This past Saturday I participated in a charity ride for the Civitan International Research Center located at UAB. I was asked to give a bicycle safety briefing before we left, particularly emphasizing how to ride over railroad tracks. The route was on roads with a few unused and thus terribly weathered tracks that have caused the downfall of several experienced riders, so we were all very nervous about children and more novice riders going over them. If you have yet to experience riding over tracks, then remember this: RIGHT ANGLES

Thankfully no-one fell, and I had a great time riding with some new faces while raising money for research on Autism and other developmental disorders. There was one funny moment for me: before the ride started a girl in athletic style clothes looked at me in my dress and said something to the effect of “You’re not riding in that, are you?!”, to which I replied “Every day!”. This was a short leisurely ride around downtown, and I thought it was so funny that someone thought that exercise clothing must be worn. Changing perspectives one day at a time, right?

They’re hoping in the future to have this event on a national level, coordinated by local Civitan chapters, so be on the lookout for a similar event in your area. Enjoying a ride while supporting people in need, for any reason, is so rewarding!

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Here is New Orleans, we are in Hurricane season (also known as the rainy season). It rains every single day. I am not talking a drizzle, but a good downpour. Sometimes it lasts all day, sometimes just 20 min.

Because of this, I am often caught in the rain on my bike. In this heat a rain jacket makes you so hot that you end up wet with sweat, so I just go for it. If I am headed to the office, I bring a change of clothes; headed home and I just go (I have taken to keeping a towel just inside the door for these occasions).

Monday I had to pop into the office for about 1 hour, so I thought I would be safe. Wrong. Just as soon as I left it started. The kind of rain that floods our sinking streets in 5 minutes, making the never-ending potholes invisible. Thankfully, I was on a street I know well so could avoid most of the potholes, although I hit 2 that nearly shook my brains out.

The worst part? I was wearing a light colored flowered dress. It was like a wet t-shirt contest the whole ride home. Yikes. I won’t make that mistake again, as I got many yells of …ahem…appreciation from other weary rain soaked travelers.

I am sure that once it cools off I will start wearing rain gear, but for know I prefer to cool off in a good summer storm. Anyone else just ride it out in the summer rain?

*This photo does not do justice to just how completely soaking wet I was. Not a dry stitch of clothing on me!

This Monday I had a meeting in the French Quarter, then another in the Marigny area. I decided to take advantage of my ride home to do some exploring and eating and joyriding. After riding a bit in the Marigny neighborhood. I stopped by Shiro’s Cafe to grab some lunch (after realizing that my go to, Cake, was closed). Great atmosphere, yummy lamb gyro and a beer later, I took off riding again.

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Through the French Quarter in areas that I rarely ride in, as most locals avoid the Quarter like the plague, I found some streets blocked to cars during day hours! I had no idea, and was glad to see how pedestrian friendly it is (Could also be that too many tourists, drunk from hand-grenades and walking around like it is Disneyland, led to this decision…).

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The CBD had some amazing graffiti that I have wanted to look at more closely, so of course I took a ride over.

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Got home just in time for a summer thunderstorm to lull me into a nap. Great day!

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.

Riding home with my Jones Vally Urban Farm CSA bounty, I couldn’t have felt more beautiful.

My date and I decided to ride over to the botanical gardens for a picnic and a nice walk around.  He’d never been there before, but it is one of my favorite places in Birmingham. It’s so wonderfully woodsy and green, with a great variety of gardens and trails to venture through. A great alternative to a backyard, with much less work!

We spent a few hours wandering around, which was a bit of a challenge in our clipless shoes. Eventually, we decided to hit the road for our next stop – cupcakes and ice cream, hell yes.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a good before picture; we were a little too excited about our delicious booty to even think about documentation. After devouring, we hung out for another hour waiting for our milky sugary food to digest before heading back. Our trip was a short 12 miles, but it was perfect. We got home just as a storm hit.

1. My commute is about a mile of completely flat terrain – my building is freezing so when riding home I don’t break a sweat even though it’s 100 degrees. Amazing.
2. Very little traffic – my building is small and the only residential unit on the block in an area void of much life. I rarely worry about cars flying by or not giving me room. If they are there, it’s for a reason. I used to not like living in such a solitary area, but now I relish my time of solitude,and it’s still just a few blocks of easy road to my favorite places.
3. The industrial wasteland is strangely beautiful – I see photographers and videographers around my street all the time. I saw my friend Seth of Green Block Productions filming a guy walking down the street with a guitar yesterday!

I returned to Portland for another work trip, and this time I was able to spend time with friends here and enjoy the town a little more.  I stayed in the Ace Hotel, which has bikes available free for guests!  Needless to say, I took full advantage of that perk.

I acquired a pretty wild steed with a coaster brake.  It took me a while to figure that one out.  I rode around for a minute the day after I arrived, and then the next day it was an all afternoon/evening affair.  There are many different styles of accessible bike routes around town, and here’s a few that I experienced.

First would be the full bike lane.  This was right by the hotel, and it was awesome.  I’m sure drivers aren’t too happy about it, but who cares about them?  I love love loved it.

This would be more of a bike route.  Cars can drive on the lanes, but I take the bike symbol to mean, “hey bikes, do whatever the hell you want to!”.  There were also speed bumps every few meters to reduce car speed.  A transplant friend from Birmingham who rode around with me one night said that this prevents many cars from driving on these roads at all.  That made me happy.

Here would be the Springwater Corridor, a bike/pedestrian path.  I rode on this around the end of the work day on Friday, so there were a ton of people out riding.  It was great seeing all the different types of riders that make use of this path.  I enjoyed this path while going to check out a bike shop that carries a frame I’m considering purchasing for Cyclocross, by Traitor Cycles.  The shop was right off the path – a small business with the owner and one other guy wrenching and hanging out.  Lovely!  The bikes were brilliant. I was also told to go check out another shop on the other side of the path because they carried Vanilla and Sweetpea bikes, so I headed over there next.  Unfortunately I didn’t find either of those at the shop, but it was a much bigger operation that was packed full of folks buying gear, checking out the awesome bikes, and getting work done.  I was interested to see the many (and I mean many, there’s tons of shops in town) different styles of bike shops around.

I also rode a bit on the Waterfront bike loop, another bike/pedestrian path.  People everywhere were enjoying their bikes in the picturesque weather.

These types of bike routes were mostly what I rode on.  I wound up on a few larger roads that were a little intimidating, comparatively, but you know I’m not spoiled enough to have really been frightened.  I actually enjoyed knowing that everywhere in Portland isn’t perfect.  Who likes perfection anyway?