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DAN!

Congrats Dan, who said , ”I’m thankful for the friends I’ve made through riding, the fitness it has helped me achieve, and the positive mindset that I now have because of bicycling.”

Dan, we totally agree. Send an email to elisa(at)bikeskirt(dot)com with your address and we will get your T shirts out to you.

To everyone who participated, thank you so much for sharing why you are thankful for your bike. I read and re-read all the posts all felt my heart swell with bike love.

I am thankful that I can post a photo like the one above and not feel judged. Yikes!

I also give thanks to you, dear readers and friends, for your support and participation in this little blog of ours. We started 3 years ago assuming we would be the only ones reading it. We had no idea that we would be so challenged, celebrated, supported and loved!

Speaking of amazing readers, one of our most loyal readers, who requests to remain anonymous, would like to make someones day a bit more exciting. He/she will be sending one of our readers this package of 3 t-shirts (sized womens medium)!! When he/she asked, we were blown away…just wanting to do something nice, with no recognition…sounds like a cyclist, doesn’t it?!

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To win, just comment with why you are thankful for your bike, or for bikes and cyclists in general. On Friday we will pick a random winner using one of those fancy internet contest winner machines.

(we know that sometimes our comments do not show up so I (elisa) promise to check our spam comments every day to make sure that all comments are counted. We are working on fixing this issue)

Give thanks!

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A little late, but a post about the Pirate Alleycat that I raced in a few weekends ago. It was a stunning day for a race and I was really sad that I woke up sick. Ah well, racing anyway! Kelly and I dressed up and headed out. We were happily surprised to see a ton of people in Pirate’s Alley in the French Quarter. It was a Saints game day, so there were a lot of other people out there to watch us take off. Best part of this city: No one asked why we were all dressed up!

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After waiting and waiting, we finally got our manifests and took off. The race took us all over town, 14 miles total. We climbed jungle gyms, fought with paint covered swords and made pirate balloons for our bikes.

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After the peg leg challenge, Kelly got a flat. Unfortunately, we did not have a spare tube. We considered stopping at a nearby bike shop, but I felt too icky. We walked, grabbed a beer and hitched a ride home with a friend.

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All in all, the day was a blast. Can’t wait to race in the next one!

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This weekend Rubarb (Rusted Up Beyond All Repair Bikes) is having an alleycat! I have yet to do an alleycat since I moved here so I am pretty excited. The best part? It is PIRATE THEMED! My skull and crossbones leggings will have their day to shine.

RUBARB is a great shop with cool people running it. We met them at Bike! Bike! SE a few years ago and have loved running into them every year since.

New Orleans, I better see your ass there. In pirate gear. DO IT. Sunday. 3:00, Pirates Alley (the French Quarter). Be there. Or risk having my kick your ass.

Argh!

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Last friday was Park(ing) Day. I have always wanted to participate, and this year I got to! New Orleans had 5 sites, run and organized by The Green Project, Bike Easy, Transport for NOLA and many others. They were set up from 8a-6pm, so stopped by before work.

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The one I visited just happened to be in front of one of my favorite places, La Divina Gelateria. They are friendly, shop at the market and make AH-MAZING gelatos (peach prosecco is my fav!). I grabbed a coffee and took it to eat in the street outside. It was so fun.

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Thanks to everyone who helped make this a fun way to start the day. I loved the looks on the drivers faces as they passed by! To taking back the streets!! Hurrah!

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(The faces above are how we feel about cars!)

Did you celebrate Park(ing) Day? How was it?

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I am proud to say that New Orleans is now recognized as a Bronze level Bicycle Friendly City by the League of American Bicyclists. It was one of 14 cities recognized for the first time.

From the League’s blog:

“We are proud of the roadmap that the Bicycle Friendly Community program provides for communities to build strong BFCs,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program. “We are especially pleased to see so many communities improving their award level.”

“New Orleans, La. has seen its number of bike commuters increase by more than 150% in the last five years. The city, which had received Honorable Mentions in three previous rounds, implemented the feedback we provided and received the bronze designation this time. New Orleans was recognized for their large biking population, bicycling education programs, a bicycling network that has tripled in length in the last three years and the strong bike culture seen in events like the NOLA Bike Bash.”

This is a really big deal for us! New Orleans is rarely first in anything good (besides food and partying), especially that has to do with health. One of the organizations working tirelessly at this is Bike Easy, a metro bike coalition for the New Orleans area. I am really happy to be working with them on different projects and events. Jamie Wine, the Executive Director had this to say (from Nola.com):

“We are thrilled by the bronze designation. This is a milestone as we move toward becoming the most bicycle-friendly city in America,” Wine said “Bike Easy’s goal is to make bicycling easier, safer and more fun and this designation shows that we are moving in the right direction.”

Thanks for your hard work, Jamie, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this happen!

In addition, today was the start of the new pedi-cab era.  The Mayor and cycling advocate Councilwoman Kristen Palmer were there to kick off the new addition to the horse-carriages and taxis that ferry tourists and residents around this great city.

A great day week for New Orleans and the many current and future cyclists out there!

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I finally got the commuter bike I have been dreaming about: Schwinn Cream. Saturday, which happened to be my 32nd Birthday, I picked her up from Bicycle Michaels. After 2 days of riding I am in love. Fenders, rear rack, upright position, chainguard, single speed…yes, yes, yes.

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Bicycle Michaels was really helpful and fun. The salesguy there told me “today you got a new bike and a bike shop”, how cute is that? Oh, and all the guys in there were kind of dreamy in a bike shop kinda way. I digress…

My only complaint so far is that my panniers have a hard time attaching to the rack, which is curvy and has nothing to grab onto at the bottom. I am working on figuring out a solution, or perhaps will paint my old rack and put it on there.

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Aren’t she and I cute together? I don’t have a name, but am working on it. Ingrid is a top runner. Any suggestions are welcome!

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Whenever I change from my sweaty ride to work clothes (on the days when I don’t wear my work clothes to ride…like when it is 100 degrees), I always feel like a superhero. Going into the bathroom (no more phone booths) and changing and coming out a different person: poof!

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By morning and night she is a hard core cyclist, weaving in and out of traffic, saving the earth and looking good doing it. By day she is a farmers market manager, wearing sundresses and being diplomatic and nice.

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Anyone else ever feel this way?

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I learned a few things:

1. 10 grain muffins are delicious pre-ride food!

2. I have a major fear of buzzy bugs that I really need to get over.

3. Anyone got a spare suspension fork lying around that I can have? I felt a little scrambled after.

4. BMX pedals are not the best choice. Gotta get new pedals with grips.

The injury came from riding over a sizable root hard enough to knock my feet off the pedals and slam my shin into one at the same time. The pedals were BMX style, with fairly significant grippy pegs that just jammed right on in and caused a killer blood splatter. Ew.

5. More camo me thinks.

6. Rossitron is a very patient and wonderful man. I warned him ahead of time that I might very well be a complete bitch while we were riding (stress + frustration + exhaustion = Anna from hell), and he still wanted to take me. Dawwww.

7. Mountain bikes are fun!

Yeah, it was awesome. The bike still needs a little bit of work before it rides perfectly, but I’m ready to get right back on my steed and go for a much longer ride.

Now I have 4 bikes of my own in my house, along with the boy’s 5. We’re looking into the possibility of a pulley system. Do any of you have interesting storage solutions for so many bicycles that must stay inside the home?!

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Anna and Ross came down this weekend. It was like a breath of fresh air to have friends that know me well come visit. It was also nice to be able to entertain people at my new home. We rode bikes, ate pastries, drank too many beer and daiquiris and indulged in Alligator Poboys. Sitting by water, talking and laughing with our bikes in the background is a lot like I imagine Heaven to be like.

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SO FREAKING FUN!!