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Big Bicycling, a Farm, and a PBP Party
This weekend Felkerino and I met up with our friend Alec for a final ride on the tandem before the big trip to Paris. For a nice change of pace, the day started out sunny with temps in the 80s. It was a well-timed reward for all the hot long days in the saddle this… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Lowell and Cheri’s Santana Sovereign
Last year I watched as Lowell and Cheri completed a Super Randonneur series on their beautiful Santana tandem. It was pretty cool to see, as Cheri had recently started randonneuring, and not only completed an SR series, but went on to complete an R-12, too! Their Santana always looks so good, that I just had… Continue reading
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My Reward for PBP Training: Little Package Cycling Caps
With Paris-Brest-Paris quickly approaching and the bulk of our training in the books, I decided to reward myself with a new cycling cap. Where did I turn for the perfect cap? Why, Little Package, of course! I learned about Little Package via one of my cycling friends. After seeing his fancy cap, I decided I… 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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Friday Shout-Outs
People, we’ve made it to the end of another week. Good job! I was a little tired this week from all my weekend fun, but it was still a pleasant week to be a D.C. resident, and a few things warranting some shout-outs happened, too. (See how hip I am, using this word shout-out? Ha!!!)… 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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Bikes to Like: Alec B.’s Velo Orange Randonneur
Randonneur Alec B. recently moved to our area and began riding brevets with the D.C. Randonneurs this year. Alec lives car-free and impressed many of us by not only riding the brevets and the Shenandoah 1200K, but riding his bike from Annapolis to the ride starts, often camping under the stars the night before. Felkerino… Continue reading
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Paris-Brest-Paris Training
If you’ve been following this blog (or another fine blog I know called Chasing Mailboxes) you’ll know that PBP training is in high gear. Randonneurs across the country, including Felkerino and me, have been heading out regularly to put in miles for the main event. It’s been a fun summer of riding our brains out.… Continue reading
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Hot in the City! Commute Wrap-Up
Holy hot sauce, Batman! It’s been a steamy week in the city, and I confess that I focused much of my energy on gym workouts and a pokey pace to and from the office. Here is a rundown of the week in a few photos. Continue reading
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D.C. Commute Smells: the Fish Market
I’ve posted various photos on this blog of scenes from my commute to give a window into what my commuting life in Washington, D.C. is like. Some things, though, defy visual depiction. The Southwest fish market is one of those things. I pass the fish market almost 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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Bikes to Like: George M.’s Boulder Bicycle
For some randonneurs, 650B bikes are where it’s at. I’ll use my randonneur spouse (who is also my real-life) spouse as an example. He became enamoured of the notion of a 650B ride and used a 650B Rivendell Bleriot as his primary randonneuring bike for the 2007 brevets as well as Paris-Brest-Paris. For Felkerino, riding… Continue reading
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The Urban Forest Project D.C.
One day last month, I was out for a lunchtime walk in downtown D.C. when I noticed a poster on a nearby light pole. “See the forest and the trees,” it read. That is a really good poster to hang near an office full of analysts. A few days later, I noticed more posters scattered… Continue reading
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reCYCLE Art of Bike Project in Takoma Park: Part II
As promised, I’m showcasing the final three sculptures of the public art sculpture project, reCYCLE. (Missed yesterday? Scroll down, dear reader.) If you get a chance, it is worth a ride to Takoma Park to see the artists’ creations. Don’t forget to take this map when you go, though. All sculptures are constructed primarily of… Continue reading
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reCYCLE Art of Bike Project in Takoma Park: Part I
A couple of weeks ago, Felkerino and I met up with a few friends and pedaled our way out of the District all the way to Takoma Park, Maryland, to tour the reCYCLE Art of Bike Project sponsored by the Old Takoma Business Association (OTBA). This bike-centric project consists of seven sculptures composed of (guess?) bike… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Mike W.’s Custom Waterford
In randonneuring, you get to know people by what bike they ride. I first met Mike after seeing his bike in the parking lot. “Who owns this bike?” I wondered. “Someone with an excellent randonneuring aesthetic!” I found out the owner was Mike, who started riding with the D.C. Randonneurs this year. Mike’s positive attitude,… Continue reading
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Summer Commuter Clothing Choices: What’s so Wrong about Shorts and a T-Shirt??
The past couple of years, various blogs and news articles have been written about women riding around in “regular clothes.” Often, these regular clothes have included skirts, dresses, heels, and who knows what else. While these may be regular clothes for some (and I do have a dress code at my office that requires professional… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Eric P.’s Titanium Lynskey
This week Chasing Mailboxes turns its gaze away from steel and toward titanium. That’s right, people. Titanium! During a trip to Tennesseee last year, I became familiar with Lynskey Bikes, based out of Chattanooga. In an odd coincidence, Felkerino and I started riding more with cycling friend and randonneur Eric, whose primary randonneuring bike is a… Continue reading
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Quickbeam Single Speeding and its Pleasures
Lately I’ve been riding my Rivendell Quickbeam around. It started because my Surly got so dirty I just couldn’t take it anymore and I set it aside for a bath. Then I cleaned the Surly and now I still can’t ride it because it’s clean, and riding it will make it dirty again. And since Felkerino and… Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneur Randy Mouri Completes Race Across AMerica
It’s been an exciting 11 plus days for many D.C.-area randonneurs, as we followed fellow randonneur Randy Mouri on his solo attempt at Race Across AMerica (RAAM). Today, we finally got a glimpse of our hero in-person as he succesfully made his way across the USA to be an official RAAM finisher. It was inspiring… Continue reading
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Tandem notes: “She’s not pedaling!” Seriously?!
As you may already know (since I really like to talk about it), Felkerino and I met on a tandem first date and we’ve been riding together ever since. Riding tandem with Felkerino was my first exposure to this family of freak bikes, but at the time I don’t remember thinking much about it. Now… Continue reading
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Ride for your Life: Grocery Shopping
Felkerino and I recently acquired a bike to share, the Bridgestone MB-4. To-date, the sharing has consisted of me letting Felkerino ride it. That’s ok. My day will come. We realized that the Bridgestone is perfect for hitching up the $40 mint-condition Burley trailer that Felkerino got a few years ago from Goodwill. He’s been… Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Mark B.’s Velo Orange Randonneur
When I saw Mark B.’s Velo Orange Randonneur making an appearance on rides this year, I knew it had to be part of Bikes to Like. His bike is so lucky. It gets to traverse the stunningly beautiful terrain of the Shenandoah Valley, which Mark calls home. Here is what Mark had to say about… Continue reading
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Two Day Tour! D.C. to Martinsburg, WV and back
This weekend Felkerino and I rode with our friend Lane G. from our front door in the District to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and back. It was a great way to spend the weekend. I got to ride my bike for two straight days and never had to worry about carrying a card. I enjoy the… Continue reading
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White House Plaza Moment: Welcoming the Touring Cyclists
Earlier this week I took a couple of passes through the White House Plaza, first to take some pre-work bicycle glamour shots and later to enjoy a bit of afternoon sun. Continue reading
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Bicycle Tchotchkes: “I heart your bike” Bikemail
If you’re like me, you ride with one eye on the road and one eye checking out what other cyclists are riding. There have been a few times where I’ve stopped to admire a bike parked somewhere in the city, pulled out a pen and paper, and scrawled a note to the owner about how… Continue reading
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Olek’s Yarn Bomb Bike
Remember when I spied a little yarn bombed bike in front of the Renwick Gallery a couple of weeks ago? Curiosity piqued, I returned to the gallery to find out if the staff there knew anything about it. Continue reading
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Bikes to Like: Scott G.’s Gunnar Sport
Last year, Felkerino and I started running into seeing Scott G. on D.C. Randonneurs rides and spent a lot of time following him and his friend Charlie around the Endless Mountains 1000K course. Scott is an international randonneur, having lived and ridden in Canada, Australia, and various parts of the United States. Since Scott has… Continue reading
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The C&O Canal and the Great Allegheny Passage Trail
Summertime means bicycle touring time! My favorite! Every summer, I see riders arrive in Washington, D.C. who have pedaled 330 miles, mostly on trail, all the way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. How did they do it, you ask? They rode the Great Allegheny Passage Trail and the C&O Canal. Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs 600K Brevet
Hi, everybody. I’m still trying to catch up on sleep from the excitement of the weekend, but I put together what I believe is a coherent summary of Felkerino’s and my 600K adventure. Find it over at The Daily Randonneur. Check out my photos here. Long story short, the ride was killer gorgeous and we’re… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 