, but bicycling– even running– were largely absent from my life during my post-college twenties. I worked long hours, drove my car, and attended many a happy hour. Continue reading
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Summer Legs on the C&O
Lately I haven’t had a lot of words to describe my riding. I have things to write, but my mind has been fuzzy and my motivation rather stilted with regard to writing any posts. I also have some work things that have required my time and attention. However, friends, I have been riding. My summer legs… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 