**********************************************

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.

**********************************************************

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.

**********************************************

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!

********************************************************

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

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

**************************************************************************************

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!

Y’all this is out of control. Bike sales are increasing like crazy but cyclists are still seen as an anomaly. Because I ride a bike, people think I am fun or funny. Bike paraphernalia decorates my walls and clothes. Don’t get me wrong, I love that cycling is a bit of a sub-culture and that I feel like part of a club (a club that drinks beers and looks good); but I wonder when people will start taking cycling seriously as a way to stop this environmental and health death spiral?

I simply don’t understand the societal disconnect. If you are worried about our environment, ride a bike. If you are overweight and looking for a cheap way to get into shape, ride a bike. Broke from gas prices? Ride a damn bike. Be more than just talk; do something. I am ok with baby steps: transition to a smaller car for the family, try taking the bus once a week…just do something. Until then, quit complaining about how the big companies are ruining the world; they exist for a reason, because their product is in demand. How can we hope for lowered gas prices AND more careful drilling? Boycotting BP but still driving your SUV is not saying Damn the Man. You know how you damn the man? Stop participating in the problem. Get our of your car and on your bike (or the bus or a nice walk or the subway).

LA was freaking out over “Carmageddon“, but does anyone care when the bike lanes are blocked due to delivery trucks, sidewalk renovations or valet signs? Nearly every city has a parking requirement for business zoning, but rarely is bike parking thought of*. I don’t know the numbers, but would assume that the difference between money spent on roads and money spent on bike infrastructure is vast. Yet I see cars with anti-drilling stickers on them all the time**. I want cycling to be more than a cute hobby with t-shirts and mugs and wall hangings. I want it to be ordinary. I long for the day when this and other cycling blogs are moot because everyone does it and it is nothing special. There is hope: Ray LaHood is a big supporter of cycling and is working hard to make things happen. However, it is going to take more than that to really make a difference. People need to take cycling seriously and see it as a method of changing our world, one pedal at a time.

Until the change is mainstream, let’s keep encouraging others to get on a bike. Let’s work our hardest to make it accessible. Let’s ride like it is an ordinary thing because for most of us, it is. And that is a beautiful thing.

* Some cities, such as San Francisco are requiring bike parking and I salute them for it!

**considering I live in the heart of the Gulf oil spill, there may be a disproportionate number here.

Summer time riding is hot and sweaty and a general challenge all around! Arriving gross to work or dinner with friends, drinking your weight in water on a ride longer than 3 miles… the list goes on. For us ladies, there are a few special issues that make me want to give up and hop in a car: heat rash and yeast infections (yep, I said it).

I have tried every style of panties known to (wo)man and have yet to find some that do not leave me with heat rash in the booty seam area. Even when I wear chamois, the same thing happens on the chamois seams. The Brooks saddle does make it a bit more comfortable, but only a bit. The only solution thus far has been wearing skirts (the breeze really does help) and putting chamois lotion on as soon as I arrive home or to work. I am sure that taking a few days off when it is really hot would help, but that is not an option for me. Going to the beach or pool with a heat rash on your ass is not the sexiest way to spend the summer.  Have any of you ladies found anything that helps this, or am I doomed to a summer of pain? Maybe bamboo fabric? Some bloomers?

Speaking of pain…Summertime riding means heat and moisture, both of which are the perfect storm for yeast infections. A quick Google search shows that I am not the only one who suffers during the hot months. They are uncomfortable and make riding nearly impossible, but they seem to be inevitable in the summer. Thought I would share a tip that I have found to be invaluable: Azo Yeast. Take one every day to ward them off and it keeps the infections to a minimum. Taking off the chamois/changing as soon as you arrive also helps tremendously. Eating less sugar and more yogurt is rumored to help (and probably a generally good idea). How do you ladies deal with this?

I love cycling, but these 2 issues really put a damper in summer riding. Anyone have any great advice? Let’s share and hopefully have a more comfortable summer.

*************************************************************************

My job requires that I travel offsite, with market gear, to different parts of town twice a week. We run 3 markets throughout New Orleans and I have to go to each of them. I was determined to try to do this sans car, so I got a bike trailer. Well, I actually traded the trailer for all the food in my house before I moved. Thanks, Heath!

******************************************************************************

Anyway, today I tried it. It was awesome. It rode fine and much to my surprise, people are so nice when they assume you have children riding behind you. With my skirt on and the trailer, I looked like any young(ish) mother. Cars were waving me on, giving me tons of room and everyone said hello and smiled. The fact that I was carrying market supplies is my little secret!

**************************************************************************

Anyone else used a trailer and gotten this response?

Lowrah from Grease Rag Ride & Wrench was our hostess for the visit, and we couldn’t have asked for a more brilliant person to show us around. She found us bikes, lead us to delicious watering holes, helped us meet other cool cats, and rode with Ross in the snow storm when I was too scared. Her passion for cycling and society in Minneapolis knows no bounds. We had a lot of great conversations and shared ideas and thoughts about cycling culture in our respective cities.

*************

Lowrah is one of the lovely ladies who help run the bi-monthly womens/trans/femme co-op Greasrag, HQ’d at Sunrise Cyclery. Obviously she knows her way around a bike, and for that we salute her. Right now she’s helping get a project together for the Bicycle Film Festival – a look at DIY WTF bike spaces. If you’re interested in helping out with that project or are a WTF in the Minneapolis area and have yet to visit Greasrag, get on it!

Over the next few days I’ll be putting up short posts about different aspects of our trip, but for this first one all I wanted to say is, Low, you ROCK!

(image from here)

***************************************************************************

The 3rd Wednesday of every month is ladies night at Bici.  Just me and our trusty (and very nice, in a not creepy way) mechanic Tyree hanging out at the shop, trying to make it easier for ladies to feel comfortable.

So far, we are averaging about 0 ladies per month.  One month was really exciting and we had 2 ladies come in! Most of the time it is just he and I, working on my bike or chatting about life.  Which is lovely, but WHERE THE LADIES AT?!

Coming to a bike coop or collective can be totally daunting, no doubt.  Ladies night is a chance to not worry about that.  We rarely have ladies on regular shop nights, so we thought this might be a good plan.  Still hardly any ladies. Which makes me ask: why aren’t more ladies in Birmingham trying to learn about biking?  I would like to think that they all already know how to fix their bikes and are at home in their garage shops wrenching away, but I suspect that is not the case.  Every time I go the local bike shops I see ladies taking their bikes in for flat tires or to have bar tape wrapped.

I personally love ladies night, even when no other ladies show up.  I can learn from the mechanic free of any insecurity or fear.  No bike shop hipster boys around to make me feel silly when I say “It’s just shifting kind of janky when I really crank down on it.” or “This thingy is acting weird.” More time to learn exactly how to do it and feel empowered to actually get dirty and get it done.  I learn so much on ladies night.  Just tonight I put on new brake levers and bar tape, learning about cables and tension in the process.

Would the ladies in the local bike shop rather pay someone to do it?  Are they still intimidated by our shop?  Do they even care?

Folks, what are your thoughts?  This is a mystery I would like to clear.

We don't bite!

I am so thankful for my bike.  I am thankful that I have a body that can move and get me around and that I can feel getting stronger each day. I am thankful that I have supportive friends who help me get around car-free in a city that is un-friendly.  I am thankful that my city seems to be getting friendlier each day. I am thankful for rides to urban farms and art galleries and restaurants and coffee shops.  I am thankful for Cyclocross season.

I am thankful for the amazing online biking community.  I am even more thankful for the real cycling community I have surrounding me, including Anna!  (and Bici, clearly).  I am thankful that riding my bike each day has made me love my city even more. I am thankful for cool mornings and slight breezes.  I am thankful for sunny winter days and shady summer ones.

I am thankful that moving away from a car centric life has made me more thoughtful about my life, my purchases and how I spend my time.  I am thankful that I no longer dress to impress, but dress to live.  I am thankful that my heels get less face time than my boots and my flats.

I am thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Hurrah!! I was chosen as Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Badass Women’s Yarn Club’s Ms. November!  As I love yarn, knitting (kind of) and crocheting (tons!), this is very exciting.

What is the Badass Women’s Yarn Club?  A monthly yarn club that gets you beautiful hand dyed yarns in exclusive colors, an exclusive pattern and knowing you are doing good (% of sales go to the non-profit of the women’s choice! Mine is MS Society, since my Dad has it).  Read all about it here.  The other 2 women were SUPER badass.  I can’t wait to see who the next 3 are.  The club is open for new membership, so be sure to join up.

See my interview here!

First, apologies (again) for my absence in posting.  Things are so busy with work and Bici that when I get home I have nothing left in me to write.  I do miss you all, and am hopeful that things slow down soon.

Last week, I celebrated 2 big days…my 31st Birthday and my one year anniversary of being car free!  It was any other day…riding around to meetings and friends houses.  Nothing special about the day, in fact it practically came and went before I remembered.

What has being car free taught me?

That my friends rock.  When it rains, when I need a ride home from the Greyhound station, when I need to borrow a car to head to a conference 2 hours away…they always show up.  It is amazing.

That Birmingham’s public transport really does suck.  In one year I have yet to take it.  The reason?  I can’t figure the damn thing out!  The maps are all separate and trying to get from one end of town to the next takes hours and multiple bus transfers (on a less than timely bus “schedule”).  For those people who don’t even have bikes, I am not sure how they do it.

That the hottest summer in history makes for a lot of sweaty meetings.  Seriously, I spent most of the summer wiping sweat from my brow while talking to people about food security!

That I can eat as much food and drink as much beer as I want and not worry.  Sure, I have gained some weight, but I still look the same (muscle weight, baby!) and feel great.

That your gas costs go down, but your food intake goes WAY up.  I eat so much food.

That I am not sure I ever want a car!!

Thanks everyone for all of your support.  This year has been great and terrible and I never regret selling my car.  Freedom!!!