reflections
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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 more complicated the travel logistics, the greater the jitters. This year, Felkerino and I signed up to ride the High Country 1200K, which takes place… Continue reading
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The Evolution of a Transportation and Recreational Cyclist
Today as I rode home listening to my chain plead loudly for me to lube it, I thought back to my return to cycling as an adult. I had used my bike some for transportation in college, but after graduating and moving to Des Moines, Iowa, I essentially stopped cycling and drove most places even… Continue reading
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That Sign on Ohio Drive. BIG SIGH
For the past month or so, the National Park Service has kindly placed a brightly lit sign on the northeast side of Potomac Park (by Hains Point) that “encourages” cyclists to stop at intersections. Specifically it says this: “Bicyclists must obey traffic LAWS.” For a while, the Park Police were stopping cyclists who rode through… Continue reading
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Ride Photos: Capturing the Moment
Since 2009, I’ve regularly carried a camera with me. Like the other essentials in my purse/pannier, I never know when I might need it. Seeing Bill Beck (king of the randopaparazzi!) and Felkerino‘s ride photos inspired me to start taking my own camera on brevets and other rides. Yes, Felkerino and I are regularly on… Continue reading
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Urban Commuting: the Invisible Cyclist
Today I decided to take a post-work commute home through the White House Plaza across 17th Street and over to Georgetown. Those of you familiar with this area know that, for drivers traveling east-bound, Pennsylvania Avenue T’s into 17th and the White House Plaza. The only traffic crossing drivers’ paths at 17th and Pennsylvania is… Continue reading
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Randonneur Rewind: Another Take on my First Year of Randonneuring
It’s hard for me to believe that I completed my first Super Randonneur series in 2005. That seems so long ago, yet it doesn’t feel like I’ve been randonneuring for that many years. Time is flying! As the brevet season kicked off for Felkerino and me this past weekend, I started feeling a little nostalgic and… Continue reading
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When All’s Right with the World
Sometimes, not that often, everything shakes out perfectly. Felkerino and I launched from home early to enjoy the peak of the cherry blossoms and avoid some of the crowds. Thanks to the lightning and thunderstorm earlier in the morning, we had most of Hains Point to ourselves. Continue reading
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Bike Riding and My Stuff: Clothing Edition
It’s great to be getting back on the bike after taking a week off. I’m still catching up on all of the utilitaire activities I missed during my absence, and hope to have a roundup tomorrow. While on my little bike sabbatical, I had a chance to think about and appreciate how much my bike… Continue reading
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Space Issues and Ugly Ducklings
Growing up, I lived in a small town of about 500 people. Our back yard abutted an expansive cornfield. Neighbors lived across the street and behind their yard stood another cornfield. Streets were tranquil and what little traffic there was plodded along. Stoplights? None. My sisters and I could ride our bikes from one end… Continue reading
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Five Things Friday: Randonneuring Edition
The D.C. Randonneurs have their annual meeting this Saturday, and they’ve also arranged a pre-meeting 106 KM Populaire out of Glen Echo, Maryland. Are you going? If so, perhaps I’ll see you there. The upcoming meeting got me thinking about some of the things I enjoy about randonneuring. I decided to list five of them… Continue reading
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More 2011 in Review: The Rides and the Photos
The past couple of years, I started photographing more of my rides. I like having the tangible memory of an outing. I’ve always written ride stories, but this year, I enjoyed capturing commutes, weekend touring rides, brevets, meetups with friends, and miscellaneous errand running. I spent a fair amount of time cycling in 2011, in… Continue reading
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Ahhh… Beautiful December Commutes
As I rode home in the December chill with my hands throbbing and my toes fading to numb, I thought about how much I love winter commuting in D.C. The short days and cold weather combine to noticeably reduce the bike and pedestrian traffic, leaving only the stalwart year-round riders out on the roads and… Continue reading
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Bicycle Wayback Machine: My Second Year of Randonneuring
Chasing Mailboxes takes another trip in the wayback machine to 2006, my second year of randonneuring. I don’t even remember writing this one, but then again, randonneur Bob Casciato once told me that amnesia is one of the essential qualities of a good randonneur. It seems to be working for me. Hope you enjoy it! Continue reading
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The Randonneurs who Coffeeneur
Summer months can be intense for randonneurs. While the spring ACP Super Randonneur series’ have mostly been completed, summer is often when randonneurs take advantage of the long days and warm weather to ride their brains out. That could be through touring, more brevets, 1000K or 1200K rides, or other endurance rides. Coffeeneuring was born… Continue reading
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Bicycle Wayback Machine: Thoughts from a New Randonnneur and Long-Distance Cyclist
Recently, I was combing through some old ride reports and came upon a piece I had written from 2005, which was my first year of randonneuring. In it, I talked about my impressions of that first year of training and riding with Ed, the D.C. Randonneurs, and Chuck and Crista’s weekend century rides. Even though… Continue reading
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The D.C. Driver that Stalked Me on my Bike Commute
Last week after work I rode my bike to Georgetown. It was the day after Thanksgiving so the roads were pretty quiet. Still some activity, but not the normal frenetic pace of the workday. I pedaled to the corner of “S” and Wisconsin, and got in line behind a truck waiting at a stop light.… Continue reading
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Why Men Ride Bikes: Razors and Bags
Have you ever wondered why men take up cycling? I used to think it was because they wanted to stay fit, be sporty, or maybe use a mode of transportation that was better for the environment. But recently I’ve concluded that it’s really about leg shaving and the pursuit of the perfect bag. When brevet… Continue reading
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Five Things Friday: Do Not Walk in Bike Lane Edition
Sometimes I do a little Five Things Friday over on my flickr page. There have been a lot of pedestrians walking in the 15th Street Bike Lane lately. Lately, I’ve been thinking about ownership; for example, we are proprietary about our roads here in the U.S. Sidewalks are for pedestrians (rightfully so), and cars are… Continue reading
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Why I Commute By Bike and a New Bike Light
Today I won an Urban 180 commuter light from Light and Motion for an essay I wrote about “Why I Commute By Bike.” That made for a good Friday treat! Read what I wrote below. Continue reading
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Post-PBP Funk and New Challenges
Felkerino and I spent the past year gearing up for Paris Brest Paris, and the ride was definitely one of the great highlights of my summer. Since PBP, Felkerino and I haven’t been doing much riding. We unpacked, put the bike back together, and tried to catch up on sleep and stuff at the office. Continue reading
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How I Learned to Love Spandex
Today I’m featuring a guest post by Severna Park Peloton cyclist and fellow D.C. Randonneur, Dan Oldale, who writes about the evolution of his affinity for spandex. I thought it made a perfect Friday post, as it sends us all happily into the weekend ready to ride our bikes. Thanks, Dan, for being part of… Continue reading
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Saying Good-Bye to Thai
We lost one of our D.C. Randonneurs’ members last week. Thai Pham, a fellow randonneur, died while riding in last week’s Paris Brest Paris. Continue reading
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Five Things Friday
Wow, the weeks are flying by, and it’s time for Felkerino and me to get off our bikes, take our hands off the keyboards, and pack pack pack for Paris-Brest-Paris. First, though, a quick five things Friday to reflect on life of late. Thanks to everybody who helped Felkerino and me prepare in some way… Continue reading
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Randonneur Recruiting: the National Parks Passport Book
Recently I went to the Randonneurs USA (RUSA) website to take a peek at the most recent membership information. According to their data, RUSA currently has 2,848 active members. To my mind, 2,848 is not a large membership given our nation’s current population. Also, the number of women compared to men is quite disproportionate. What… Continue reading
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A Perfect Storm: Recreators, Tourists, and Cyclists on the National Mall
If you have ever visited Washington, D.C., you have most likely been to the National Mall (known also as the Mall). It is a large national park (more than 1,000 acres) managed by the National Park Service. For Washington, D.C.-area cyclists, the Mall is a prime commuting zone. Many local cyclists traverse the area daily,… Continue reading
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Sheer Shorts Syndrome = Sheer Embarrassment
The booties, balaclavas, and jackets are long forgotten as the summer heat cranks up and the time for riding in bare arms and legs is in full swing. It’s glorious! Now is also the time for all cyclists who wear spandex to assess the state of their cycling shorts collection. Your favorite shorts that you… Continue reading
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Reverse Tandem Double Panda Shot
Previously I wrote about “panda portraits,” which are typically self-portraits you take while riding your bicycle. This past summer, though, Felkerino and I worked on taking photos of each other while we were riding the same bicycle. See? Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 