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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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Throwing Away the Cycling Spreadsheet
A funny thing happened to me at the end of April. Funny to me, anyway. I lost interest in tracking my cycling miles, and stopped caring about the number of days I rode each month. Instead of fighting that feeling, I’ve just gone with it, especially since this sentiment has been growing over the last… Continue reading
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The Last Ride of My First Super Randonneur Series: A Hilly and Hot 600K Brevet
In an effort to put all my old ride reports either on this blog or The Daily Randonneur, you’ll notice that I’m sharing a few “vintage” pieces. This one is the story of my first 600K experience from 2005, and is also the first story I ever wrote about randonneuring. I never intended to become… Continue reading
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Standing Desk Diary: All You Do Is Stand Around All Day
On February 12 of this year, I made a big (and possibly trendy) move from sitting to standing much of the day at work. I initially wrote about it here and here. Since then, I have been honing in on an ideal standing desk setup. I incorporated boxes of various sizes, bound reports, and other discarded office… Continue reading
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Figuring Out the 400K Brevet
After rolling into the finish of the D.C. Randonneurs Northern Exposure 400K, I heard myself enthusiastically discuss our ride and revel in the adventure shared by Felkerino, Matt, and me over the last 20 hours and change of riding. Incredible valley vistas and invigorating climbs! The cutest dog chasing us! A sublime night ride! Clouds… Continue reading
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Slowdown Commutes in D.C.
This past month I participated in 30 Days of Biking, a challenge to ride one’s bike every day in April. In all, I rode 28 of 30 days. I made the 30 Days of Biking pledge because I was in a bike commute slump I could not shake. Continue reading
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Co-Motion Tandem Compare and Contrast: Java vs. Speedster
It’s been just over one year and around 5,500 miles since Felkerino and I said goodbye to our Co-Motion Speedster and began riding our Co-Motion Java tandem. Now that we’ve put both of these tandems through their paces, I wanted to compare the two bikes and revisit the choice we made to replace our Speedster… Continue reading
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Springing Over the Edge
After a winter considered cold by many in the Mid-Atlantic—including me, who grew up in Iowa but has since become weak to the elements– Spring finally broke through. Lo’ how great it was to see the browns and grays of winter dissipate, replaced with greenery, pastel colors of cherry blossoms and the vivid hues… Continue reading
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Alex Baca Farewell Tour #leftandleaving
Over the past week I’ve been thinking about our #bikeDC friend, Alex Baca, who has left D.C. (for now, at least) for a new opportunity San Francisco. As part of Alex’s farewell activities, of which there appeared to be several, some of us coordinated an “Alex Baca Farewell Tour.” The weather even cooperated to bring… Continue reading
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The Gray Ghosts Riders – Flèche April 15-16, 2006
Today I was reading through some of my pre-blog randonneuring rides and came upon this story of the Gray Ghost Riders flèche from 2006. It was my second flèche, and one of my favorites. Given that our club, the D.C. Randonneurs, just ran its 2014 flèche over the weekend, I thought this an ideal time… Continue reading
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Our House, In the Middle of Our Street
Whenever we hop on our bikes, we not only expose ourselves to all sorts of elements, but we also come face to face with other bike riders. Despite that, riders do not tend to talk to one another. We share space, but generally our only apparent common goal is coming and going each day from home to work… Continue reading
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Devil’s Daughter 210K Permanent
The emerging warmth and green of spring days tempt us. Long days at the office interrupted by relatively brief spates of outdoor time urge us to spend weekends actively exploring. This weekend Felkerino and I joined bicycling friends Andrea and Jerry to revisit the Devil’s Daughter 210K permanent, a ride carefully crafted by RUSA permanista Crista… 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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Cherry Blossom Farewell: Petals, Puddles, and Pavement
One of my favorite times in Washington, D.C., is when the cherry blossoms reach out to say hello to all of us. Another is when these delicate petals fall, leaving a textured pink layer over grass and pavement. Continue reading
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Pure Bliss: D.C. Randonneurs 300K
The ride begins with warmth in the air. After a couple hours of darkness, the sun rises and bounces down the road with us. It must sense that we’re in for a 190-mile day of play. Continue reading
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Flow Like Water
The fleeting pink and white blossoms cover the city. Sun shines and spring breezes blow. Families and field trips congregate on our sidewalks. And hey, how about those tour buses! Yes, it’s cherry blossompalooza in Washington, D.C. In previous years I dreaded this scenario. But thanks to my regular midday runs that have exposed me to this… 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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Why Ride Brevets?
Randonneuring requires a certain level of commitment (no, not that kind of commitment). Early rises, car rides, bike maintenance and tuning, convenience store dining, and long days and even evenings in the saddle are all part of the randonneur lifestyle. Given that most of us do not have unlimited leisure time, what is it about the… Continue reading
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Old Rag 200K Permanent: Hills, Vistas, and Math Word Problems
This weekend Felkerino and I hightailed it out of the city to escape the crowds that have descended on Washington, D.C., and arranged to do the lovely Old Rag 200K out of Warrenton, Virginia, with bicycling buddies Andrea and Mike. Continue reading
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Lessons Learned From My First Tandem Bicycle Tour
This week I had the opportunity to reflect on my very first tandem bike tour with Felkerino, an eight-day, 775-mile excursion from Rockville, Maryland, to Niagara Falls. I wrote about our 2005 tour experience on The Bicycle Story (an excellent blog, and not just because I have a guest post on it). You can see… Continue reading
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Errandonnee Finishers Announced!
Welcome to springtime, dear readers. At least, I hope spring has truly arrived. The flowers believe it’s here so that’s nice. Achoo! Finally, the homologation has been completed (with a minimum of side effects) and it’s time to announce the Errandonnee finishers. Continue reading
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Errandonnee Rewind: @retrotwenty in Medway, Massachusetts
Before I announce the ultimate list of errandonneurs, I’m featuring @RetroTwenty‘s (Ted) excellent guest post of his Errandonnee. @RetroTwenty is a rider out of Massachusetts, a state with four Errandonnee finishers (good job, Massachusetts!). As you will see in his post, Ted is fairly adept at securing bike parking, no matter where he might be.… Continue reading
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Errandonnee Premium Announced!
Congratulations to all who successfully completed the 2014 Errandonnee! I am still in the midst of tallying the final number of participants, but it currently stands at just over 55. If you sent in your Errandonnee stuff and I did not respond to you by email, that means I did not receive your submission. Please… Continue reading
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On Naming Your Bike: The Baby Post of Bike Names
One of the posts people read frequently on this blog is Say My (Bike’s) Name: On Naming Your Bike, in which I described my tandem partner’s affinity for naming bikes and my own tendency not to do so. That bike naming post received great comments about people’s processes for naming bikes as well as their… Continue reading
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Delayed Post-Marathon Satisfaction
During and even after running the D.C. Rock ‘n Roll Marathon on Saturday, I felt pretty glum. Frustrated that I had not run faster despite not setting a time goal. Mad at myself for lingering in a low point for five miles during the event. Disappointment despite finishing without injury. Continue reading
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What Kind of Person Rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker?
Occasionally I check the statistics page of this blog to find out what searches led people to Chasing Mailboxes. The most common search terms are for the blog name itself and in a close second “Surly Long Haul Trucker.” Third? “Surly LHT.” Recently I saw that some people stumbled upon this space via the phrase… Continue reading
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D.C. Rock ‘n Roll Marathon: Run Hard, Brunch Harder*
I generally arrive at the starting line of the D.C. Rock ‘n Roll Marathon with wavering confidence. I love the course, which creatively sews together a scenic 26.2-mile tour through all four quadrants of the city, but spring marathons are generally a challenge for me. Continue reading
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Standing Desk Diary: My Feet!
It’s been one month since I started using a standing desk at my j-o-b. While I’m definitely settling in, I’m still surprised sometimes when I walk around the corner in the morning. Oh right, I work at a standing desk all day. Continue reading
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Errandonnee Roundup!
We’re well past due for an Errandonnee roundup, wouldn’t you agree? Continue reading
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Errandonnee: Q&A Updates
Hello, errandeurs, friends, and others. I have received a few additional questions about the Errandonnee categories that this post attempts to answer. Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 